How UCLA thrived in basketball free agency after its 'NIL grew exponentially'

UCLA's extreme talent upgrade prompted Cronin to go with a heavyweight nonconference schedule that's expected to include games against former Pac-12 rival Arizona in Phoenix, Gonzaga at the Clippers' new Intuit Dome and North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. The following season, the Bruins will play Arizona at the Intuit Dome and Gonzaga in Seattle as part of more fundraising efforts for NIL purposes.

If UCLA can maintain or enhance its robust NIL funds, it will help Cronin keep pace with other powers who are annually restocking with top veteran players.

"The days of having a young team and trying to grow that team to where they all get older and get better as they get older, that's not happening anymore," Cronin said. "And you can't compete at a high level with a young team. So it's exponentially changed in the direction of where you're bringing in older guys to fill spots."

One thing has remained the same, making Cronin feel a bit prophetic. Even going back to his days at Murray State not long after the turn of the century, the coach emphasized that his program would be only as strong as the commitment of former players as well as donors and fans to making the team a success.

Two decades later, UCLA's big donors and casual fans alike stepped up, athletic administrators emphasized the importance of NIL and … voila, the Bruins might be back on the verge of something special.

"It took us a year longer than I would have liked to get things where they needed to be and without naming names, there were obviously some people who really carried the weight," Cronin said. "But there's also grassroots level, so there's literally people out there who are donating $10 a month, but we're talking about people who don't have that to give; their $10 a month is maybe hurting their pocketbook as much as somebody who gave $100,000.

"So basically the whole system now is relying on passion and love for the program and probably somewhat belief in the coaching staff, so for that it's a huge thing to me for people who are supporting the program."

Cronin doesn't feel like a marathoner who has breasted the tape so much as one in the middle of a race. While every transfer besides Johnson has remaining eligibility beyond next season, Cronin pointed out that even his freshmen will be free agents once more come the spring of 2025.

"The craziness of it for now is, we had a good year in the portal and we were able to compete in free agency," Cronin said, "but next year, you've got to be able to do it again."

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