​UCLA is making a change atop its athletic department, parting ways with athletic director Martin Jarmond after six years and replacing him with longtime Los Angeles Lakers executive Tim Harris.Chancellor Julio Frenk announced the move Monday afternoon in an email to the UCLA community, framing the change around the financial challenges facing an athletic department trying to adapt to a rapidly changing college sports landscape.“UCLA Athletics currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable,” Frenk said in the statement.“Now is the moment to build a model for Athletics that protects the breadth of our program, creates new opportunities for student-athletes and coaches, and supports itself through the revenue it generates.”Harris, a UCLA alumnus and former soccer player, will serve as “CEO” and director of athletics on a pro bono basis for the time being. He spent more than 35 years with the Lakers, most recently as president of business operations, and will be tasked with developing “a new strategy to grow revenue through partnerships, licensing and other ventures.”“Simply put, he loves UCLA and cares deeply about our future,” Frenk said of Harris. “Tim knows what it takes to grow a world-class sports organization and global brand, and he holds longstanding relationships throughout Los Angeles and globally.”The unusual CEO title underscores UCLA’s emphasis on the business side of its athletic department at a time when schools face mounting expenses from revenue sharing, NIL and the broader professionalization of college sports.Jarmond arrived at UCLA from Boston College in 2020 and helped steer the department through one of the most turbulent stretches in college sports history. His tenure included the COVID-19 pandemic, UCLA’s transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten and the advent of NIL and revenue-sharing.UCLA’s move to the Big Ten, which was announced in 2022 and took effect in 2024, dramatically increased UCLA’s media-rights revenue and was among the defining moves of Jarmond’s tenure. He also helped UCLA recover from Under Armour’s efforts to terminate its record-setting apparel agreement, with the sides eventually reaching a $67.5 million settlement and the school signing a six-year deal with Nike and Jordan Brand.The Bruins enjoyed considerable success across their athletic department under Jarmond, winning nine NCAA team championships during his six-year tenure, including three during the 2025-26 academic year, and finishing third in the most recent Directors’ Cup standings behind only Texas and Stanford.But UCLA’s persistent financial problems remained a concern.The athletic department was running deficits before Jarmond arrived, and the pandemic exacerbated those problems, producing a $62.5 million shortfall during the 2021 fiscal year. The department continued to operate at a deficit in subsequent years, including a $21.6 million shortfall in fiscal ye