2016

Simon Hoadley begins as Head Coach

Bringing expertise from New Zealand and training sessions with Eric Murray, Simon seeks to elevate to program to new heights

2018

Marcel Stiffey begins as Head Coach

Marcel joins the program with ten years of coaching experience and hopes to make UCLA Men’s Rowing a premier club program. He brings expertise from his time rowing at Leander Club and has several years of coaching experience at Newport Aquatic Center.

2007

Paul Mokha begins as Head Coach

2008 saw the split in US Collegiate Men’s Rowing from a unified National Champsionships, into the IRA Nationals Champs for Athletic Department teams, and the ACRA National Championships for Recreation Department teams.

1993

Craig Webster begins as Varsity Men's Coach
Webster, who rowed for UCLA from 1986-1989, was an integral part of the 1988 Pac-10 Championship crew that went on to represent UCLA at the Henley Regatta. In 1989, he represented the United States in the straight pair event at the World University Games in Duisburg, West Germany.

1992

Bruins finish 2nd at Pac-10 Championships
In 1992, UCLA finished a close second at the Pac-10 Championships and in the top-8 at the Collegiate Nationals. The Pac-10 winning crew from the University of Washington was so inspired by UCLA's effort that they gave the Bruins their racing jerseys.

1991

Rowing Program dropped from Athletics
In 1991 it was announced that the entire rowing program, both men and women, was being dropped from the UCLA Athletic Department.

1990

Bronze Medal Finish at Nationals
After finishing second at the Pac-10 Championships, the Bruins went on to record the program's highest ever finish at the Collegiate Nationals. Program dropped by Athletics.

1989

Pac-10 Champions
Pac-10 Champions for the third consecutive year the Bruins won the Pac-10 Championship. Coach Zenon Babraj was again named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year after receiving the honor in 1987 and 1988.

1988

Pac-10 Champions
In addition to defending their Pac-10 title in Sacramento, the Bruins won the San Diego Crew Classic and placed third at the Redwood Shores Classic. The UCLA Varsity 8, after placing sixth at the Collegiate Nationals, traveled to England for the Royal Henley Regatta.

1987

Pac-10 Champions in a dramatic grand final
UCLA defeated Cal by five seats to win the 1987 Pac-10 title. The Bruins would go on to represent the conference at the Men's Collegiate Rowing Championships in Cincinnati, placing fourth in a race won by Harvard.

1986

Zenon Babraj begins as Varsity Men's Coach
A native of Poland, Babraj was a member of several Polish National Teams as both a sweep oarsmen and sculler. His prior coaching experience included stints at the Warsaw club SKRA, the University of Washington, Brown University, and the US Pre-Elite National Team.

1985

Sims begins as Varsity Men's Coach
Formerly with the UCLA freshman, Sims moved to the varsity for the 1985-1986 season. UCLA hosts Oxford University In both 1986 and 1987, the Men's Crew defeated England's famed Oxford University Crew in the UCLA Classic.

1980

Robert Newman begins as Varsity Men's Coach
A member of the Bruin's first Pac-8 Championship crew, Robert Newman came to UCLA after a successful stint at the University of California, Irvine. Newman, who represented the United States at the 1969 World Championships, led the Bruins to several strong finishes at the Pac-8/West Coast Championships. In 1981, after a silver medal performance by the Bruins at the Pac-8/West Coast Championships, he was named Pac-8 Coach of the Year.

1976

Duval Hecht begins as Varsity Men's Coach
Formerly a Stanford oarsman, Duvall Hecht stroked the USA pair without coxswain to a gold medal finish at the 1956 Olympic Games. He came to UCLA after coaching at Menlo College and the University of California, Irvine.

1973

Women's Crew is Founded
Beginning in the 1960's, UCLA Women's Crew began evolving from the Shell and Oar auxiliary group founded in the 1930's. In 1973 the Shell and Oar format is officially dropped and the team gains intercollegiate status. The program quickly found success, winning a Pac-8 Championship in 1976.

1970

West Coast/Pac-8 Champions
For the second time in four years, the Bruins were victorious at the Western Sprint Championships. The 1970 racing season also included wins in both the Wallis Cup against California, and Harbach Cup against USC and Stanford. Men's Lightweight Crew is founded in 1970.

1969

Jerry Johnsen begins as Varsity Men's Coach
Johnsen, like Bisset before him, came to UCLA after coaching at the University of Washington.

1967

First West Coast/Pac-8 Championship
First West Coast/Pac-8 Championship the Bruins were undefeated in the regular season en route to their first West Coast/Pac-8 Championship. For the second consecutive year UCLA raced in the IRA Regatta, placing ninth.

1964

John Bisset begins as Varsity Men's Coach
After coaching the freshman at the University of Washington, John Bisset is named as the program's first full-time coach. 1964 also marks the year that the legendary Rigger Brown began as rigger.

1963

Construction begins on a new boathouse
With the support of Chancellor Franklin Murphy and Athletic Director J.D. Morgan, the crew began construction on a new boathouse in Marina del Rey.

1950

Robert Schaeffer begins as Varsity Men's Coach
After being dropped by the athletic department in 1948 and 1949, the team began a new era in its history with the hiring of Robert Schaeffer and reinstatement by UCLA Athletics.

1944

From 1944-1946
Rowing at UCLA came to a halt because of World War II.

1938

The Bruins move to Playa del Rey
In 1937, after rowing at the Long Beach Marine Stadium for four years, the Bruins began to move to the newly constructed Ballona Creek in Playa del Rey. The boathouse was on the Southside near the Culver Blvd Bridge.

1935

Varsity Eight
Many of the men in this photograph, Maury Grossman, William Cooper, Claude Brown, Gordon Bell, Joe O'Connor, and Joseph O'Flaherty, were with the program at its inception in 1933.

1934

The Bruins taste Victory
New coach, Ben Wallis, formerly a Yale stroke oarsmen and coach at California, brought UCLA Crew its first victory on March 31. The Bruins defeated Sacramento Junior College at Long Beach. The lucky boat was called the “Southern Bear”.

1933

The Birth of a Tradition
Inspired by the 1932 Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles, UCLA set a precedent for the other southern universities by establishing crew. The Bruins chose the Long Beach Marine Stadium, built for the 1932 Olympics, as their home course for the season. The famous Australian sculler, Major Goodsell, was the coach for the debut season.