Katz Family Scoreboard Unveiled at LATC
January 09, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โย UCLA tennis and the UCLA Athletic Department debuted the Katz Family Scoreboard Wednesday in front of donors and special invited guests at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The ceremony culminated in a ribbon cutting by the Katz Family, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero, women's tennis head coach Stella Sampras Webster and men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Each, along with Sr. Associate Athletic Director, External Relations Josh Rebholz, made remarks highlighting the meaning of the Katz Family's generous donation and the opportunities the scoreboard will provide the UCLA tennis programs.
"This truly is a milestone day for all of us," said Guerrero. "I can't be more excited about the prospect of what this brings to our program and to this venue."
"Just wonderful friends," he said of the Katz Family. "Significantly, they have been very supportive of our program. Very supportive of the university. We're so grateful to [Ron Katz], but we're not surprised. This university has been on the receiving end of Ron's philanthropic spirit and generosity for years and years, time and time again."
The Katz Family Scoreboard's Daktronics display, measuring 18 feet high and 31.2 feet wide, is among the largest LED video screens in collegiate tennis. Stationed at the east end of LATC's main stadium courts, the board has a 13HD pixel pitch capable of switching between content playback mode and video mode using Show Control. RGB LED lights, meanwhile, will allow for a multitude of graphics possibilities. Also new to the match-day experience is a custom JBL speaker system set to improve audio on the front courts while introducing sound to the back courts.
The UCLA men's tennis team will showcase the Katz Family Scoreboard beginning Wednesday, Jan. 16, when Nevada and UC Davis visit LATC for a dual-match, season-opening doubleheader at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The women's team will open Saturday, Jan. 26 with a 12 p.m. visit from Minnesota as part of ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
"It makes us so proud to have a scoreboard like this," said Sampras Webster. "I want to thank the Katz Family. It really makes a difference. It completes this stadium and it will help in so many ways with our fans, with our recruits, with our student-athletes."
Funding for the Katz Family Scoreboard is the latest contribution to UCLA's tennis programs by the Katz Family, which has also established an endowed scholarship for men's tennis and made possible the renovation of LATC's men's and women's team rooms in recent years. Todd Katz competed as a student-athlete for UCLA men's tennis and legendary head coach Glenn Bassett from 1980-83, serving as team captain his senior year. The Bruins won their 14th NCAA championship in 1982.
"This tennis stadium would not be here, in my opinion, if it wasn't for Ron Katz," stated Martin. "We're getting a great scoreboard from the Katz Family but this [stadium] wouldn't be here. It was his idea and his brainstorming with Leonard Straus that really started the tennis stadium to be here on campus. I've always been so grateful for that, much less the other things [he's] done for our school, for our tennis team."
Beyond athletics, the Katz Family has made an indelible impact around UCLA's campus, perhaps most notably through Ron Katz's founding of the world-renowned UCLA Operation Mend, an organization that provides reconstructive surgery and medical services to military service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Take just one moment to thank Todd and Dana, who are really the inspiration behind this sign," said Ron Katz. "Welcome all of you to have terrific matches, a lot of success and hopefully the sign will be a great advancement for everything. Good luck. Go Bruins."