UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond, who shepherded the school’s revolutionary move to the Big Ten Conference amid a time of unprecedented change in college athletics, has received a three-year contract extension through 2029.
Among other achievements, Jarmond helped the Bruins land a new apparel contract with Jordan Brand and Nike after Under Armour abandoned its commitment to a record-setting deal with the school and has positioned UCLA’s 25 varsity sports to compete in the evolving name, image and likeness space with several initiatives.
But Jarmond’s biggest move was unquestionably pushing the school’s transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten as part of its efforts to remain a major player in college sports. The conference switch is expected to bring in tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue annually to a debt-ridden athletic department while also preventing the Bruins from having to consider eliminating any Olympic sports.
Jarmond’s extension to a contract set to expire in the summer of 2026 was finalized in the spring, according to the school, at a time when chancellor Gene Block was in his final months on the job. Dr. Julio Frenk will officially succeed Block in January.
“In just four years, Martin has redefined UCLA athletics — creating new opportunities for Bruins to compete on the biggest stages, making major investments in student-athlete wellness and success, taking important steps to shore up the financial health of our athletics enterprise and putting an inclusive culture at the center of the department,” UCLA interim chancellor Darnell Hunt said in a statement. “We are excited that he will continue to shepherd our legendary athletics program into a new era.”
Since replacing Dan Guerrero in the summer of 2020, Jarmond, 44, has presided over an athletic department that has added five NCAA championships and 18 conference titles to its ledger. UCLA’s 123 NCAA championships are the most of any Big Ten school and the second most of any school in the nation, trailing only Stanford’s 136.
But success in the two major revenue sports — football and men’s basketball — has been mixed. The men’s basketball team reached the Final Four in 2021 and won a Pac-12 title in 2023 before backsliding to a losing record last season. The football team has qualified for bowl games in three consecutive seasons and is surging toward a possible fourth consecutive berth under new coach DeShaun Foster, the biggest hire of Jarmond’s 4½ years on the job.
Some fans were unhappy that Jarmond gave two extensions to Foster’s predecessor, Chip Kelly, and was forced to quickly pivot once Kelly departed UCLA to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator earlier this year. In six seasons, Kelly finished with a 35-34 record that included two victories over Football Championship Subdivision teams.
There is also the matter of the athletic department’s massive debt. After running in the red for five consecutive fiscal years, UCLA has amassed a $167.7-million deficit that it must chip away at with measures extending far beyond the move to the Big Ten. Recently, the school announced the hiring of Daniel Cruz as deputy athletics director and chief revenue officer after previous stints with Disney and Marvel Entertainment.
Under Jarmond’s leadership, UCLA won a $67.49-million settlement from Under Armour after the apparel company backed out of its $280-million deal in the summer of 2020. Jarmond also secured a new deal with Jordan Brand and Nike that pays significantly less than the Under Armour arrangement but has been praised by athletes for the quality and cool factor of the new products.
UCLA recently pivoted from Learfield to JMI Sports for an 11-year multimedia rights partnership that will pay the school $108 million through the fiscal year 2035.
Considering the constantly evolving landscape of college athletics, Jarmond has long acknowledged the only way to look is ahead.
“It has been an honor to steward UCLA athletics through four of the most transformative years in college athletics, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to execute on the plan we’ve laid out,” Jarmond said in a statement. “ … We’ve accomplished a lot in four years, but there’s much more to be done.”
