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Athletics Director Dan Guerrero to retire after contract extended to June 30, 2020

UCLA Athletics Director Dan Guerrero oversaw 32 NCAA championships during his 17-year tenure in Westwood. UCLA football never made a Rose Bowl under his watch, however, and UCLA men’s basketball did not win its 12th national title. (Elise Tsai/Daily Bruin)

By Sam Connon

Sept. 19, 2019 10:58 a.m.

This post was updated Sept. 19 at 12:38 p.m.

Dan Guerrero’s time in Westwood is officially ticking toward its end.

The UC Regents voted unanimously Thursday morning to extend the UCLA Athletics director’s contract from Dec. 31 to June 30, 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported. Guerrero agreed at Wednesday’s UC Regents meeting that he will end his tenure with the Bruins at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

UCLA Athletics released a statement Thursday claiming it would utilize a professional firm to conduct a nationwide search for Guerrero’s replacement this fall. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block requested Guerrero’s contract be extended from December to June in order to maintain continuity and ample time to conduct the search for his replacement.

Guerrero said his two reasons for retiring were to spend more time with his wife and newborn granddaughter and to take time to recover after an ultimately successful battle with cancer over the last 18 months.

“It is time for me to step aside and for UCLA Athletics to flourish under new leadership while I focus on my health and on my family,” Guerrero said in Athletics’ statement. “In the remaining year ahead, we still have a great deal of work to do and championships to win, and I look forward to every minute of it.”

Guerrero has served as the athletic director since 2002 and the Bruins have won 32 national championships during his tenure. He was the athletic director at CSU Dominguez Hills for five years and UC Irvine for 10 before making the jump to UCLA.

Block sent an email to all students following the official announcement to thank Guerrero – a former UCLA baseball player – for his time with the Bruins.

“I appreciate (Guerrero’s) dedication to our campus, fans and student-athletes throughout his career at UCLA,” Block wrote in his statement. “(Guerrero) has helped lead our teams to numerous victories, while also demonstrating a commitment to advancing women’s opportunities in athletics, maintaining high academic standards for student-athletes and keeping UCLA programs in compliance with NCAA and other requirements.”

The UCLA alumnus was one of several members of the administration to receive a copy of UCLA’s internal investigation of two suspect athlete admissions in 2014. Guerrero also oversaw the program during the Varsity Blues scandal earlier this year which resulted in the resignation of former men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo.

Guerrero’s $984,667 base salary for 2019 will reportedly extend through the end of his extended contract. All of his benefits – including access to a courtesy vehicle, up to $3,500 for annual physical examinations and a bonus worth up to $105,000 – remain intact.

The regents’ decision to extend Guerrero’s contract comes less than two weeks after former USC athletic director Lynn Swann resigned after three years in the position.

Swann, too, oversaw a department implicated in the athletics admissions bribery scandal as well as multiple other scandals throughout his tenure.

Both UCLA and USC are now in the midst of searches for their athletics directors of the future.

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Sam Connon | Alumnus
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
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