UCLA football expert Mark Schipper of 5th Down College Football appeared on The Bald Faced Truth podcast with John Canzano earlier this week to discuss the turbulent state of the UCLA program. When discussing the struggles facing the Bruins, Schipper says institutional issues matter more than the program itself, even if it’s hard to decipher between the two.
“It’s been policies,” Schipper said. “It’s not the program, it’s not the potential. It’s that the school has done it to itself.”
UCLA Athletics had previously run at a deficit, there’s the new multi-million buyout for the recently fired DeShaun Foster, and there’s the Calimony mess that has the Bruins sending Cal Berkeley $10 million per year. Without a compelling football program, it’s hard to create extra revenue for the athletic program. Athletic director Martin Jarmond hasn’t done the program any favors either.
Schipper detailed the final straws that led to Foster’s firing, adding layers to a surface reality which was apparent to anyone who watched a minute of UCLA football this season.
“It was the complete and obvious lack of preparation to be on that field and competing,” Schipper said. “UCLA got beat by two schools that they really, if times are right and the program is running, they should never lose to. The home loss against New Mexico was probably a bottoming out point for the program that nobody thought they would hit.”
Foster is out and interim head coach Tim Skipper is in. We’ll see how long it takes for UCLA to rebuild a currently pitiful football program.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA expert Mark Schipper calls loss to New Mexico a ‘bottoming out point’ for program
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
