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The UCLA students’ section announced its plan to move to a new spot in the Rose Bowl which could cause issue for visiting teams. It comes alongside a major shift in the program’s future path.
The Bruins are set to join the Big Ten in 2024, moving away from the PAC 12 with USC, Washington, and Oregon. In hopes to become one of the league’s most hostile environments, an announcement was made this week.
“The Den” is set to move locations for the 2024-25 season, allowing students to be in a section much, much closer to the action.
Part 1 👀 pic.twitter.com/jwbbHW01EM
— The Den (@uclatheden) February 14, 2024
“For this upcoming football season, UCLA athletics has announced a relocation of the UCLA students’ section at the Rose Bowl,” said Syd Imus on the Westwood Update.
“This section will be directly along the East sideline, making it the only students’ section in the Big Ten conference to be right behind the opponent’s bench.”
Having a few thousand riled up Bruin students nearby could make things a bit more difficult on visiting teams.
We’ve seen fans get into the heads of opponents before, with trash talk and off-field antics causing players to interact with the crowd when they should be focused on the game.
The move comes amid a huge transition in UCLA football.
UCLA hired a new coach to lead team into B1G.
Not only are the Bruins headed to a new conference in 2024, but they’ll also have a new leader on the sidelines. Former UCLA RB DeShaun Foster takes over as head coach after Chip Kelly bolted for Ohio State.
Foster brings a new energy along with him, as well as a passion to see the program he once played for achieve success.
Players were ecstatic to see him announced as head coach, with many believing his attitude and plan for the future will lead the team back to national relevance.
That’s yet to be seen, but the athletics department is doing everything it can to spark excitement into the football program.
Chip Kelly posted a 35-34 overall record with the program over his six seasons, and outside interest in the team saw its ups and downs – mainly downs!
Attendance numbers were at their lowest in 30 years, according to Ben Bolch of the LA Times.
“Home attendance has become a sad storyline for the Bruins… [UCLA posted] average attendances of 43,848 in 2019, 45,818 in 2021 and 41,593 in 2022 — the three lowest totals since the team started calling the Rose Bowl home in 1982.”
It got to the point where not one, but two massive Bruin-themed tarps were placed in the endzones to cover up all the empty seats!
With Kelly out, a UCLA legend in, and a conference transition on the horizon, hopes are that fan support will see an uptick. Maybe this students’ section change can help spark a positive start to the DeShaun Foster era.