Pauley Pavilion is devoid of showdowns, fans as part of UCLA’s shift to neutral-site games

Three years after boxing announcer Michael Buffer bellowed his famous catchphrase inside Pauley Pavilion, it could be time for UCLA basketball fans to unleash a new expression.

Let’s get ready to grumble!

The Bruins have not staged a home nonconference showdown since beating fourth-ranked Villanova in the second game of the 2021-22 season. It’s been a hodgepodge of opponents from the Big West, Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences since then, with the exception of a game against Maryland last season when the Terrapins finished with a losing record.

UCLA’s game against Idaho State on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion will be the fourth in a string of six nonconference nobodies on their home court before the Bruins start Big Ten play against Washington on Dec. 3.

“The era of home-and-home nonconference games, I mean, how many have you seen?” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Tuesday, alluding to a phenomenon that has affected every major program. “A few. And they were on the back end of the contracts — they’re not going to be renewed, probably.”

Most nonconference showdowns are now held at neutral sites as part of fundraising efforts for name, image and likeness purposes.

UCLA Sports

UCLA’s defense smothers Lehigh as Bruins roll to blowout win

The UCLA basketball team applied relentless pressure and forced 11 turnovers en route to an 85-45 win over Lehigh on Friday at Pauley Pavilion.

Nov. 15, 2024

UCLA played New Mexico earlier this month at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., and has upcoming games against No. 17 Arizona at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, No. 10 North Carolina at Madison Square Garden in New York and No. 3 Gonzaga at the Intuit Dome.

Next season, UCLA will play Arizona at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas before facing the Wildcats the following season at a site to be determined in Los Angeles. It’s a similar situation with Gonzaga, which will face the Bruins next season at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

The reasoning behind these arrangements is simple.

“There’s a promoter involved, the money gets disbursed,” Cronin said. “You can figure it out from there. There’s a reason everybody’s doing it.”

Cronin intimated that there could be even fewer notable nonconference games in future seasons if the Big Ten’s television partners get their wish to expand conference schedules from 20 to 22 games.

The only constant in college sports is change.

“You really think that this is all over?” Cronin said before referencing inequities in college football. “You really think that Ohio State is gonna want to take an equal share of the Big Ten TV money for the rest of time if they and Michigan are selling 100,000 tickets and driving the TV deal, you think they’re going to go for the equal share forever? It’s just like we wanted more [money] in the Pac-12, but once you start down that rabbit hole, where does it end?”

For UCLA basketball fans, it has led to a home schedule with remaining nonconference games against Cal State Fullerton, Southern Utah and Prairie View A&M after the Bruins face Idaho State.

Predictably, home attendance has lagged. UCLA is averaging 4,694 fans for home games, placing the Bruins ahead of only USC (3,753) among the 18 Big Ten teams.

As far as Cronin was concerned, nonconference scheduling was down the list of fan gripes in 2024.

“I think if you were to ask our fans, they would prefer that we were in the Pac-12 and the old Pac-12 was still intact,” Cronin said. “They would pick that first over nonleague games.”

Etc.

Junior point guard Dylan Andrews, who missed the last two games because of a groin injury, practiced Tuesday and is considered questionable for the game against Idaho State.