UCLA fires athletic director Martin Jarmond, replaces him with ex-Lakers exec Tim Harris
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UCLA has fired athletic director Martin Jarmond and appointed longtime Lakers executive Tim Harris to replace him as CEO and director of athletics.
UCLA chancellor Julio Frenkannounced the change on Monday, ending Jarmond’s run of more than six years that included a stunning move to the Big Ten Conference, a string of conference championships outside of football and a significant financial deficit.
“UCLA Athletics currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable,” Frenk wrote. “Now is the moment to build a model for Athletics that protects the breadth of our program, creates new opportunities for student-athletes and coaches, and supports itself through the revenue it generates. I believe UCLA should help lead the transformation of intercollegiate athletics: our future must be shaped by purpose — not by pressure.”
Frenk cited the rapidly evolving college landscape, including the soaring costs associated with the name, image and likeness athlete compensation era, while announcing the need to shift to Harris’ leadership. Harris is a UCLA alum who spent more than 35 years helping run the Lakers’ business operations.
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“Tim will develop a new strategy to grow revenue through partnerships, licensing and other ventures, while ensuring that our student-athletes and coaches have the required support to compete at the highest level,” Frenk wrote in a letter to UCLA fans while outlining a new direction for the athletics program.
It’s not clear whether Jarmond will receive all or part of the $5.9 million remaining on a recent contract extension that runs through June 30, 2029.
The Bruins won 10 conference championships between the Big Ten and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation during its first season in the Big Ten — more any other Big Ten school. But Jarmond struggled to get the football program on track until he collaborated with a committee on the hire of current coach Bob Chesney, whose vision for the program has many fans more optimistic about the future.
“I am grateful to Martin for his extraordinary service to UCLA and for his leadership over the past six years,” Frenk wrote while announcing the changes.
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Fans called for coach Chip Kelly to be fired after bad home losses to Arizona State and California near the end of the 2023 season, but Jarmond said he preferred continuity with the Bruins poised to join the Big Ten. It seemed Kelly’s contract combined with the an athletic department deficit gave the athletic director little room to make a change.
Two months later, after reportedly interviewing for several coaching vacancies, Kelly took the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.
Self-imposing a 96-hour deadline to find a successor, Jarmond pivoted to Deshaun Foster, a reticent running backs coach who was beloved by players but short on experience. After posting a 5-10 record and going 0-3 to start the 2025 season, Foster was fired. His contract presented fewer hurdles making a quick change when Foster struggled with the demands of the job.
The football program won one bowl game — the L.A. Bowl — during Jarmond’s tenure and set record lows for attendance in multiple seasons.
Jarmond, however, also presided over teams that won nine NCAA championships, including the women’s basketball national title last season.
At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, UCLA athletics carried $51.8 million in debt that required a university bailout. Big Ten revenue has dented the deficit, according to budget figures obtained by the California Post, but the expense of fielding competitive teams in all sports is soaring.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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