Dan Guerrero is the UCLA athletic director who had a 17-year tenure at the office. It has been accompanied by wild success in almost every measure besides the school’s two biggest sports. He will retire at the end of June next year.
Guerrero’s retirement plans became public Thursday after the UC Regents unanimously approved a six-month extension of his contract that was previously set to expire in December. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block requested that Guerrero stay on the job until June 30 to allow the school additional time to find his successor.
Guerrero, 67, called his retirement decision “bittersweet” in a statement released by UCLA, noting that it was sparked largely by his recently having overcome an undisclosed form of cancer and the arrival of a second granddaughter.
“Consequently, it is the ideal opportunity for me to step aside and for UCLA games to prosper under new authority while I focus around my wellbeing and my family,” Guerrero said in the announcement. “In the rest of the year ahead, despite everything we have a lot of work to do and titles to win, and I anticipate each moment of it.”
The departure of Guerrero leaves openings in the athletic director’s chair at both of Los Angeles’ major college programs. USC announced last week that Lynn Swann had resigned after a three-year stint marred by scandal.
A professional search firm contracted by UCLA will commence a national search for Guerrero’s replacement, according to the school.
Fresno State athletic director Terry Tumey, a former All-Pac 10 Conference nose guard who played on the Bruins’ last team to win the Rose Bowl in 1986, is widely considered among the front-runners to become Guerrero’s successor.
Other candidates could include Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, a former UCLA senior associate athletic director for external relations, and Josh Rebholz, the Bruins’ current senior associate athletic director for external relations.
