The timing here is brutal. UCLA is about to kick off the Bob Chesney era on Saturday against Cal, and instead of hype week, the story is about the guy who hired Chesney getting shown the door.
Wow. Just days ahead of Bob Chesney's much-anticipated UCLA debut, his AD is out.
Pete Thamel reported Martin Jarmond has been dismissed as UCLA's athletic director after nearly six years on the job, and he's owed the $6.5 million remaining on his contract. Chris Vannini added that Jarmond's buyout is $6 million with offset — either way, this isn't cheap for a school that's apparently broke.
Sources: Martin Jarmond has been dismissed as UCLA's athletic director. He's set to be owed the $6.5 million remaining on his contract. He's been there since 2020.
Because money is the whole story. UCLA's athletic department ran a $21.6 million deficit in the fiscal year ending June 2025, and the accumulated shortfall under Jarmond has reportedly ballooned past $241 million, forcing the university to bail the department out. Chancellor Julio Frenk cited a "significant financial deficit" in the official announcement, framing the move as a chance to build a new model rather than just a firing.
Big news from UCLA, which cites "significant financial deficit" in announcing Jarmond's dismissal and a chance to build a new model for the program.
Stepping in, on a pro bono basis, is Tim Harris — a former Lakers executive who, per Pete Nakos, had actually been inside the building conducting an audit of the athletic department before getting named CEO and AD himself. That's not a coincidence; that's a guy who saw the books and got put in charge of fixing them.
Tim Harris, the former Lakers executive who has been conducting an audit of the UCLA athletic department, will take over as CEO and athletic director. t.co/ob1NiU0Vil
The football piece makes this land even harder. Jarmond fired DeShaun Foster after UCLA opened last season 0-3, then went out and landed Bob Chesney off a strong run at James Madison. Now Jarmond won't be around to see whether that hire pays off — Chesney debuts as a Bruin this weekend answering to a brand-new boss who's working for free.
UCLA says a full national search for a permanent AD is coming, but for now Harris is running the department pro bono while trying to plug a nine-figure hole. Watch how much runway that buys him — and how the football program performs under a coach whose own AD got fired before his first kickoff.