UCLA parts ways with AD Martin Jarmond, brings in former Lakers exec Tim Harris

UCLA is making a change atop its athletic department, parting ways with athletic director Martin Jarmond after six years and replacing him with longtime Los Angeles Lakers executive Tim Harris.

Chancellor Julio Frenk announced the move Monday afternoon in an email to the UCLA community, framing the change around the financial challenges facing an athletic department trying to adapt to a rapidly changing college sports landscape.

“UCLA Athletics currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable,” Frenk said in the statement.

“Now is the moment to build a model for Athletics that protects the breadth of our program, creates new opportunities for student-athletes and coaches, and supports itself through the revenue it generates.”

Harris, a UCLA alumnus and former soccer player, will serve as “CEO” and director of athletics on a pro bono basis for the time being. He spent more than 35 years with the Lakers, most recently as president of business operations, and will be tasked with developing “a new strategy to grow revenue through partnerships, licensing and other ventures.”

“Simply put, he loves UCLA and cares deeply about our future,” Frenk said of Harris. “Tim knows what it takes to grow a world-class sports organization and global brand, and he holds longstanding relationships throughout Los Angeles and globally.”

The unusual CEO title underscores UCLA’s emphasis on the business side of its athletic department at a time when schools face mounting expenses from revenue sharing, NIL and the broader professionalization of college sports.

Jarmond arrived at UCLA from Boston College in 2020 and helped steer the department through one of the most turbulent stretches in college sports history. His tenure included the COVID-19 pandemic, UCLA’s transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten and the advent of NIL and revenue-sharing.

UCLA’s move to the Big Ten, which was announced in 2022 and took effect in 2024, dramatically increased UCLA’s media-rights revenue and was among the defining moves of Jarmond’s tenure. He also helped UCLA recover from Under Armour’s efforts to terminate its record-setting apparel agreement, with the sides eventually reaching a $67.5 million settlement and the school signing a six-year deal with Nike and Jordan Brand.

The Bruins enjoyed considerable success across their athletic department under Jarmond, winning nine NCAA team championships during his six-year tenure, including three during the 2025-26 academic year, and finishing third in the most recent Directors’ Cup standings behind only Texas and Stanford.

But UCLA’s persistent financial problems remained a concern.

The athletic department was running deficits before Jarmond arrived, and the pandemic exacerbated those problems, producing a $62.5 million shortfall during the 2021 fiscal year. The department continued to operate at a deficit in subsequent years, including a $21.6 million shortfall in fiscal year 2025 despite its arrival in the more lucrative Big Ten and $30 million in direct institutional support from UCLA. The shortfall came even as UCLA received more than $61 million in Big Ten media-rights revenue revenue during its first year in the conference.

Football also became a source of increasing pressure.

Jarmond inherited head coach Chip Kelly, who left for a coordinator position at Ohio State in February 2024. UCLA then hired former Bruins star running back DeShaun Foster after a brief search, but Foster lasted just 15 games before being fired following an 0-3 start to the 2025 season. The struggles contributed to growing frustration among portions of UCLA’s fan and donor base. A black van drove around UCLA’s campus with billboards advocating for Jarmond’s firing last September. A few days later, airplane banners flew around the Rose Bowl reading “FIRE UCLA AD MARTIN JARMOND.”

Critics also questioned whether UCLA’s athletic department had adapted quickly enough to the NIL era. But Jarmond later worked with a search committee that included prominent UCLA figures Bob Myers, Adam Peters and Casey Wasserman on the hiring of Bob Chesney, who quickly injected hope and optimism into the football program.

The change in leadership comes less than two years after UCLA extended Jarmond’s contract through June 2029. At the time, the school praised his leadership through UCLA’s conference realignment and his efforts to improve the athletic department’s financial position. ESPN reported Monday that Jarmond will be owed approximately $6.5 million on the remainder of that contract.

His departure also comes after a successful year outside of football. UCLA won national championships in women’s basketball, men’s water polo and beach volleyball in the 2025-26 school year, while the department said it raised more than $41 million from donors during the fiscal year, an increase of more than 80 percent over two years.

Harris now inherits the challenge that ultimately defined the end of Jarmond’s tenure: finding a way to maintain UCLA’s broad athletic success while making its increasingly expensive operation financially sustainable.

“I believe UCLA should help lead the transformation of intercollegiate athletics,” Frenk said in the statement, “our future must be shaped by purpose — not by pressure.”