UCLA Athletics is synonymous with success.

Boasting 124 NCAA national championships, UCLA has some of the most memorable moments, teams and players in the history of collegiate athletics.

Headlining this mosaic of success is probably the most well-known coach of all time – John Wooden.

He won a record 10 national championships – including seven in a row – as head honcho of UCLA men’s basketball, all while mentoring greats such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

And his imprint on the UCLA campus is even greater.

Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” adorns the walls of the student gym named after him. His iconic statue stands outside Pauley Pavilion – the arena forever memorializing his career and home to the court that commemorates him and his wife, Nell.

But while Wooden’s legacy stands the test of time, Pauley Pavilion is also home to UCLA’s winningest sports program.

Enter: men’s volleyball.

A juggernaut in the history of the sport, the men’s volleyball program leads all of UCLA Athletics with 21 national championships.

And for former Bruin outside hitter Ethan Champlin – who played at UCLA from 2021-2024 – winning is not only ingrained into the culture of Bruin volleyball but also curated through the deliberate development of its athletes.

“It can bring you to tears sometimes to think about the privilege and the experiences that you get to have with such a great group of guys that are not only just tremendous at their craft but your friends,” Champlin said. “I invited the whole team to my wedding because winning is such a bonding experience, and that’s what UCLA is. UCLA brings winners. They carry winners on their roster.”

Although the Bruins most recently fell in the national championship game to Long Beach State, their appearance marked three consecutive NCAA title appearances, with the first two resulting in Bruin championships.

Champlin – a three-time AVCA First Team All-American – was an integral part of the back-to-back championships, winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in 2024.

While Champlin spearheaded a squad that broke an almost 20-year national championship drought, it is the relationships he built with his teammates and the culture they established that he values most.

“To be able to have our team written in the record books for the national championships we won, especially after the drought that UCLA had had since 2006, it’s just a tremendous honor,” Champlin said. “There’s not a single person on the team that I wouldn’t have, that I would have traded to have a different teammate. They all brought very different personalities, character traits, skills, but every single one of them was valued.”

And while national glory illustrates the pedigree of a team, quality coaching can turn a great program into a legendary one.

Wooden passed the torch to the likes of Larry Brown and Jim Harrick. The former is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, and the latter is the only coach other than Wooden to capture a men’s basketball national title for UCLA.

Only three coaches have helmed the men’s volleyball program since the collegiate sport’s NCAA inception in 1970.

The newest of the bunch, coach John Hawks, finished his first year with a national title appearance this season. But in 2022, he also won AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to the nation’s top hitting percentage with a .374 clip.

On the other end, Al Scates – the Wooden of UCLA men’s volleyball – led the program to 19 national championships, all while producing the next generation of volleyball greats, including UCLA’s second coach, John Speraw.

For junior libero Coleman McDonough, being able to continue Scates’ legacy is something he treasures.

“I’m a Pennsylvania kid, so getting recruited by UCLA – it’s definitely something you never thought would happen, especially coming from the storied legacy left behind by Al Scates and all that,” McDonough said. “It’s just great that you can contribute in any way possible to the legacy.”

Between Scates and Hawks is Speraw – a legend on the court as a player, on the bench as an assistant and as the head honcho for 12 years from 2013-2024.

Speraw’s trophy case holds 10 national championship trophies – two as a player, three as an assistant coach and five as a head coach – yet the scope of his impact on volleyball is arguably larger.

“In terms of volleyball, he was the greatest coach that I’ve ever had,” Champlin said. “I always felt like he had our team’s back. … I’d say that I was a pretty self-taught player, but the things that he said and the things that he taught me in terms of volleyball skills – I owe so much to him, and as a coach, he’s got a big reputation. He’s kind of a larger-than-life figure.”

Similarly to how Speraw molded the likes of Champlin, setter Micah Maʻa, outside hitter Garrett Muagututia and other current and future Olympians, Scates’ impact also stretched far beyond the walls of Pauley Pavilion.

Former Bruins not only line the rosters of men’s and women’s national and Olympic teams, but they also represent a significant part of the coaching staff.

Before Speraw’s coaching retirement this past year, he led the men’s Olympic team from 2013-2024, earning a bronze medal both in 2016 and 2024, while also taking gold at both the 2015 FIVB World Cup and 2014 FIVB World League. Speraw took on the position as CEO and president of USA Volleyball after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Likewise, Scates’ apprentices – Erik Sullivan, Brandon Taliaferro and Karch Kiraly – and Hawks all fill roles on United States national teams. Sullivan heads the women’s team, with Taliaferro taking an assistant role alongside him. Kiraly replaced Speraw to helm the men’s team, while Hawks took lead on the U21 national squad.

Despite their impact on the national and professional stages, sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci said UCLA volleyball alumni are still present in the current culture and locker room.

“They’re a big part of our team, for sure,” Curci said. “We’re always doing alumni nights after all games and stuff like that, doing events so we can all be close still, and they help us a lot with donations and stuff like that.”

But relationships are more valuable than trophies – exemplified by the camaraderie between Champlin and former Bruin outside hitter and teammate Grant Sloane, who served as a groomsman at Champlin’s wedding.

“He did everything he could to get me to come to UCLA, and that ended up being at the expense of his own playing time and his own glory, and I benefited from that more than I’ll ever know,” Champlin said. “And that also embodies my experience at UCLA and the selfless people that I had on the team who showed me humility that I could never have and selflessness that I wish I could have in my best moments.”

Although capturing championships forges core memories, McDonough said brotherhood lasts a lifetime.

“The biggest thing I’ve taken away is the relationships that you build at UCLA. The people here at the school make this place special, so having that brotherhood to have for your whole life is something that I’ll take away, more than just the national championships,” McDonough said.