UCLA's 1968 football team manager commits $10 million to the program

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To compete with the best teams in the country, you’ve got to spend like them. It’s taken some time to adjust but the UCLA Bruins football program is trying to catch up to the rest of the Big Ten Conference with their NIL budget.

After a long run of SEC supremacy in college football, three Big Ten schools have won the past three College Football Playoff championships, in part because Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana have had deeper pockets. 

On Wednesday, UCLA football announced that UCLA alum Angelo Mazzone III committed $10 million towards the Bruins program. In the release, it was said that the purpose of Mazzone’s commitment was to “To endow the UCLA head coach position and strengthen key areas that advance student-athlete success.”

Money talks in college football, and to attract the top players, you got to give them appealing NIL offers, and since Bob Chesney has taken over with UCLA, he’s gotten to work building up donations and raising funds for the program.

“A gift of this magnitude from such a dedicated, impactful and cherished member of the Bruin family is deeply humbling,” Chesney said in the release. “Angelo’s commitment reflects an unwavering belief in what this program stands for. We will work every day to honor that trust. We can’t thank him enough for investing in the future of our student-athletes and the success of UCLA football.”

Mazzone was UCLA’s football manager back in 1968. Decades later, the Chicago native is still helping the Bruins football program. In the release, it was stated that Mazzone had never missed a single UCLA home game in almost six decades.

“UCLA has been responsible for all the greatest things that have happened in my life,” Mazzone said in the release. “Much of what I have accomplished is going right back there. I am indebted to the relationships I’ve enjoyed with so many very special people as part of the UCLA Football family.” 

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA gets a large financial commitment from a former team manager

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