UCLA to get $10 million from alumnus to support football

One of UCLA’s biggest athletic donors has come through with another massive gift.

Alumnus Angelo M. Mazzone III has committed $10 million to the football program to endow the Bruins’ head coach position in his name and provide support for key areas of need.

It’s just the latest generous gesture from Mazzone, who has an entrance and ticket booth at the Rose Bowl named in his honor, as well as an outdoor terrace at the Wasserman Football Center on campus.

“Angelo’s extraordinary commitment reflects the deep connections so many Bruins feel to this university and to the role athletics plays in our community,” UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a statement. “His generosity will help ensure that our student-athletes have the support and resources they need to succeed — on the field, in the classroom, and in life. We are deeply grateful for his enduring belief in UCLA and its future.”

Mazzone has been providing support for nearly 50 years after earning his bachelor’s and graduate law degrees from UCLA.

In 2023, He pledged $1 million to UCLA athletics’ Then Now and Forever Fund.

His new gift will enable UCLA to provide sustained resources for the head coaching position, maintain the broader infrastructure needed to compete at the highest level and strengthen key areas that impact player success, including academics, health and performance.

“A gift of this magnitude from such a dedicated, impactful and cherished member of the Bruin family is deeply humbling,” Bob Chesney, the Angelo M. Mazzone III UCLA Head Football Coach, said in a statement. “Angelo’s commitment reflects an unwavering belief in what this program stands for. We will work every day to honor that trust. We can’t thank him enough for investing in the future of our student-athletes and the success of UCLA football.”

A native of Chicago who arrived in Los Angeles in 1968 to become UCLA’s football manager after having served in the same role at his high school, Mazzone went on to attend UCLA’s law school while also serving as an assistant athletic director under J.D. Morgan.

At the time, Mazzone was the youngest assistant athletic director at a major Division I program. He was later promoted to associate athletic director, overseeing 14 coaches. He left his position in 1982 to pursue business ventures but has never missed a UCLA home football game and has missed only 10 away games in nearly six decades.

“UCLA has been responsible for all the greatest things that have happened in my life,” Mazzone said in a statement. “Much of what I have accomplished is going right back there. I am indebted to the relationships I’ve enjoyed with so many very special people as part of the UCLA football family.”

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