The UCLA football team will have its team bench moved from the east sideline to the west sideline of the Rose Bowl, according to sources at UCLA.

It's a concept that has been proposed for a while. The thinking is that the team is at a disadvantage on the sunny side of the stadium when playing on a hot day, with the east sideline in the direct sun, and the west sideline, the visitors', in the shade.

To get it done, UCLA would also have to move its student section, to abide by a Pac-12 rule that a student section can't be behind a visitors' bench.

UCLA athletic department administrators wanted the UCLA students to agree and not force the move. A couple of weeks ago, a survey was circulated to UCLA students to get feedback on moving the student section to the north endzone, and the survey found that 60% of students approved of it.

A statement to students released Tuesday night said, "UCLA will allocate all lower level sections from 8-H to 15-L to the students; an increase of 5,036, or 205%, lower level seats for students. Additionally, students will be allocated overflow seating in upper 15-L to 13-H on the west side of the Rose Bowl, an additional allocation of 2,186 total seats, or roughly 25% more total seats than they have ever had.

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"Having the students surround the north end zone in lower level seats allows students to have a greater impact on the game itself through noise level and various distractions that add pressure to the opponent, particularly when they are on the north end of the field.

"Joining the students in the move at the Rose Bowl is the UCLA Football team, who will relocate from the East sideline to the West sideline. Both moves together, in addition to the obvious benefit of taking the team out of the sun, will help create a significant competitive advantage for the Bruins."



