{"id":482592,"date":"2026-02-21T20:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482592\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T20:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T20:50:09","slug":"ucla-bruins-to-play-at-rose-bowl-in-2026-instead-of-sofi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/482592\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA Bruins to play at Rose Bowl in 2026 instead of SoFi"},"content":{"rendered":"

As it moves into the Bob Chesney era<\/a>, UCLA football is preserving some familiarity: The Bruins will stay at the Rose Bowl<\/a> for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The decision is sure to please scores of fans who wistfully attended the team\u2019s final home game last fall, worried it could be an unceremonious sendoff at the century-old stadium as the school contemplated a possible move to SoFi Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now those fans can make their tailgating plans for the Bruins\u2019 home opener against San Diego State on Sept. 12 and the rest of the team\u2019s first season under its new coach.<\/p>\n

A general view of the interior of Rose Bowl Stadium before the game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington Huskies on November 22, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Luke Hales\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cUCLA will play the upcoming football season at the Rose Bowl,\u201d Mary Osako, UCLA\u2019s vice chancellor of strategic communications, said in a statement provided to the California Post. \u201cWe know how much game day means to Bruins \u2014 to our students, alumni and fans who plan their autumn around Saturdays together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur priority is delivering a strong season experience for our student-athletes and our community, and we have great momentum in our football program. During this unprecedented time in college athletics, UCLA will always be guided by what\u2019s best for our student-athletes and the Bruin community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying at least one more season at the Rose Bowl is believed to be a university-wide decision made in lockstep between top campus administrators and the athletic department as the school navigates a college football landscape that seems to change by the day.<\/p>\n

The school remains embroiled in a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl as part of those entities\u2019 attempts to keep UCLA as a tenant at its longtime football home.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs have contended that UCLA\u2019s abandonment of a lease that runs through the 2043 season would constitute \u201cirreparable harm\u201d for which no amount of money could compensate the Rose Bowl and the surrounding community.<\/p>\n

Both sides are scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday for a status conference. The Rose Bowl recently scored a significant victory in the proceedings when UCLA\u2019s bid to move the case to arbitration was denied.<\/p>\n

UCLA signage is seen outside of Rose Bowl Stadium before the game between the UCLA Bruins and the Washington Huskies on November 22, 2025 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Luke Hales\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Eventually moving to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood would certainly come with benefits. Among other things, it would cut the team\u2019s 26-mile commute to the Rose Bowl in half while also providing a more modern venue that\u2019s currently home to the NFL\u2019s Rams and Chargers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also believed that UCLA would receive suite revenue \u2014 something it does not get at the Rose Bowl \u2014 and financially benefit<\/a> from a planned mixed-use development project in the Inglewood area.<\/p>\n

But there would be drawbacks to a stadium switch beyond the likelihood of having to cut a massive check to the Rose Bowl. Under current policies, tailgating at SoFi Stadium is far more restrictive than at the Rose Bowl, where fans can fire up grills in sprawling parking lots and the surrounding Brookside Golf Course.<\/p>\n

The Rose Bowl also continues to modernize in its efforts to keep pace with newer stadiums. For 2026, the iconic venue is scheduled to unveil a $30-million field-level club in the south end zone that will also include premium seating.<\/p>\n

Bob Chesney answers questions during his introduction as the new head coach for the NCAA college football team Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Marcio Jose Sanchez) AP<\/p>\n

UCLA heads into next season with considerable momentum after making what\u2019s been hailed as perhaps the best hire of the last coaching cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chesney guided James Madison to the College Football Playoff last season and has quickly galvanized a football community longing for success. UCLA hasn\u2019t won a conference title since 1998, which was also the last season the Bruins participated in a Rose Bowl game.<\/p>\n

The hope is that Chesney can elevate the Bruins as he has every team along his rise from NCAA Division III to the big time of the Big Ten. Season tickets<\/a> for next season are already on sale, and sales of premium seats in the south end zone are expected to start soon.<\/p>\n

UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava calls a play during the first half against the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

UCLA\u2019s seven-game home schedule for 2026 also includes games against Purdue on Sept. 19, Wisconsin on Oct. 17, Michigan State on Oct. 24, Nevada on Oct. 31, Illinois on Nov. 14 and USC on Nov. 21.<\/p>\n

The Bruins are trying to significantly boost attendance after installing giant tarps in the end zones to help mask a stadium that\u2019s often been only half full in recent seasons. UCLA averaged 37,282 fans last season at the Rose Bowl \u2014 a record low at the stadium it has called home since the 1982 season.<\/p>\n

Spring football practice is scheduled to start April 2. The first chance for fans to see Chesney\u2019s team compete will be at the spring game on May 2, which is expected to be held at the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n

Loyalists of UCLA\u2019s longtime football home might hail going back to the beloved stadium as the first victory of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As it moves into the Bob Chesney era, UCLA football is preserving some familiarity: The Bruins will stay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[2356,399,398,396,397,142638,99,20737,17392],"class_list":["post-482592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-california","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-rose-bowl","tag-sports","tag-ucla","tag-ucla-bruins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}