UCLA Will Be Playing at the Rose Bowl for at Least One More Year

UCLA has played its home football games at the Rose Bowl since 1982.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins will be playing their 2026 home games at the Rose Bowl. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

UCLA enters a new era on the field under first-year coach Bob Chesney, but at least one thing won’t look different for Bruins fans.

The Bruins will play its 2026 home games at its longtime home field: the Rose Bowl, according to The California Post.

“UCLA will play the upcoming football season at the Rose Bowl,” Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor of strategic communications, said in a statement obtained by the California Post. “We know how much game day means to Bruins—to our students, alumni and fans who plan their autumn around Saturdays together.”

The Bruins have played at the Rose Bowl, one of the most famous football stadiums in the country, since 1982, but there was a chance that 2026 would break that trend. A lawsuit filed by the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company on Oct. 29 alleged that the University of UCLA breached the terms of its contract by attempting to move its home football games from the Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium. UCLA’s lease at the Rose Bowl runs through 2044.

The Rose Bowl seats close to 90,000 fans but UCLA, which has struggled through back-to-back losing seasons, is suffering from plummeting attendance. In 2025, the Bruins averaged just 37,282 fans per contest in 2025, according to the Los Angeles Almanac.

The lawsuit is ongoing and the two sides are set to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court for a status conference on Friday.

UCLA's potential move also appeared to be one born of geographical convenience, for SoFi Stadium is roughly 12 miles away from the university’s campus while the Rose Bowl is about 26 miles away.

But, at least for 2026, the Bruins will have a familiar home for its football games. And there’s hope that the Bruins, who have won just one bowl game since 2014, can turn things around in the first season under Chesney.

Chesney has developed a reputation for turning programs around at all three levels, having compiled a 132-51 record in coaching stops from Division III to Division I. He’s fresh off of leading the James Madison Dukes to the College Football Playoff.

“Our priority is delivering a strong season experience for our student-athletes and our community, and we have great momentum in our football program,” said Osako. “During this unprecedented time in college athletics, UCLA will always be guided by what’s best for our student-athletes and the Bruin community.”

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