Sports center

By Josh Mason

Daily Bruin Contributor

In 1997, Sports Illustrated recognized UCLA as the No. 1
athletic university, a distinction UCLA coaches, athletes and
students have traditionally prided themselves in being.

“To be recognized is particularly rewarding for the many
athletes who have participated in the tradition at UCLA,”
assistant football coach Gary Bernardi said.

“It says a lot about the history of UCLA athletics and the
respect those past teams deserved,” he added.

The article, published in May 1997, boasted of UCLA’s
record number of NCAA and national championships, now sitting at
over 100. It also highlighted the tradition of a school that
educated and trained the likes of Jackie Robinson, Lew Alcindor,
Bill Walton and Florence Griffith Joyner, despite only being
founded in 1919.

“Any time you can be recognized like that it helps improve
the sense of pride and accomplishment you have in your
school,” associate athletic director Betsy Stephenson
said.

“It was definitely a positive motivation for those
athletes attending UCLA at the time,” she added.

UCLA’s credentials for such an honor seem to easily
undermine the numerous other schools that vied for the top spot,
including second-ranked Notre Dame.

“In the last 25 years, I don’t think any other
university can compare to the number of national champions, olympic
medalists, and professional athletes that UCLA has produced,”
said associate athletic director Michael Sondheimer, who heads
UCLA’s recruiting efforts.

A commitment to excellence in all spheres of competition is
surely something that sets UCLA athletics apart from the rest of
the collegiate sports world.

A tradition of success in the Olympic sports, 94 national
collegiate titles (as of May ’97), 21 varsity sports teams
that consistently play at the top of their game, and an intramural
program that surpassed the likes of other sports-minded schools
were all major components to the Sports Illustrated ranking.

But the most notable criteria in the SI distinction was likely
the number and quality of athletes and coaches UCLA has produced
over the years. From Alcindor to Robinson to John Wooden,
UCLA’s players and coaches seem to stand above the rest in
terms of consistency.

School pride and tradition notwithstanding, the article has also
served as a recruiting device for UCLA’s athletic
department.

“It is a very important recruiting tool because Sports
Illustrated substantiated what we have always told the athletes we
recruit ““ that UCLA is the top athletic university in the
nation,” Sondheimer said.

The article has been distributed in recent years to athletes
recruited by UCLA, and is often displayed in the media guides of
UCLA programs.

“The exposure we received through publication of the
article was helpful and created a lot of dialogue about our
program,” Stephenson said. “Realistically, it only
asserted what we have been claiming for so long.”

Though the article itself serves as a strong support for UCLA
recruiting efforts, athletic department officials said the ultimate
impact it has on an athlete’s decision to make the move to
Westwood is negligible.

“It has a positive effect on recruiting,” Sondheimer
said. “It’s surely not the final factor, however, but
it’s a factor.”

Others view the article as having an even lesser impact as far
as recruiting efforts are concerned.

“There are a few kids the article was an eye-opener for,
but when you get down to the nitty-gritty, the article
doesn’t really have all that much of an impact,” said
Bernardi, who is one of the top recruiters for the football
program.

“It’s an honor for UCLA athletics to be recognized
as a whole, but when it comes down to it, athletes want to be told
how they’ll have an impact on their respective sports, not on
the greater UCLA athletic tradition,” Bernardi added.
“They’re more interested in how they’ll fit into
the pitching staff or where they’ll be playing on the
offensive line.”

Ultimately, the lasting legacy the 1997 Sports Illustrated
ranking may have is on the student body itself.

“I think the ranking not only reflects positively on the
UCLA athletic department, but on the entire school,”
Sondheimer said. “The magazine made reference to the weather,
facilities, and athleticism we possess throughout the
campus.”

That’s not to mention the pride students have taken since
the article was published. And it’s that UCLA sports mystique
that has served as part of the foundation of the university
itself.