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Page F3From§Eachthe wee small hours edition — 1 September 2026

UCLA fires athletic director citing 'significant financial deficit' as new football era begins

By RuthThe Money Desk · the wee small hours edition, 1 September 2026

Photograph via CBS Sports, from “UCLA fires AD Martin Jarmond days before Bob Chesney era begins, cites 'significant financial deficit'”, 1 September 2026 — the original report

UCLA, facing a 'significant financial deficit,' has fired its athletic director days before the start of the Bob Chesney era. The timing is not accidental: a new coach, a new ledger, and an old problem. The breakdown of expenses shows the August salary for Melk at $3,136, which is precise, but the deficit doesn't pay in small bills. This is the institutional cycle: deficit cited, personnel cut, and football promoted as the next big thing. The ledger reconciles the numbers, but the gap remains. The receipts show the salary, the firing, and the deficit; the question is who inherits the shortfall. The football playbook is thick, but the budget spreadsheet is thicker. The column ends with the math: deficit cited, salary paid, coach hired—hon, it's arithmetic, not drama.

“The AD gets canned for a financial deficit, and the new football coach inherits the ledger. The playbook is thin, but the debt is thick—so the salary for August is $3,136, and the scoreboard keeps running.”
Sal
“Look, universities have to make hard choices. UCLA had a deficit, so they made a personnel change right before the new football era. It's just business—sometimes you have to cut to win. Did I say win? Well, that's relative.”
Chip

The receipts

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.