The UCLA football team will begin its 2025 season by hosting Utah at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, August 30. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Pacific Time and will be broadcast nationally on FOX, with Connor Onion providing play-by-play commentary and Mark Helfrich serving as analyst. Radio coverage will be available on KABC-AM 790, now the exclusive home for UCLA Athletics broadcasts, featuring Josh Lewin as play-by-play announcer, with former UCLA quarterbacks Matt Stevens as analyst and Wayne Cook reporting from the sidelines.
Tickets for the season opener can be purchased online through uclabruins.com/tickets. As a gesture of appreciation for their efforts in combating the Palisades and Altadena Fires, First Responders are being offered tickets at a discounted rate of $5.00. These tickets can be acquired at gofevo.com/event/UCLAFirstResponder.
The first 10,000 fans arriving at the stadium will receive UCLA Football schedule posters at all entry gates.
Parking lots managed by the City of Pasadena will open at 2 p.m., with advance parking available for $38 per car and $43 on game day. Fans are encouraged to pre-purchase parking online to save $5 compared to onsite prices. RV parking is designated along West Drive; overnight RV parking is not permitted. Additional gameday parking is offered at the Parsons complex lot in Pasadena (100 W. Walnut Street), accessible via Fair Oaks Avenue, with shuttle service running continuously from three hours before kickoff until one hour after the game ends. Parking at Parsons can be purchased onsite for up to $24.
Tailgating activities will take place in Area H Fan Zone outside Gates A and B from 3:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., offering food vendors, activities, exhibits, beer gardens, musical performances, and other experiences. BruinFest near Gates E & N opens at 2:00 p.m., featuring beer gardens, games, inflatables, live music starting at 5:30 p.m., and premium tailgate services provided by REVELxp.
Fans are invited to participate in Bruin Walk as players arrive through Area H Fan Zone into the stadium by Gate A around 5:45 p.m., accompanied by performances from the UCLA Spirit Squad and both the UCLA Marching Band and Alumni Band.
Rose Bowl gates open at 6:30 p.m., with entertainment including a joint performance by the Spirit Squad and Alumni Band in Area H followed by another performance from the Alumni Band at 7:15 p.m. Fans entering early will receive Bruin Blue pom poms.
Four former Bruins football players—Pasadena Fire Captains Manuel White and Phillip Ward; LA County Fire Captain Cheyane Caldwell; and former walk-on Mark Reynosa—will serve as Honorary Captains for this game. Reynosa played tailback/punt returner for UCLA from 1997-98 after transferring from Saddleback Community College where he was a junior college national champion; he joins Saturday’s event while undergoing treatment for glioblastoma.
White played tailback between 2000-04 with two career games exceeding 100 rushing yards; he captained his team during his final two seasons under head coach Karl Dorrell before being selected in round four of the NFL Draft by Washington in 2005.
Ward was an outside linebacker who recorded over one hundred tackles during his four-year career (1993-96) while also helping secure victories against USC each year he attended UCLA; following graduation he spent three years playing professionally in Indianapolis, St Louis, and New Orleans.
Caldwell contributed both as fullback and linebacker between 1995-98; he achieved victories over USC every year of his collegiate career including scoring a touchdown against them as a freshman.
Halftime entertainment features a performance by Varsity Spirit Cheer Squad—a national youth cheerleading organization—and new this season is an interactive light show during third quarter break using mobile devices via the free UCLA Bruins Mobile App available on Apple Store or Google Play.
For updates throughout gameday fans are advised to follow @UCLAGameday on X (formerly Twitter).
