UCLA’s athletic department has a robust tradition in sports outside of football, which makes the pay scale more reliant on outside funding.

You want to play big-time ball. You want to have haters. You want all this stuff,” the coach says of adding the QB viewed as the transfer portal’s top player.

The Bruins faltered in Foster's first campaign at the helm in 2024, posting a 5-7 record in their inaugural season in the Big Ten. Former head coach Chip Kelly had previously led UCLA to three-straight seasons of at least eight wins in the Pac-12 .