Message from Martin Jarmond
September 14, 2020 | Bruin Athletics
Bruins,
This week marks 75 days on the job for me as UCLA's Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics and the past few months have been quite a whirlwind. My wife, our three daughters and I moved across the country and are now officially Los Angeles residents, while my work as a UCLA Bruin has been on-going. I promised you from my first day that I would listen and that I would communicate with you. I have heard every word that you have shared with me.
Through video conferencing, I have connected with countless Bruin donors, alumni and fans, to hear their stories, their insights and their hopes and dreams for UCLA Athletics. I have met with our student-athletes via Zoom and spoken with some of them many times over the past few months, listening to them as they face the realities and unknowns of the pandemic and their postponed sports seasons. I also have engaged with our coaches, staff and student-athletes in difficult conversations about race and social justice issues, which led to the creation of the Voting Matters Initiative. I have taken part in countless calls with my fellow Pac-12 athletic directors as we join together to find a safe path toward resuming competition. I have worked closely with Chancellor Block and campus administrators to ensure that athletics and campus are united. I have engaged with potential apparel partners to align UCLA with an elite partner to match our elite athletics program. And yes, I have finally had the chance to get on campus and see the beauty of Westwood firsthand. Based on all I've learned over the past few months, it came as no surprise to me that UCLA was just ranked the No. 1 public university in the nation for the fourth year in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
I want to thank every one of you who has reached out to welcome me and my family to UCLA, and I especially want to thank those of you who have stepped up to reinvest your season ticket payments through the Bruin Support Program. The response from the Bruin Family has been a highlight of the last month.
There is work to do in the weeks ahead and challenges that we will face together. The announcement of the unique partnership between the Pac-12 and Quidel for COVID-19 testing is a positive development, and I'm optimistic that it brings us closer to seeing our student-athletes back on the fields, courts, pools and tracks, which is my priority right now.
So, I will continue to listen, continue to engage, and continue to help elevate UCLA Athletics to greater heights.
Go Bruins!
Mj