UCLA Football: The On-Season. Part 3: The Future

Dan Guerrero - Photo Courtesy OCRegister.com

Scott Robinson

As the short days of winter wane into the face of spring, UCLA is currently prepping their squad for the upcoming football season. Inroads against a crumbling recent past, one littered with muttering descriptions of mediocrity, are beginning to show a clear path, one with resolve throughout the entirety of UCLA’s athletic program.

During this off-season BruinsBall.com has focused on some key data sets pointing towards many different areas needing improvement. As far as coaching is concerned, different practice motifs of efficiency (under the helm of the specialist, Coach Alosi) stand to drastically improve the team with football-specific training. We’ve also detailed contrasting off-season training regimens since Alosi’s hire here and here.

As both Defensive Coordinator Lou Spanos and Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone arrive with a “clean slate,” a mistrusting Bruin faithful fanbase might be asking:

“What else has changed that could possibly lead us to believe Mora’s regime is coalescing towards winning?”

Reports are trickling in of players jumping aboard and heeding guidance from the rallying Coach with extensive NFL experience. But now, it’s not just the players, it’s the administration that’s lining up to right the ship.

In fact, it’s been an incredibly demanding, yet productive, season for one particular UCLA Athletics Department…

Pro-Activity

Despite his absurdly busy schedule, I was lucky enough to talk with Nick Ammazzalorso, UCLA’s Executive Director of Athletic Communications. His role, while newly established, has quickly augmented the football team’s return to relevancy. Acting through both media promotion and most recently, crisis response, Ammazzalorso’s position has quickly become indispensable to UCLA’s ability to mitigate negative press or misinformation.

“Pro-activity,” Ammazzalorso states, “is the key to all teams [in their efforts for success].” One might scoff at such a statement, especially in light of the recent Sports Illustrated article. However, consider UCLA’s ability to respond, most competently, via statement and affirmation of Ben Howland’s return: I would say it would have been much worse without the likes of Ammazzalorso or his department’s function.

In fact, evidence of such “pro-activity” has already been manifested in UCLA’s growing avenues of delivery for messages relating to athletics. The very first hints of an administrative change actually occurred back in October 2011, when Ammazzalorso amended the Bruins’ injury reporting system. Only a couple weeks on the job and already Ammazzarlorso imposed a tweak to the policy yielding a faster and more efficient process:

The new policy draws its principles from similar policies at FBS institutions as well as several professional sports leagues. (Daily Bruin, 10/2/11)

And now, if one mantra could be gleaned from the man in charge of UCLA Athletic Communications Department, it would be: “UCLA is pro-active.” And he certainly has been; for him, it was quite clear upon hire what was expected:

In the interview process, Dan Guerrero and Mark Harlan were very specific about raising the social media and online profile for the department. So, within a week we were able to hire two website writers that will be doing features that will focus mostly on Olympic sports… (UCLA Bruins Today, November 2011)

In response, Ammazzalorso has taken to contingents of new Twitter and Facebook accounts (see here) to further buffer UCLA’s online presence. The Athletic Department is now engendering a long-needed technological leg to their delivery of content and information, which further shows this administrative response to the need for change.

Football, meet Administration

Unlike the past, a more cohesive approach is being embodied throughout the organization, largely thanks to the Athletic Department’s embracing of the need to change from the inside out.

In broadening the infrastructure meant to empower UCLA’s football program, Ammazzalorso and his department have also expanded the lens for which the Bruin faithful can follow their team. As a result, content-producing elements have recently been introduced as part of the Athletic Communications Department.

One fruit of this recent product is “The Word from Westwood,” a unique blog delivering information directly from the Athletic Director himself, Dan Guerrero. Coupled with “What’s Bruin,” UCLA’s outlets, since Ammazzalorso’s hire, have now been expanded significantly when compiled with its Twitter and Facebook activity.

Drawing upon extensive media-related experience (ranging from time with the Los Angeles Galaxy to Creative Artists Agency), Ammazzalorso was more than ready for the “pressure-cooker” known as UCLA. His role in creating such outlets has already proven essential: Between Neuheisel’s departure, a Hunger Bowl “meal-plan” fiasco and a Sports Illustrated feature (all shedding negative light on UCLA), Ammazzalorso has had quite a first six months on the job.

Hired only in September of 2011, fresh off handling Urban Meyer’s transition out of Florida, Ammazzalorso has also hit the ground running—A consistent theme with what we have now seen from Coach Mora, and hopefully an evolving football squad.

UCLA’s newly instilled outlets only further justify the necessary growth in media and athletic communications as they work cohesively between the sports departments. In a way, this broad-based message fulfills an otherwise negative or easily attackable void when an institution cannot communicate effectively to its constituents.

As confirmed by Ammazzalorso: “Evolving is key. If [an institution] cannot evolve, they die.”

The Future

While Mora tends to the team and Ammazzalorso to its message, another element is still in the works this off-season: facility upgrades.

Sources indicate a continued “feasibility study” will determine Spaulding Field’s chances at renovation—A study likely to be completed in the coming months. While no upgrades can be started prior to the conclusion of Spring Football (clearly), Dan Guerrero and his senior staff are surely in the midst of discussions to move the needle towards upgrading football amenities. Of course, the lucrative Pac-12 TV deal, and the subsequent rights fees paid to UCLA, should help defray some costs associated with any such renovations beginning as early as next year.

As it stands, the future begins now. UCLA’s first opportunity to deliver starts April 3^rd at on campus at Spaulding Field. All practices are free and open the public, including the Spring Game. Players will practice three times weekly: every Tuesday & Thursday (starting at 3:45 PM) and Saturday (Variable – see below). The Bruins’ Annual Spring Game will be at The Rose Bowl, Saturday, May 5^th at 5:00 PM. Here is the full schedule:

Follow Spring Practice, here on BruinsBall.com.