Family First: Bob Chesney’s Culture Fuels UCLA’s Rise
AI-generated image · US National Wire
The No. 8 Bruins are defying modern college football norms by integrating families and former players into the program's daily fabric.
UCLA head coach Bob Chesney has steered the Bruins to an 8–0 start and a No. 8 ranking in the College Football Playoff, driven by a program culture that, as Sports Illustrated first reported, is a "family atmosphere" that avoids empty platitudes.
Reporting from Sports Illustrated details a facility where families are actively encouraged rather than merely tolerated. The Wasserman Football Center features children's drawings on the whiteboards of defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler and offensive line coach Chris Smith. The program hosts weekly family dinners on Wednesday and Sunday nights, and recently held a Halloween party where staff children trick-or-treated through the offices. Offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy noted that this environment prevents players from seeing through the "b.s." of programs that stress family without actually integrating them.
This commitment to kinship extends to Chesney's former players. Special teams coordinator Drew Canan recalled a January night when Chesney FaceTimed former players from Assumption, Holy Cross, and James Madison University. According to Canan, the conversations focused entirely on personal lives and family updates rather than football. This bond was further evidenced after a victory over Michigan State on Oct. 24, when a postgame party at Chesney's home included approximately 10 of the coach's former players among a crowd of 50 to 60 guests.
Chesney, who previously coached at Johns Hopkins and Salve Regina, has built this environment alongside long-time collaborators like Canan, who has worked with him for 12 seasons.