Inside UCLA with Brian Dohn

More on Fauria to UCLA

2009-07-03T21:15:09Z

Here is the story I wrote for online on former Notre Dame tight end Joseph Fauria saying he is heading to UCLA.
(As a side note, if Colorado transfer Josh Smith wants to go to UCLA, I was told there will be a scholarship for him.)

Fauria to UCLA

2009-07-03T20:38:01Z

I spoke with former Notre Dame tight end Joseph Fauria and he said is going to UCLA. He said he broke the news to everyone via his Facebook page last night, and he added his phone was "blowing up'' since then.
I will have more shortly.

Pauley seating brochure

2009-07-03T20:00:35Z

Here is a copy of the point plan and season ticket plan for seats in the renovated Pauley Pavilion: COC_SeatingGuide.pdf
Also, I received a few inquiries about the Q&A this week. Like I mentioned last week, the Q&A is on hiatus this week because of the holiday. I am also taking vacation at the end of next week, so the Q&A will not return until the end of the month.

Aboya to Mavs camp; then Europe?

2009-07-03T17:43:55Z

The agent for Alfred Aboya said the former UCLA center will play for the Dallas Mavericks in the Las Vegas summer league, which begins July 10.
Bouna Ndiaye said during the summer league he will meet with representatives from at least five European teams, and he expects Aboya to agree to terms with one of them by the end of the month,
"We'll do something were there is an out in the contract to play in the NBA," Ndiaye said.
Ndiaye said two teams in Spain and France and another in Turkey are interested in signing Aboya. He added Aboya could sign for $200,000 annually to play overseas.

Today's stuff

2009-07-03T16:08:57Z

Here is the football notebook I wrote for today's paper. It deals with Sonny Tevaga leaving the program and the newly signed UCLA-Rutgers series.
As a side note, the series with the Scarlet Knights came about when Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel was at a golf outing and met Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti. Both were talking about the difficulty of scheduling non-conference games, and they began talking about possible games.

Venegas let go

2009-07-03T00:38:21Z

After 28 years at UCLA, including the last 10 as the men's track and field coach, Art Venegas was let go.
Here is the release from UCLA:

]]> ART VENEGAS WILL NOT RETURN AS UCLA HEAD MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD COACH

Art Venegas, who has served as UCLA's head men's track and field coach for the past 10 years, will not return for the 2009-10 school year, it was announced today by Glenn L. Toth, Sr. Associate Athletic Director and sport supervisor for the track and field program.
One of the nation's premier throws coaches, Venegas led the Bruins to one Pac-10 team championship and two West Region team titles during his decade as the Bruin head coach. In 2009, the Bruins placed fifth at the Pac-10 championships and seventh at the West Regional. They did not score a point at the NCAA championships last month. His contract expired on June 30.
"We appreciate everything Art has done for the program during his 28 years as both an assistant and head coach," said Toth. "But we felt a change in leadership was necessary for the program at this time.
"Art is the preeminent throws coach in the nation. We extended an offer to him to remain on the staff to coach our throwers, but he declined."
Venegas joined the UCLA staff for the 1982 season and served as an assistant coach for 16 years before to becoming head coach prior to the 2000 season. For most of his tenure in Westwood, he coached both the men and women throwers, producing numerous Pac-10 and NCAA champions, as well as Olympians.
The process of hiring a new head coach will begin immediately.

UCLA's Playboy all-American

2009-07-02T23:02:56Z

UCLA long snapper Christian Yount was selected as a preseason all-American by Playboy. However, unlike year's past, when the magazine hosted a weekend party for the members of the team, one will not be staged this season.

]]> UCLA'S CHRISTIAN YOUNT NAMED TO PLAYBOY ALL-AMERICA TEAM

UCLA junior long snapper Christian Yount has been named to the 2009 Playboy Magazine pre-season All-America team. He is the first-ever player at his position to make the team.

Yount has handled every snap on punts, field goals and PATs for the Bruins for the past two years.

"In the early days of the Playboy All-America Team, we only selected 11 players because at that time, players played both ways, offense and defense," said Playboy's Gary Cole, who selects the team. "Over the years, skills in college football have become increasingly specialized. Many years ago we added a punter and place kicker position on the team. And then several years ago we added a kick returner as we recognized that specialized talent had become an important part of the game.

"This year we added two additional positions: pass rush specialist and long snapper. The pass rush specialist can be a difference maker for his team even though he may not be an every down player. And we realized there was another very important player at an unsung hero kind of position because the skill involved was usually noted only when a mistake was made...and that's the long snapper position. Without an accurate and reliable long snapper, punters and kickers have a much tougher time doing their job. A significant mistake by the long snapper can very well be a game changer.

"In selecting Christian Yount as our first ever long snapper, we talked to several pro scouts as well as a couple of training schools that teach long snapping. The one player everyone seemed to agree on was Christian."

Rutgers' side

2009-07-02T19:25:19Z

Here is the release from Rutgers about the two-year football series with UCLA:

]]> Rutgers Football Announces Two-Game Series with UCLA
Series to Begin with 2016 Season-Opener on Thursday Night in Piscataway

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (July 2, 2009) - Rutgers and UCLA have reached an agreement on a home-and-home series beginning in 2016 at Rutgers Stadium. The Bruins will travel across the country to face the Scarlet Knights Thursday, September 1, 2016 in the season-opener for both schools.

Rutgers will make the return trip to the West Coast to open the 2017 season on Saturday, September 2.

"We are excited for our football program and especially for our fans to be playing UCLA," said Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti. "This series will have tremendous national appeal anchored in the two largest media markets in the country."

Rutgers and UCLA have never met on the gridiron. The game in 2017 will be just the second game in school history in the state of California for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers played at California to open the 1999 season.

Season tickets for 2009 are currently on sale and are available at ScarletKnights.com or by calling the Rutgers Ticket Office at 1-866-445-GORU. Rutgers opens the 2009 season Monday, Sept. 7 vs. Cincinnati at the newly-expanded Rutgers Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN.

UCLA vs. Rutgers football

2009-07-02T18:19:47Z

UCLA will open the 2016 football season in Piscataway, N.J, in 2016 and the host the Scarlet Knights in the 2017 season opener. Here is more:

]]> UCLA ADDS RUTGERS TO FUTURE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

UCLA and Rutgers have agreed to a two-year, home-and-home football series, the UCLA Athletic Department announced on Thursday.

The Bruins will open the 2016 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights will travel to the Rose Bowl to open the 2017 season on Saturday, Sept. 2.

"We feel this will be an exciting West Coast-East Coast matchup. Rutgers is one of the top programs in the Big East Conference," said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "The game will give our alumni in that area a chance to see the Bruins in person and should provide us with some outstanding East Coast exposure."

These two games will be the first meetings between the Bruins and the Scarlet Knights.

UCLA's future non-conference schedules include Kansas State (Sept. 4), Houston (Sept. 11 at home) and Texas (Sept. 18) in 2010; Houston (Sept. 3), San Jose State (Sept. 10 at home) and Texas (Sept. 17 at home) in 2011; Rice (Sept. 1), Nebraska (Sept. 8 at home) and Houston (Sept. 15 at home) in 2012; Nevada (August 31 at home) and Nebraska (Sept. 14) in 2013; UNLV (Sept. 12) and Nevada (Sept. 19 at home) in 2015 and Rutgers (Sept. 1), UNLV (Sept. 10 at home) and Nevada (Sept. 17) in 2016.
.

Tevaga no longer with program

2009-07-02T17:08:59Z

Offensive lineman Sonny Tevaga is no longer with the program. I am told it is an academic issue, and he will not be with the team in the fall.
Here is a release from UCLA about other things (including UCLA's first acknowledgment of E.J. Woods not being with the program any longer):

]]> Safety E.J. Woods and offensive lineman Sonny Tevaga are no longer members of the football team. Woods plans to transfer to a local junior college. Tevaga is exploring his options.

***

UCLA alumnus Troy Aikman will be throwing out the first pitch at this afternoon's Padres home game at PetCo Park in San Diego. Aikman is a part-owner of the team.

***

Concordia College of California will be the men's basketball team's first exhibition opponent this season. The Bruins will host Concordia on Wed., Nov. 4. The exhibition game with Humboldt State will now be played on Tues., Nov. 10.

***

BusterSports.com is currently running a series on the top football coaches in Pac-10 history. Several of UCLA's head coaches are on the list, including No. 27 Pepper Rodgers, No. 24 Rick Neuheisel, No. 21 Bob Toledo, No. 19 Dick Vermeil, No. 5 Terry Donahue and No. 4 Tommy Prothro. The top three selections have not yet been announced. To view the series, go to: http://www.bustersports.com/blog/pac-10-news

UCLA's DB commitment

2009-07-02T15:15:24Z

Here is video of UCLA's newest commit, defensive back Earnest Thomas from St. Mary Prep of Orchard Lake, Mich.

(Sorry for the late word, but I was not available most of Tuesday)

Shipp and the Bulls

2009-07-01T21:09:44Z

While I am told UCLA wing Josh Shipp has an offer of more than $200,000 to play in Italy, I am also being told he really wants to give the NBA a shot and may go that direction. A source told me Shipp has an invitation to play for the Chicago Bulls in a summer league.

Pricing and seating

2009-07-01T18:39:17Z

Playing in Inglewood

2009-07-01T16:04:41Z

Here is the story I wrote about UCLA's system of awarding points to decide seat locations in the renovated Pauley Pavilion.
Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero also acknowledged what I had reported several times, which is the likely happening of the Bruins playing the majority of their games during the 2011-12 season at The Forum.
There will also be an attempt to play a few games at Staples Center and host a Pac-10 weekend series at The Honda Center in Anaheim.

Football tickets on sale July 1

2009-07-01T03:28:51Z

Single game tickets for UCLA football games go on sale Wednesday. Here is a reminder/release from UCLA:

]]> UCLA Single-Game Football Tickets Go On Sale July 1

Bruins host six opponents at the Rose Bowl

Single-game tickets for the 2009 football season go on sale Wednesday, July 1. Fans wishing to purchase tickets can call the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/UCLA-WIN or purchase them online at www.uclabruins.com and go to the Tickets page.

2009 opponents at the Rose Bowl include San Diego State on Sept. 5, Kansas State on Sept. 19, Oregon on Oct. 10, California on Oct. 17, Washington on Nov. 7 and Arizona State on Nov. 21.

What do you think of UCLA's pricing and point system for the renovated Pauley Pavilion?
	I like it all
	Too costly, but I like the points
	Cost is right, but I don't like the points
	It is too early for me to figure out
	I can't afford season tickets
	Who cares?

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