UCLA History

UCLA is actually the acronym of the University of California, Los Angeles. This institution, which was founded in 1881, was originally referred to as the California State Normal School's Los Angeles branch. However, the name was changed to the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919 when it was given a university status. In 1927, the institution changed its name to University of California, Los Angeles. It is considered as one of the oldest general-purpose institutions in the system of the University of California.

The sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles are actually called the Bruins. Two of the important sports competitions where the UCLA Bruins participate in are the Pacific Ten Conference and the NCAA Division I-A. The home venue of the Bruins Football team is the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Meanwhile, Pauley Pavilion, which is located right at the campus of the university, is the home venue for the basketball, the volleyball, as well as the women's gymnastic teams.

The first mascot of the University of California, Los Angeles is called Rags, a little fuzzy dog found by the school's gardener in 1918 in the lawn of the campus. However, UCLA adopted a cub as its mascot when Berkeley got the golden bear. In 1920, after winning several football games, the university adopted a grizzly bear as its new mascot. But when UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference, they had to change their mascot again since the University of Montana is already known as the Grizzlies. Since Berkeley was known as both the Bear and the Bruins, the Los Angeles branch of the University of California just decided to use the name Bruins. So in 1928, a few days after the student council approved the new mascot name, the school organ changed its name from Cub Californian to the Daily Bruin. It is also important for the Bruins fans to know that these mascots were real live bears during the early years. Nevertheless, even if the bears were trained, many believed that they were not safe around many fans and spectators, thus in the 1960s, the university decided to simply use student mascots. During the 1967 football games, Joe Bruin was joined by Josephine Bruin, the first woman mascot. Up to the present, you will see both Joe and Josephine Bruin sashaying, dancing, and jumping their hearts out during sports events where the school is involved.

Aside from the mascots, the other important school tradition is the UCLA colors and fight songs. Just like in other schools, the colors of the university have undergone a number of changes. However in 2004, the university Chancellor has decided to make the sun gold and deep sky blue as the exact hues that will represent the school. Furthermore, black, white, or blue can be used for the logo of the University of California, Los Angeles, while gold should only be used as an accent color. Meanwhile, the popular fight songs of the Bruins are the Mighty Bruins and Sons of Westwood.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching college football on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the SEC and the UCLA Bruins. Check out his UCLA Bruins Merchandise or his UCLA Bruins Blankets

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