SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Alex and Richard start with the surprise of UCLA becoming one of the offseason’s best recruiting stories, then Alex brings on Ira Gorawara fromThe Athletic for a campus-level look at Bob Chesney’s first few months in Westwood. This subscriber episode is about whether UCLA’s current burst of money, attention, and salesmanship is the first sign that a program long trapped between Los Angeles indifference and its own underinvestment might finally be changing its shape. Follow Ira’s work.
In this episode:
0:00: Richard and Alex set up UCLA’s recruiting surge, the money behind it, and why Los Angeles is a hard place to matter unless you are winning or selling.
10:49: Ira Gorawara joins to explain why Bob Chesney’s arrival has given the program a different feel than it had under recent coaches
17:02: Chesney’s contrast with Chip Kelly and DeShaun Foster
22:45: Whether UCLA’s donor alignment and roster spending are real enough to change the program’s ceiling.
29:17: How durable the Bruins’ recruiting bump might be, and what counts as success over the long term
34:29: The Rose Bowl vs. SoFi Stadium
Producer: Anthony Vito
Everyone can hear a free preview of this episode.
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