Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Bruins, with colors True Blue and gold. The Bruins participate in NCAA Division I-A as part of the Pacific-12 Conference. Two notable sports facilities serve as home venues for UCLA sports. The Bruin men's football team plays home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California; the team won a national title in 1954. The men's and women's basketball and men's and women's volleyball teams, and the gymnastics team (women's) play at Pauley Pavilion on campus. The school also sponsors men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's rowing, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's water polo, and women's softball.
The Bruin mascots are Joe and Josephine Bruin, and the fight songs are Sons of Westwood and Mighty Bruins. The alma mater is Hail to the Hills of Westwood.
When Henry "Red" Sanders came to UCLA to coach football in 1949, the uniforms were redesigned. Sanders added a gold loop on the shoulders—the UCLA Stripe. The navy blue was changed to a lighter shade of blue. Sanders figured that the baby blue would look better on the field and in film. He dubbed the baby blue uniform "Powder Keg Blue," a powder blue with an explosive kick. This would also differentiate UCLA from its older brother, UC Berkeley (and all other UC teams, as all UC campuses' official colors are blue and gold). UCLA is competitive in all major Division I-A sports and has won 124 national championships, including 108 NCAA championships, more than any other university. UCLA's softball program is outstanding Women's Softball won their NCAA-leading 11th National Championship, on June 8, 2010. The Women's Water Polo team is also dominant in winning-they won a record 7 NCAA championships. Notably, the team helped UCLA become the first school to win 100 NCAA championships overall when they won their fifth on May 13, 2007. Among these championships, some of the more notable victories are in men's basketball.
Under legendary coach John Wooden, UCLA men's basketball teams won 10 NCAA championships, including a record seven consecutive, in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1975, and an 11th was added under then-coach Jim Harrick in 1995 (through 2008, the most consecutive by any other team is two). From 1971 to 1974, UCLA men's basketball won an unprecedented 88 consecutive games. UCLA has also shown dominance in men's volleyball, with 19 national championships. All 19 teams were led by current coach Al Scates, which ties him with John McDonnell of the University of Arkansas as NCAA leader for national championships in a single sport.
UCLA has medaled in every Olympic Games they have participated in. In the 2004 Athens games, UCLA sent 56 athletes, more than any other university, who won 19 medals.
Former UCLA basketball player and current Utah Jazz player Earl Watson commented, "Eleven national championships, the best coach (Wooden) to coach the game says a lot. I take offense to those who act like UCLA is just another school compared with Duke. Duke is a great school in the east, but UCLA is worldwide."
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