UCLA Football: The Den wants you to Get To The Rose Bowl!

Go Joe Bruin talks to the fearless leaders of the best student section in nation, The Den, about UCLA Football. They also want you to Get To The Rose Bowl!

As we do at the beginning of every season, Go Joe Bruin interviews members of The Den to talk about the start of the UCLA Football season with the greatest student section in America.

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There are a great many changes to The Den this year and GJB gets down to the nitty gritty as we chat with President Jeff Kohl and Vice-President Kyle Grozen of The Den.

Go Joe Bruin: How excited are you for UCLA Football to return?

Jeff Kohl: I¹m as excited as a pig in mud. Translation: Really freaking excited. How can you not be excited for game days at the Rose Bowl with the echoes of 8 claps bouncing off the San Gabriel Mountains, the pastel sunsets over America¹s stadium, and the best tailgating in the country?

Kyle Grozen: I couldn’t be more excited for football to come back! I think we’re all looking forward to getting the taste of last season out of our mouths, and to be back out at the Rose Bowl this fall is going to be incredible!

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GJB: So there has been a change. The Den is now in a different part of the Rose Bowl, what do you think of it and how will it affect the student section? Is this a good move?

JK:  I think it¹s a great change. It¹s going to get more students closer to the field-level action and increase engagement with the football team. Coach Mora has confirmed that the team will warm up in the North end zone right in front of The Den, so students are going to feel a stronger connection with the team throughout the game. The team also has plans to engage with The Den after games as well, so it¹s a huge addition to the student experience. The number of student seats with actual seat-backs is way smaller now too, which some might see as a negative. But I think it¹s fantastic. I don¹t want students in The Den feeling cushy and relaxing; I want them on their feet, loud, and in your face.

KG: This change is really going to have a positive effect on the student game-day experience and also enhance the impact that The Den has on the game itself. The Athletic Department put a ton of time and effort into this change, and the result is more lower-bowl seating for students and the chance to follow the team to their new home on the west sideline at the Rose Bowl. It’s a great move for student engagement, and I’m excited to see the Den in our new home!

The Den chats about UCLA Football (cont.)

GJB: But seriously, how great will it be to get out of the sun, especially on those early kickoffs?

JK: Sing it to the heavens above! I remember the game against Virginia two years ago gave me some very unfortunate tan lines. And those games were just brutal on students in The Den. Not only did those early games hurt student attendance, they also zapped all the energy out of The Den by the 2nd quarter. This by itself is a huge win for students, in addition to all the other benefits of the move.

KG: Anyone who has sat on that east sideline, students included, can especially. Being in the shade with our team will definitely be a welcome change on our side of things!

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GJB: Is there anything new we should expect from The Den this season?

JK: You know it! The first thing Bruin fans can expect to see is some cool in-stadium branding of The Den. These elements will be in the bowl near the concourse on the north end zone, as well as in one of the main student tunnels; Just further reinforcements to let every student, Bruin fan, and visiting fan know that this is our Den. I¹m not going to giveaway all our secrets, but there will also be a huge new element in The Den (I mean huge both figuratively and literally). We plan on debuting it most likely for the Colorado game when all students are back on campus. Don¹t worry, when the time comes around, you can¹t miss it!

KG: You should always expect new things from the Den! We can’t give away too much early on, but as a teaser: expect the DJ Pregame Party to go even beyond what we did last year, and be ready for an all-new hype video at the end of the 3rd quarter. Also, keep an eye out for some new Den branding in the stadium and around the student section!

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GJB: It is always hard to fill the Rose Bowl in the first few games. What would you say to students and fans to #GetToTheRoseBowl?

JK: This is one of those unique challenges we face in being a quarter system school, so you¹re right, it is hard. But we combat this with some awesome benefits of being a Den Pass holder. All Den Pass holders can purchase up to 8 guest tickets for each game, and we have a special promotion for the first two games: UCLA students can bring their friends who go to other SoCal colleges for only $20! We know not all UCLA students are in the area to get to these games, so we try and maximize the amount of people those local folks do bring with them. But these games are especially important to get a packed house since we don¹t have as strong of a student base to pull from, so everyone #GetToTheRoseBowl!

KG: Getting students to the Rose Bowl before school starts is always a challenge. If you need some inspiration to get excited for this team early in the season, I’d suggest you take a look at some of our freshmen on Twitter (Jaelan Phillips, Rahyme Johnson, and Greg Rogers in particular). Jaelan said it simpler and better than I ever could: “Bruin Nation we need everyone there September 3rd!!” This team is ready to go, and they deserve our support right from the start.

The Den chats about UCLA Football (cont.)

GJB: Why is The Den the best student section in the country?

JK: I¹m hoping Kyle helps me fill in the gaps here, because there¹s too many to list but I¹ll try anyways: The Den was the first student section to be verified on Twitter, and started a nation-wide trend in that regard. The Den has been featured on ESPN.com with our Lonzo Ball Dime Dropper last year. The Den was featured in an article in Athletic Management Magazine for the way we engage students.

The Den extends beyond football and men¹s basketball… have you been to a UCLA Gymnastics meet yet? The Den at gymnastics is the most integrated student section experience in the country. We SMASHED the student attendance record at a UCLA softball game last year; and Women¹s Volleyball head coach Mike Sealy said, “That was the best student section I¹ve seen in 7 years” referring to The Den at the women¹s volleyball GolDEN game last fall.

When UCLA women¹s basketball played at USC last season, The Den out numbered everybody else in the arena, three-fold. In a collegiate athletics landscape that has seen decreasing student attendance trends in the last 5 years, The Den bucks that trend and has seen attendance increases. And even with all of these accomplishments, we only keep growing and building momentum thanks to our incredible Den Operations team. How¹s that?

KG: In my (extremely biased) opinion, The Den is the best student section in the country because we are always on the cutting edge of new ideas and we bring our energy and passion to every game, every week. Within Den Operations itself, our social media team is elite, our Gameday Operations committee is always looking for the next great thing to impact the game, and our creative content is unmatched among student sections. When it comes to the full student body, having such incredible venues and a large group of undergraduates means lots of energy is always in the building!

GJB: UCLA was not very good last season. What do you expect in 2017?

JK: That¹s sports right? Winning feels so good because it¹s not easy and is never guaranteed. I think you can expect to see a hungry, motivated group of guys this year. Although losing is never easy, it does provide the opportunity to come back stronger and better. Hopefully the team was able to look at what the causes for last season¹s result were and attack them in the offseason. Despite a down year last year, this team still has the talent and potential to contend in the Pac-12.

KG: I’m always an optimist when it comes to UCLA sports, so I’m fully expect a bounce-back season this year. Josh Rosen is healthy, the offense has weapons, and the defense is full of dynamic playmakers both new and experienced. I’m very confident that this team can return to Pac-12 contention and postseason play in 2017!

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GJB: Any additional info you would like UCLA fans to know?

JK:  As much as you all feed off of The Den¹s energy, we feed off of yours. The Den is only one half of the equation. I encourage you all to support our great student athletes this year, get to the games early, stand up, be loud, and wear blue because when you all get into it, The Den turns it up to a whole new level. I also always want to let UCLA fans know how much we appreciate all of the support and love they give to The Den. When you all interact with us on social media, keep tabs on what we¹re up to, and care about the things we are doing, it just helps us build The Den into what we want it to be: The defining experience of every student¹s time at UCLA.

KG: I’ll repeat Jaelan Phillips once again: “We need everyone there September 3rd!²