This post was updated March 7 at 6:14 p.m.
They came early. They waited patiently. They abided by the rules.
Even still, the promise of order crumbled. Their efforts and loyalty were swallowed by a breakdown that could not be predicted. It was something of a cruel joke.
Despite students’ best efforts, the system faltered and the majority were left without the wristbands they should have been assured. Excitement melted into frustration as the clock ticked closer to tipoff.
UCLA students lined up outside Pauley Pavilion waiting to receive a wristband, guaranteeing an entrance into the most anticipated women’s basketball game of the year between two of the nation’s most elite programs.
Los Angeles enemies – No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball and No. 4 USC – were preparing to battle for the Big Ten regular season title. It was to be a night of unfiltered school spirit pulsing through section 122.
Decked out in Bruin gear, students were fueled by the thrill and anticipation that permeated a marquee matchup for the ages – a sold-out crowd, the final game of the regular season and the last stop before the madness of the postseason.
The students thought the four letters on their chests were supposed to prioritize them at Pauley Pavilion.
They were wrong.
The utter mismanagement by UCLA Athletics on Saturday night quickly sabotaged what could have been an unforgettable celebration and embodiment of Bruin pride in the last regular season game of the year against their fiercest rival.
Somehow, it was instead a lesson in institutional betrayal.
“I honestly feel betrayed by UCLA, and I don’t know if it was because they estimated that no students would come to the women’s game, but if so, they were very wrong,” said Harper Dunn, a third-year linguistics and computer science student who arrived well ahead of time at 1:45 p.m., more than four hours before tipoff. “I hate to say this, but part of the reason we lost was that Pauley lacked the student atmosphere and crowd that USC had at Galen (Center) the last time we played them.”
Students were told to line up outside Pauley Pavilion starting at 2 p.m. to collect wristbands for the 6 p.m. tipoff.
A chaotic scramble unfolded, where students were given conflicting instructions. Lines shifted unpredictably. Those who had patiently waited – some even formed a pre-line at 1:30 p.m. – were left in the dust by a wave of last-minute stragglers.
Rumors circulated among students in line that 500 wristbands would be handed out. In an interview after the game, a UCLA Athletics spokesperson initially told the Daily Bruin that 500 “were given out to students.”
However, after further investigation, The Bruin found that 50 were earmarked for members of The Den and 50 for UCLA student-athletes – leaving just 400 for the general student body. After repeated questioning, UCLA Athletics confirmed the breakdown.
The complete lack of transparency on ticket availability before 2 p.m. Saturday is a glaring flaw.
With no official word on the count released ahead of time, students hoped for a rumored 500 in the haze of uncertainty. And it was all only for a meager 400 making it into students’ hands.
As chaos reigned in the line, many students even pegged the number of wristbands handed out at just 100 – underscoring the disarray and utter lack of structure with the process.
“I wasn’t able to get a wristband, and I was a bit confused on how the system worked because they weren’t distributing them – or, I guess, they were distributing them in batches, and they were holding some people back and letting people go, and it was a bit confusing,” said Jamie Woo, a third-year business economics student.
And yet UCLA Athletics had no problem using those same students for entertainment.
Coaches came out. Players came out. Free pizza, snacks, gummies and giveaways were handed out amid the backdrop of a DJ blasting music. Video cameras rolled as UCLA Athletics captured the hype surrounding the electric crowd on Bruin Walk and the line that wrapped all around the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Coach Cori Close handed out pizza and engaged with fans, and UCLA football quarterback Joey Aguilar took selfies with fellow students. Close even interviewed a student for 10 minutes.
All the entertainment was only to be discarded once the administration’s usefulness for optics expired. Once they milked the moment for social media engagement, there were no more wristbands. No transparency, and certainly no accountability. Above all, it was the irony that stung.
Outside Pauley Pavilion, UCLA flaunted the image of student engagement – carefully curating clips and staging displays of school passion.
Inside, UCLA handed out a measly 400 wristbands to fill an arena able to hold approximately 13,800.
It was a laughable insult.
Already, the Den Pass excludes all female sports – an issue that begs for its own discussion. But that meant a mere 2.9% of Pauley Pavilion was deemed worthy of student presence. The rest? Head home.
Already, the Den Pass excludes all female sports – an issue that begs for its own discussion. But that meant a mere 0.7% of Pauley Pavilion was deemed worthy of student presence. The rest? Head home.
“Suddenly they were just like, ‘All the rest of the fans, you’re not going to get a wristband. Don’t try, there’s no reason for you to stay in line anymore,’” said Heer Singlot, a second-year psychobiology student who was outside Pauley Pavilion by 2:02 p.m. and still didn’t get a ticket. “We asked one of the other workers, and they were like, ‘Just watch the game at home or something because we just ran out of wristbands.’”
Is that what student support means to UCLA? Telling the loudest fans in the arena – the die-hard Bruins who bleed blue and gold – to watch from their dorms? And that too, for a top-five matchup – one that was to be the crown jewel of the season?
There’s always critique of a lack of student presence at Pauley Pavilion. But Saturday night, the university set its own students up to fail. They were ready to “pack Pauley” – as is often demanded of them – yet were instead treated like disposable extras.
“It’s not that women’s sports don’t have fans, it’s that us fans couldn’t even get into the game,” Dunn said. “This is such a blow to women’s sports fans at UCLA and will definitely have negative effects on the student involvement in future women’s basketball games, especially if nothing changes. We have one of the best teams in the country – us students should be able to watch our team play.”
Second-year psychology student Zoe Schnack said there was no ticketing difficulty when UCLA men’s basketball took on USC on Feb. 24 last year – despite her being farther back in line than she was Saturday – casting a glaring light on the persistent gender imbalance in sports.
Students are not the accessories for game day – they are the game day experience. And if the university does not recognize and respect that, pride will become nothing more than a facade.
Contributing reports by Ella Dunderdale, Daily Bruin contributor.
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