UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero held a press conference Tuesday following men’s basketball coach Steve Alford’s announcement that he would return the one-year contract extension granted to him in 2014.
Ever since the team’s early exit from the Pac-12 tournament in early March, UCLA fans have signed a petition requesting Alford’s firing and have flown planes over campus towing banners with similar messages. For Guerrero, it’s been one of the most challenging stretches of his 14-year tenure as athletic director.
“Honestly, I wish that they hadn’t done that, in that I would rather have those individuals, down the road, spend their money on supporting this program, buying season tickets,” Guerrero said in regards to the fan response to the men’s basketball season. “Maybe donating to the basketball program, (rather) than buying planes with banners. Now, bottom line is, we have to earn their trust back. You do that by putting a great product on the floor, and winning.”
Guerrero remained steadfast on his decision to stick with Alford and his coaching staff, saying it was Alford who approached him about returning his extension. The athletic director said he didn’t want the program to become a “coaching carousel,” where coaches are cycled through every few years.
“We’re about building a program and doing our best to build our program the right way,” Guerrero said. “There are very few coaches around the country that, in their first two years, at any place, will go to two Sweet 16s. You would hope that we would’ve been able to build on that. And we didn’t.”
Guerrero also touched on issues outside of men’s basketball, including start times for football games, the Adidas contract due up next year and the possibility of him staying on as athletic director after his contract ends in 2019.
While Guerrero lamented that he had used all influence he had to work for a more advantageous game schedule, he does have control over the apparel contract. The options for UCLA are to stay with Adidas or switch to Nike or Under Armour – a trend many other Division I programs are following.
“There is no question that there are three major players now in this space,” Guerrero said. “And certainly as you look to position yourself with some of your competition, you need to be strategic as well with how that might benefit your own program.”
With more big decisions on the horizon, Guerrero can only hope that fans stop using planes to try to influence his thinking.
Email Fahy at cfahy@media.ucla.edu or tweet her @clairemfahy.