EXCLUSIVE

The football coaching staff at UCLA has huddled and decided the best thing for everyone is for cops to drop the case against Diddy.

Sources directly connected with the team tell TMZ, the coaches are regretful the situation escalated to an arrest. They think Diddy is a jerk who they'd like to make persona non grata, but they don't want to make this a courtroom spectacle, largely because it would be bad for the team.

Sources with direct knowledge of the confrontation between Diddy and Sal Alosi tell us, after the incident the coaches all decided to just let it go. They believe an intern called UCLA police and when the cops arrived, they asked to see the video and that was enough to hook Diddy up.

We're told head coach Jim Mora does not want a criminal prosecution. The interns who were present and allegedly threatened could press the case, but if Mora is against it they would probably follow suit.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the case will go to the L.A. County D.A. for felony review next week. The D.A. could prosecute even without victims ... there is a video, but that's problematic.