For over 95 years, the UCLA Men’s Ice Hockey team has represented the Bruins on the ice. That’s right, UCLA has a hockey team, and one that is ingrained in the fabric of this prestigious school since the team’s inception in 1926. They even represented the University as a varsity program, competing against other Division I teams like USC and LMU, until World War II caused college hockey programs all over the West Coast to shutter due to budget constraints for the war effort. Ever since then, the now club ice hockey team has been clawing their way back, hoping to one day restore their place at the top of the college hockey world. That time is now! UCLA has an opportunity to lead the revival of college hockey and become the first NCAA Division I hockey program on the West Coast.
As a Bruin who transferred to UCLA in the fall of 2020, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that UCLA had a hockey team. One of the reasons why hardly anyone knows we have a team is because there is no ice rink close to campus. Their home rink has been as far south as El Segundo and they currently play and practice at The Cube in Santa Clarita, which is 31 miles north of campus. However, the distance did not hinder their level of play this season; they finished with an impressive 18-3-1 record and were ranked sixth overall in the west region in their division. They even made it to their respective regional final game this past February, their first time doing so since 1999. With a young team that is finding their footing and with a coach that knows what it takes to win and represent the University at the highest level, the foundation has been set.
UCLA Hockey Player
As a Chicano kid who grew up in Southern California, my only experience with hockey up to that point was watching “The Mighty Ducks” movie franchise and catching some L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks games on the weekend. There was no way my parents were going to let me play. Equipment, ice time and coaches were all too expensive, and my parents didn’t really understand what the sport was about, being immigrants from Mexico. So all I could do was watch. When I got to UCLA, I reached out to the president and ultimately joined the team as a photographer and marketing director. I learned quickly why UCLA needed this team on the big stage.
There is an untapped market for Division I hockey on the West Coast. Other than Arizona State, who made the jump from club hockey to the NCAA in 2015, the closest teams are either in Colorado or in the Dakotas. With two NHL and four AHL franchises within a two hour drive of campus, the professional side of hockey is currently at a peak. Importantly, there is also a surge in the youth hockey movement in California. According to USA Hockey, during the 2016-17 season, “California saw the largest increase of 8U (eight and under) players in its history; up 25.2 percent to 3,553.” For the 2019-20 season before COVID, registrations almost reached 5,000 youth players. The players coming up through these programs have represented the United States in the World Juniors International Tournament, played at elite hockey colleges like Michigan, and some have even gone on to the NHL as well.
UCLA could lead the way for the collegiate hockey movement in California and the West Coast.
Part of this expansion has to do with UCLA alumnus Henry Samueli ’75, M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’80. As the co-owner of the Anaheim Ducks, he and his wife, Susan, have made it their mission to make hockey affordable and accessible to kids who want to play, with free learn-to-skate and economical learn-to-play programs offered at The Rinks in Southern California. As the world gets back to normal from the pandemic, these numbers will only continue to grow.
1926 Team Photo
Professional and youth hockey are thriving in our very own backyard, so why not take advantage of that and expand into the NCAA as well? By having an NCAA Division I hockey program on campus, we would solidify UCLA as a top-tier athletic school at yet another sport. No one is going to out-recruit UCLA on the West Coast, because there are no college hockey teams of this caliber in the area. The move also gives us the opportunity to overtake Stanford for the most NCAA championships in the nation. UCLA could lead the way for the collegiate hockey movement in California and the West Coast.
UCLA Ice Hockey has a rich history too. With alumni that span from the late great John E. Anderson ’40, the namesake of the school of management, and Brian Callahan ’06, offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, ice hockey team members have continuously given back to the school and represented the blue and gold with dignity and pride after they have graduated.
John Anderson ʼ40 played from 1936-1940
This is also a major opportunity to expand women’s sports on our campus as well, in compliance with Title IX rules. The current women’s lacrosse club team on campus has a strong program and following, and we currently have two teams filled with interested players. They could join six other Pac-12 schools that already have varsity women’s lacrosse teams, and a new field would not have to be constructed because they can play their home games at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium. In this sense, the hockey and lacrosse teams complement each other very well with a move up to Division I.
Imagine the student and media buzz that would happen if UCLA moved into the next tier of college hockey. Not only would it make national headlines, similar to what Arizona State did over half a decade ago, but these games would have primetime slots on sports networks because West Coast college hockey would be such a novelty. Imagine the type of players UCLA would be able to recruit. Unless those youth players want to play halfway across the country or further, the logical destination would be here, especially given the immense pool of 149,779 UCLA applicants in 2021. Imagine the school spirit a Division I hockey team would bring to Westwood. It would be something new and exciting for all Bruins, especially for those who grew up loving hockey. UCLA jerseys and sweaters would be seen in every rink in the Southland, further amplifying the notion that UCLA leads the way in expanding opportunities for all, both athletically and academically.
The Cube Ice Rink in Santa Clarita
Most important is the question of funding. To be perfectly clear, it would cost millions of dollars to establish an NCAA hockey team. Building an ice rink close to campus, scholarships, equipment and travel all add up rather quickly. However, it has been done before. Arizona State was able to move their club team into a Division I team after two alumni of the school heard about their ambitions and made a multi-million dollar donation to the team. Penn State had a similar story in 2010, when PSU alumnus Terrence Pegula also made a multi-million dollar donation to their athletics program, so their club team could move up to the NCAA. Once the ball gets rolling, as with the varsity sports like football and basketball, the continuous funding for the future would come from small but impactful donations to the program, from fans and boosters.
In order to make this a reality, there are a couple of things you as alumni can do.
- Help spread the word! We know that many Bruins are involved in the hockey community and some may have the resources to help.
- Donate to the team through the UCLA Foundation and UCLA Spark. Every little bit of financial assistance helps, as we are currently a student-run team.
There comes a point when we must realize that an elite program like ours has a ceiling it must break through, because that is what we do as Bruins. The time is now to pursue an NCAA Division I hockey team and be the first school on the West Coast to do it.
Learn more by visiting the UCLA Ice Hockey team’s
website. Catch their recent appearance on the
“What’s Bruin Symposium” podcast (skip to 22:50 mark). The team’s fundraising campaign will go live in late April or early May. Keep track of any updates through their
social media pages.
Marc-Anthony Rosas is a fourth-year, second-year transfer student studying communications at UCLA. Marc is heavily involved with the UCLA community, serving as the marketing director for both the UCLA Ice Hockey team and the Alumni Scholars Club, as well as being a Gold Shield Scholar and photo contributor for the Daily Bruin.
