UCLA fans raising money to fly banner showing displeasure with football program
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $6,400 of the $15,000 requested to finance a mobile billboard and an airplane banner expressing frustration with the direction of UCLA’s football program.
The Bruins (4-5 overall, 2-4 Pac-12 Conference) have lost two consecutive games and must win two of their final three games to avoid a second consecutive losing season under coach Jim Mora. The team has gone 9-16 since late in the 2015 season.
“We are ready for a change and we want the UCLA Athletic Department to hear us loud and clear,” the page states. “They’ve ignored us for a long time but they won’t be able to any longer. We are the passionate fan base that supports the program each Saturday. We demand change now. The commitment to winning is not important to the current administration and we won’t stand for it any longer. We will get our message out: We want change.”
As of Sunday evening, the site created Oct. 30 had received contributions from 40 individuals.
A UCLA spokesperson declined to comment.
The GoFundMe site features a picture of UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero’s face superimposed over the Bruin mascot as part of the school logo, with the words “UCLA Ruined.”
According to the site, the contributions would go toward an airplane banner being flown for five days for 20 minutes, though it does not specify where the banner would be flown. On the last day, the site says, the banner would be flown twice with two different messages including 45 letters per banner.
A banner was flown over UCLA’s campus saying “MARCH MADNESS IS NOT FIRING ALFORD” in March 2016 after coach Steve Alford’s basketball team completed the 2015-16 season with a 15-17 record. Alford was retained and guided the Bruins to a 31-5 record last season that included the team’s third appearance in an NCAA tournament regional semifinal in four years.
UCLA’s football team next plays Arizona State (5-4, 4-2) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, where the Bruins have gone 4-0 this season.
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