UCLA fired athletic director Martin Jarmond on Monday, Aug. 31, replacing him with former Los Angeles Lakers executive Tim Harris after years of deficits and a 36-33 football run under three coaches.

Chancellor Julio Frenk announced the move in a letter to the campus community. He cited a $51.8 million athletics deficit at the end of fiscal year 2024 and the need for a new business model in the name, image and likeness era. The department ran yearly deficits for seven consecutive years under Jarmond, totaling $241 million in shortfalls, according to the Associated Press.

Harris, 64, will hold the title of CEO and athletic director and serve on a pro bono basis. A 1989 UCLA graduate who played goalkeeper on the Bruins' men's soccer team, Harris spent more than 35 years with the Lakers' business operations before leaving the franchise in February. Frenk had already tapped Harris to consult on the department's finances before making the appointment, the New York Post reported.

In his letter, Frenk wrote that the athletics program's current path is not sustainable and that UCLA must build a model that leads the transformation of college sports, not merely keep pace.

Jarmond, 46, took over from Dan Guerrero in 2020 and signed a five-year contract extension in May 2024. One person close to the situation told the New York Post that UCLA would honor the remaining balance of roughly $5.9 million on that deal. The Los Angeles Times reported it remains unclear whether Jarmond will receive the full amount.

The football program's results fueled the pressure on Jarmond. Under three coaches in six years, the Bruins went 36-33 and won just one bowl game, the Los Angeles Times reported. Last season, UCLA averaged 37,282 fans at the Rose Bowl, filling only 41.6% of the stadium's 89,702 capacity. Last fall, airplane banners calling for Jarmond's dismissal flew over the Rose Bowl before two games, and a van bearing a similar message circled campus.

Jarmond's tenure was not without success. UCLA won nine NCAA championships under his watch, including the women's basketball national title last season, and claimed 10 conference titles in its first Big Ten season. Big Ten revenue helped shrink the deficit to $21.6 million for fiscal year 2025.

The shakeup comes five days before UCLA opens the 2026 football season at California on Saturday, Sept. 5, under second-year head coach Bob Chesney. Chesney replaced DeShaun Foster, who was fired after an 0-3 start in September 2025.

UCLA is expected to conduct a national search for a permanent athletic director.