After UCLA drew a head-shaking small crowd of 3,619 at Pauley Pavilion for a game against Eastern Washington last week, the school announced that future nonconference games against Arizona State, Pepperdine, West Georgia, Sacramento State, Presbyterian, Cal-Poly and Cal-Riverside will be free for all UCLA students. John Wooden and Bill Walton must be turning over in their basketball graves.
UCLA’s lack of popularity can be traced to coach Mick Cronin’s slow-down offense, his lack of connectivity to the UCLA fan base and his grouchy persona. I mean, who hired this guy?
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin talks to the players bench during the first half against Eastern Washington Nov. 3, 2025, in Los Angeles.Â
When Arizona plays UCLA on Friday at the Intuit Dome near LAX, home of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, I strongly suspect that more than half of those in attendance at the 18,300-seat arena will be Arizona fans. You can thank Cronin for that.
How much is Arizona paying men's hoops players? Possibly around $4.16 million total
