Give the UCLA Bruins an early leg up on crosstown rival the USC Trojans, thanks to the sort of football win that could spur ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorships. The opening-week thriller could even be a factor in the Heisman Trophy race – the annual award for college football’s best player – which could lead back to sales of tickets, merchandise and sponsorships.
Both schools could use some help on ticket sales, by the way.
Consider that the Bruins’ Sunday-afternoon game drew 64,635 to fill 71 percent of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for what turned out to be a historic 45-44 comeback victory over Texas A&M on Sept. 3. Texas A&M drew more than 100,000 to its home stadium in College Station when it hosted UCLA last year.
The nationally ranked Trojans drew 61,125 to South L.A.’s Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – 65 percent capacity – for an opening-week win over Western Michigan that was pedestrian at best and worrisome at times.
Expect both to draw bigger crowds as the season goes on – especially since UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen may have inserted himself in the Heisman conversation with a charmed second-half performance to engineer a 31-point comeback.
Both UCLA and USC have a chance to make the Heisman race a centerpiece of marketing for their respective football programs – USC quarterback Sam Darnold is also on most experts’ short list for the annual award. And both schools stand to get more than twice as much bang for their bucks if Darnold and Rosen remain in the hunt for the hardware, adding the chance for a “Hollywood-couldn’t-make-this-up” aspect to the schools’ slated standoff on Nov. 18, hosted by USC at the Coliseum.
Wasserman’s Day Job
Casey Wasserman has no doubt put his time in on L.A.’s bid for the Olympic Games – the entertainment marketing executive and civic leader serves as chair of L.A. 2028, which looks to have put the city in line for the 2028 games.
His time spent lobbying for the bid didn’t mean the sports desk at his Wasserman Media Group in Westwood suffered.
The firm ranked ninth in terms of representation of the recent class of National Basketball Association free agents, with a total value of $134.9 million in contracts negotiated on behalf of 11 players. Kelly Olynyk’s four-year, $50 million deal with the Miami Heat was the largest on the Wasserman roster.
The firm’s number of deals ranked second in the industry, trailing only Beverly Hills’ Excel Sports Management, which handled 13 negotiations, including the five-year, $173 million-year pact Blake Griffin signed to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Wasserman also extended his agency’s reach beyond the hardwood, signing Jarron Collins, assistant coach with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, as a client.
Wasserman Media had Collins as a client during his playing days, which ended in 2011.
Beckerman’s Side Job
Dan Beckerman has a global operation to manage as chief executive of downtown-based AEG Inc., so you aren’t alone if you haven’t noticed that he’s joined the likes of Bob Arum and Oscar de la Hoya as one of boxing’s big wheels.
Consider, however, that AEG was host venue for the recent Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor exhibition bout-turned-social phenomenon at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which it operates as a joint venture with MGM Resorts.
Also note that Beckerman has the savvy – and the lineup of L.A. venues, with Staples Center and neighboring Microsoft Theater downtown along with the StubHub Center in Carson – to accommodate shows that bring the boxing equivalent of hyperlocal appeal.
That’s what seems to be shaping up for the StubHub Center, which will host tuneup bouts for World Boxing Association Super Featherweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares, who has held titles in three weight classes.
Santa Cruz beat Mares in a thriller two years ago, and Beckerman overcame some hard feelings to arrange a rematch that was originally set for October but delayed on concerns about long layoffs for each fighter.
They opted to instead take on different opponents in October, with an agreement to meet one another in a rematch in early 2018, provided both win their fights.
Both Santa Cruz and Mares were born in Mexico, but the champ makes his home in Rosemead, while the challenger lives in Montebello, just seven miles or so down the 10 freeway.
Staff reporter Josh Niv can be reached at [email protected] or 323-556-8336.
