[17] As head coach of the Bruins, Sanders led them to three Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) titles, two Rose Bowls (1953 and 1955 seasons) and to a 6–3 record over arch-rival USC.

"[18][19] Shortly before the 1958 season was set to begin, coach Sanders suffered a heart attack and died in a Los Angeles hotel.

[27] Integrated UCLA then faced all-white Tennessee in the newly built Liberty Bowl stadium in Memphis, Prothro's native city.

[12] On the last play of the game, Tennessee defensive back Bob Petrella intercepted a UCLA pass to save a Volunteer win by a score of 37–34.

[12] The Bruins, featuring a "dream backfield" of All-Americans Gary Beban and Mel Farr, lost only one game, at rainy Washington, 16–3, where Huskies' head coach Jim Owens had devoted his entire season to beating Prothro.

[12] UCLA had beaten UW the season before, 28–24, with Prothro's trick play, the Z-streak in which a receiver trots towards the sideline like he's going out of the game and then runs a streak pattern unguarded by the inattentive defender.

[12] It was speculated that the directors believed Beban could not play for UCLA in the Rose Bowl due to the broken ankle, thereby giving the Big Ten Conference representative, Purdue, a better chance to win.

Inflamed UCLA students who had gathered for the Rose Bowl celebration rally, took to the streets of Westwood in protest and actually blocked the 405 Freeway for a short time.

[12] Ironically, Morgan was the force behind establishing a tie-breaking method adopted by the conference one year later in which only loss column counted; the first tiebreaker was head-to-head results, followed by overall record.

[12] Suddenly, two long Jim Plunkett passes had Stanford in field goal range in the final seconds, but UCLA blocked Steve Horowitz's attempt to preserve the tie.

UCLA scored midway through the fourth quarter to take a 12–7 lead (knowing he need a win and not a tie to advance to the Rose Bowl, Prothro had the Bruins go for two after each touchdown and each attempt failed).

Secondly, on the winning touchdown pass reception, USC receiver Sam Dickerson appeared to be either out of bounds, out of the back of the end zone, or both.

UCLA also blew a 20-point fourth quarter lead against Oregon, when Ducks sophomore quarterback Dan Fouts rallied his team to three touchdowns and a 41–40 win.

[35] Finally, there came the showdown with Stanford; the game was expected to be a shootout between UCLA quarterback Dennis Dummit and Heisman winner Jim Plunkett.

Prothro was frustrated by bizarre officiating at critical moments, numerous last minute narrow losses, and losing out of the Rose Bowl by the conference vote in 1966.

[37] Rodgers surprised UCLA fans, players and administration by deciding to accept the head football coach position at his alma mater, Georgia Tech after the 1973 season.

[12] The team was high enough in the BCS standings to merit entry to the national championship game, and all UCLA needed to do was beat unranked University of Miami, who were major underdogs after a 66–13 loss to Syracuse the week before.

[12] Longtime college and NFL assistant Karl Dorrell was brought in to revive the glory of the UCLA football program, his alma mater, after Toledo was fired.

[50] Dorrell also was brought in to UCLA to clean up a program marred by off-the-field problems in the final years of Bob Toledo's tenure, most notably, the handicap placard scandal.

Dorrell's UCLA Bruins team recorded a mark of 6–7 in his first season as head coach in 2003, with an appearance in the Silicon Valley Bowl, and a loss to Fresno State.

[57] UCLA played its first game at the University of Notre Dame since the 1960s and was leading 17–13, but the Irish scored a touchdown in the final minute to win.

The Bruins played in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco against a Bobby Bowden-coached Florida State team on December 27, 2006, and lost, 44–27.

[62] On December 3, 2007, Los Angeles papers and the Associated Press reported that Karl Dorrell was fired during a meeting with athletic director Dan Guerrero.

The class was headlined by Morrell Presley, Randall Carroll, offensive linemen Xavier Sua-Filo and Stan Hasiak, and running back Damien Thigpen.

[71] Despite the lackluster overall record, the Bruins won the first Pac-12 South Division title, as crosstown rival USC was ineligible due to NCAA sanctions.

[100] On March 3, 2023, UCLA Athletic Director, Martin Jarmond agreed to terms with Chip Kelly to sign a two-year contract extension that would have kept him with the Bruins through the 2027 season.

An on-campus facility was discussed, but faced significant political opposition, including from the governor at the time, Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr.[112] The Bruins had second priority in schedule at the Coliseum after the Trojans, but before the Los Angeles Rams.

[127] In the early 1950s, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) instituted a "no-repeat" rule for the Rose Bowl after California's third consecutive loss in January 1951.

New York Mets announcer Josh Lewin and Matt Stevens are the current broadcast team in the booth, along with sideline reporter Wayne Cook, who is a former Bruin quarterback.

Former play-by-play announcers include John Rebenstorf (1991),[177] Paul Olden (1989–1990),[178] Joel Meyers (1984–1988),[179] Kent Derdivanis (1983–1985),[179] Fred Hessler (1961–1982),[180] and Roy Storey.