Your guide to all things UCLA at this year’s Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday isn't just a showdown on the field, it's also a Bruin showcase. From UCLA alumni suiting up for the big game to scholars unpacking the halftime spectacle and researchers examining the economics of sports betting, UCLA voices are shaping the conversation around football, culture and finance.

UCLA is Super Bowl-bound again

UCLA ranks among the top five colleges in the nation in sending alumni to the Super Bowl, with a total of 118 players suiting up over the years. For Super Bowl LX, there will be more - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver and former Bruin sensation Jake Bobo and his fellow Bruin and Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (who is, unfortunately, sidelined with an injury). Read more about these Bruins and find out which other University of California athletes will be on the gridiron this Sunday.

The cultural stakes of the Super Bowl halftime show

For about 12 minutes each year, the Super Bowl becomes something more than a football game. The game's halftime presentation is one of the most powerful cultural stages in the world - a compressed spectacle where music, branding, politics and identity converge in front of a massive global audience. UCLA alumna Joanna Love, who is writing a book on the subject, explains how these halftime performances - from Madonna to Bad Bunny - reflect changing ideas of America.

Also: More UCLA halftime show experts

With expanded online sports gambling, what's happened to Americans' finances?

Since 2018, 38 U.S. states have rolled out legal sports betting - either online, in retail establishments like casinos or both. Millions of Americans have embraced it, placing more than $150 billion in sports bets in 2024 and some $600 billion overall to date, with 95% of that money gambled online. Now, researchers at the UCLA Anderson School of Management report that consumers in states where sports bets can be placed anywhere with an internet connection are more likely to carry excessive debt and struggle to pay it.

Also: Super Bowl gambling: Does America have a problem? UCLA's Dr. Timothy Fong weighs in

Want more football? Bruin Carson Schwesinger is NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

While the Cleveland Browns fell short of an NFL playoff berth this year, there was a bright spot - Browns linebacker and former UCLA standout Carson Schewsinger was named the Associated Press' NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Bruin to earn the honor. Schwesinger joins an esteemed list of UCLA alums to earn major NFL honors, including Troy Aikman (1993 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player), Kenny Easley (1984 NFL Defensive Player of the Year), and Bob Waterfield (1945 NFL Most Valuable Player). Read more about Schwesinger's time at UCLA and his work in UCLA's top-tier bioengineering program.