UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Honoring the 1978 Title Team

In the latest episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, Madeleine Considine highlights how Head Coach Cori Close used UCLA’s trip to the Final Four to correct a common misconception that this is the program’s first national semifinal appearance and first shot at a title.

In her opening remarks following UCLA’s 72 to 65 win over LSU in the Elite Eight, Close made a point to acknowledge the trailblazers who came before.

“Many people have said it's the first one in NCAA history, or UCLA history — it's actually not correct,” said Close. “In 1978, AIAW, they won the national championship and went to the Final Four, and we had some of the alumni here from that team and Debbie Willie Haliday and Denise Curry, and we had so many other alums.

"So, I just want to give them their flowers and to say that we are so thankful for the alumni that have supported us along the way.”

You can watch the episode below:

That 1978 UCLA team, led by Hall of Famer Ann Meyers and coached by legendary Billie Moore, captured the AIAW national championship, defeating Maryland in front of a home crowd at Pauley Pavilion.

Alongside Meyers were future legends like Denise Curry and Anita Ortega, who helped UCLA become the first major university to win a national title in women’s basketball.

It was a turning point for the sport, and for the Bruins, who played in front of over 7,000 fans and became pioneers for generations to come.

Not long after, the UCLA Women’s Basketball X account reposted a message from “No Cap Space WBB” that echoed Close’s sentiment and shed light on a piece of UCLA history that had gone largely overlooked in the national conversation.

“While @UCLAWBB is headed to their first *NCAA* Final Four, it’s inaccurate to say they’ve never won a national title in women’s basketball,” the post read. “This Legendarium installment details the 1978 AIAW champion Bruins, the Prodigies of Pauley Pavilion.”

As UCLA now prepares for its first NCAA Final Four appearance this Friday in Tampa, the recognition of the past has only deepened the meaning of the present.

The Bruins are chasing a title on the NCAA stage, but they do so standing on the shoulders of champions who won one nearly five decades ago.

And thanks to Cori Close, their story is being told again.

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