The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and USC Trojans teams of the University of Southern California (USC).
Both universities are located in Los Angeles and moved together to the Big Ten Conference from the Pac-12 Conference in 2024. The rivalry between the two is among the more unusual in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports, because the campuses are only apart, and both are located within the same city.
UCLA and USC are second and third respectively on the list of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships.CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY Through Jan. 1, 2022 . NCAAMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY THROUGH JAN. 1, 2022 . NCAAWOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY THROUGH JAN. 1, 2022 . NCAA Only Stanford University, a former conference opponent also located in California, has more than either UCLA or USC.
Background
The schools have been together in the same athletic conference since 1928, when UCLA joined USC in the Pacific Coast Conference, a predecessor of the Pac-12 Conference. USC had joined the PCC in 1922. When the PCC broke up after the 1958-1959 season, USC and UCLA were charter members of the newly formed Athletic Association of Western Universities. The AAWU, with expansion, would become the Pac-8, Pac-10, and then the Pac-12 Conference. USC is recognized as consistently being one of the top football programs in the nation,Which schools should be considered college football royalty? ESPN.com, August 25, 2016 while UCLA is recognized as consistently being one of the top basketball programs in the nation.Wittry, Andy - The origin of the term 'blue bloods' in college basketball April 2, 2022, NCAA.com However, a somewhat rare confluence of events occurred in 1954, which began with USC in its last of only two Final Four appearances in the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament and ended with UCLA winning its only non-NCAA Football National Championship. Both schools also are successful in many "non-revenue" or "Olympic" sports. Both have had success in track and field, water polo, tennis, volleyball, and golf. As of 2023, USC has won 26 NCAA championships in men's outdoor track and field, 21 in men's tennis, and 12 in baseball, the most of any school in each respective sport. Likewise, UCLA has won 20 NCAA championships in men's volleyball and 12 in softball, also the most of any school in those sports. Both also are the only schools to have won official NCAA championships in beach volleyball, with USC winning 5 and UCLA 2.
As of June 2024, UCLA ranked second overall and USC ranked third overall in NCAA team championships behind Stanford. Both schools also have several non-NCAA championships, including AIAW and pre-NCAA championships.
Crosstown Cup
The Crosstown Cup, formerly the Lexus Gauntlet, the Crosstown Gauntlet, and the SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup, is the name given to a competition between UCLA and USC in the 19 NCAA-sanctioned varsity sports in which both compete. (Although slightly different scoring rules were in effect in the different versions of the competition.) In 2003, 2005, and 2007 UCLA won the Lexus Gauntlet Trophy, while USC won the trophy in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009 (the first back-to-back win). After the 2009 season, Lexus stopped sponsoring the award. The competition was renamed the Crosstown Gauntlet, which USC won in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, and UCLA won in 2013."USC clinches Gauntlet Trophy over UCLA", Fox Sports West, April 25, 2011"USC wins 4th straight Gauntlet title", Pedro Moura, ESPN.com, April 25, 2011"http://www.usctrojans.com/genrel/043012aaa.html ", University of Southern California, April 30, 2012"http://www.bruinsnation.com/2012/5/1/2991099/UCLA-USC-Gauntlet-Trophy-Fire-Dan-Guerrero-Gene-Block", May 1, 2012 In 2015, due to new sponsorship, the competition became the SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup.USC and UCLA to compete for SoCal BMW Crosstown Cup Fox Sports, September, 2014 It was won by UCLA in 2015 and USC in 2016, when the sponsorship arrangement concluded. The competition has since been known simply as the Crosstown Cup. UCLA won the Crosstown Cup in 2017 and 2018; USC won in 2019 and 2021, with the 2020 competition being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Football rivalry
Quite often, the winner of the football game has won or shared the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) title in football. A berth in the Rose Bowl game has been on the line many times as well for both schools. Since the 1916 formation of the Pacific Coast Conference, which the Pac-12 claims as part of its history, USC had won or shared 37 conference titles and UCLA had won or shared 17 titles.Pac-10 football media guide. Pacific-10 Conference, Fall 2008. PDF copy available at http://www.pac-12.org Washington is second in overall conference titles with 18. Since the 1959 season, when the Pac-12 was formed as the Athletic Association of Western Universities, through the 2007 season, the schools had won or shared 33 of the 48 conference titles. USC won 17 championships outright, shared eight and gone to the Rose Bowl or BCS bowl 21 times. UCLA won six championships outright, shared five and gone to the Rose Bowl eight times. The schools have thrice shared the championship. In 2011, UCLA became the first Pac-12 South Division champion – while USC held the better of the two records, the Trojans were ineligible for postseason play that year due to NCAA sanctions. Both teams have spoiled conference and national championship runs for the other.
USC began a rise to national prominence under Howard Jones in 1925. The Trojans began a major rivalry with Notre Dame in 1926. UCLA joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1928. Los Angeles Times sportswriter Braven Dyer predicted on the day of the first football meeting on September 28, 1929, "In years to come, this game will probably be one of the football spectacles of the West" USC dominated the early games (so much so, that after the first two games, the series was suspended for five years and they did not play each other from 1931 to 1935) until UCLA established itself.
By the late 1930s, star players such as Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, and Bob Waterfield enabled UCLA to be competitive. With the hiring of Hall of Fame coach Henry "Red" Sanders, UCLA became the more dominant program in the 1950s and won their first and only National Championship in 1954. A famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding the rivalry, "Beating 'SC is not a matter of life or death, it's more important than that." The Start of Something Big: USC vs. UCLA by Lonnie White, marking 75 years of the UCLA–USC rivalryBurke, Anne (Editor) – Summer 2004 Bruin Walk: Rah-rah Boo-hiss . UCLA Magazine, summer 2004
Sanders died suddenly of a heart attack before the 1959 season. In 1960 John McKay, the winningest coach is USC football history, took over the struggling USC program. Upon the arrival of McKay, USC entered a new golden age in its storied history.Wilner, Barry. USC Trojans. United States: ABDO Publishing Company, 2013. During McKay's tenure, the Trojans won 8 conference titles, 5 Rose Bowls, produced two Heisman Trophy winners (Mike Garrett and O. J. Simpson) and won three national championships (1962, 1967, and 1972) and shared one (1974). Against UCLA, McKay was tough to beat, posting a 10–5–1 record against the Bruins between 1960 and 1975. McKay's favorite saying was, "There is nothing worse than losing to UCLA and nothing better than beating Notre Dame."Dwyre, Bill - USC-Notre Dame matchup brings back memories for John McKay’s son J.K. Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2013 Tommy Prothro was the UCLA coach who posted the wins against McKay's teams, and drew more attention to the rivalry.Foster, Chris and Gary Klein - John McKay and Tommy Prothro took USC-UCLA rivalry to new level in mid ‘60s. Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2015
For most seasons from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s, the two schools were the top powers on the West Coast with USC usually holding the top spot. In the 15 Rose Bowls played from 1966 to 1980, USC or UCLA played in 12 of them. Even with the rise of Don James' Washington Huskies in the 1980s and early 90s, UCLA or USC still went to the Rose Bowl seven times between 1981 and 1995. In the 1990s, UCLA enjoyed an eight-game winning streak against USC.
The Bruins' unbeaten string ended in 1999 when the Trojans began their longest win streak, 7, against the Bruins, though two of those wins (2004 and 2005) are now vacated, cutting the USC streak to five. Pete Carroll was hired by USC in December 2000.USC Hires Carroll. ABC News, December 15, 2000 During Carroll's tenure (2001–2009 seasons), USC was virtually unbeatable against its two most heated rivals, UCLA and Notre Dame. The only game that UCLA beat a Pete Carroll-coached team was the 13–9 win in 2006 at the Rose Bowl that kept USC out of the BCS Championship game and allowed the Bruins to keep the record for consecutive wins (8) in the rivalry.
Title of the game A number of titles have been applied to the football game such as: "The Los Angeles City Championship",Fab Frosh Pushes UCLA Past USC CBS news November 21, 1998Gustkey, Earl - Wachholtz, USC Seemingly in Right Place at Right Time Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1995 "The Crosstown Showdown",Fight for LA: Emotions high in UCLA-USC crosstown showdown Associated Press, USA Today, November 18, 2021 "The Battle of L.A.Tevino, Chris - Rapid Recap: USC falls 62-33 to rival UCLA in the Battle of L.A. 247Sports, November 20, 2021 or Los AngelesThe Battle of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2004", or simply the "crosstown rivalry".Connon, Sam - UCLA Men's Basketball Falters Against USC in 5th-Straight Crosstown Rivalry Loss Sports Illustrated, February 13, 2022Kartje, Ryan - Not the ideal regular-season ending for USC: Takeaways from loss to rival UCLA. Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2022 None have become the singular name for the game. Most often the game is referred to as the USC–UCLA (or UCLA–USC) football game by the media.White, Lonnie – THE RIVALRY: UCLA VS. USC – It could turn into a special moment. Xs and O's A look at a key matchup inside the USC–UCLA football game. Today: The special teams. Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2006. Fans of a particular team refer to it as the USC game or UCLA game, using the name of the opposing school.Yeo, Aubrey and Matt Joye - Trojans talk about rivalry week traditions, UCLA v. USC game. Daily Bruin, November 21, 2014Xue, Kathleen - Conquest aims to unite Trojans before UCLA game Daily Trojan, November 18, 2016
Activities before the game
At UCLA, the week before the game is known as "Beat 'SC Week" (officially dubbed "Blue and Gold Week"). At USC, the week before the game is known as "Troy Week"Florence, Mal - Trojans Need Perfect Game to Beat Bruins : Form Doesn't Always Hold in This Series; That May Be USC's Hope Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1985 during which the "Conquest" rally is held.CHAN, SARAH AND KARAN NEVATIA - Students celebrate rivalry week at Conquest 2017 Daily Trojan, November 17, 2017
Both schools host a number of activities on their respective campuses during the week to promote school spirit. Activities include parades, bonfires, rallies, and live entertainment.