Women's sports programs at UCLA were established as a response to
Title IX. Dr. Judith Holland was named the athletic director for women's sports. The first UCLA Women's basketball team was established for the 1974-75 season.
Ann Meyers was the first woman recruited to play in college basketball at any university with a four-year scholarship. UCLA was a well established men's basketball powerhouse, having won 9 of their 10 championships under Coach John Wooden.
Coach Kenny Washington (1974-75) Kenny Washington, a basketball star on UCLA men's championship teams, became the first coach of the UCLA women's basketball program. He coached one season, leading the Bruins to an 18–4 record behind star
Ann Meyers. He was the first African-American head coach at UCLA in any sport.
Coach Ellen Mosher (1975-77) In the 1976-77 season Coach Ellen Mosher and the Bruins won the WCAA with a 7–1 record. Overall the Bruins finished with a 16–1 regular season record and an invitation to the
1977 AIAW National Large College Basketball Championship. They lost in the regionals to the same Cal State Fullerton team with whom they had split the regular season conference games. Subsequently, the Bruins were invited to the 1978
National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT). Advancing to the finals of the NWIT, they lost to Number 7 ranked Wayland Baptist in the championship game. Their win loss record was 20–3. In April, Mosher resigned and Moore was hired as the new head coach. Mosher took a job as the coach of the
Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team.
Coach Billie Moore (1977-93) Billie Moore was hired from Cal State Fullerton at the team. In two of the next three seasons, Moore led the Bruins to high national rankings. She coached at UCLA for 16 seasons, compiling a 296–181 record. However, the Bruins were 127–102 in her last eight seasons, and did not finish higher than third place in the
Pacific-10 Conference during that span. She resigned after a 13–14 finish in the 1992–93 season, amid criticism in recent years of her coaching methods, as well as an ongoing review of her program after a player alleged mental and verbal abuse by Moore. Meyers had 20 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and eight steals. Ortega recorded a team high 23 points. This team finished the season with a 27–3 record, including a then WCAA conference title.
Coach Kathy Olivier (1994-2008) Kathy Olivier moved from rival
USC under
Linda Sharp as an assistant coach under
Billie Moore in 1986. Following Moore's resignation, UCLA promoted Olivier to head coach on May 3, 1993. In 15 seasons at UCLA, Olivier went 232–208, with the program's first
Pac-10 regular season title in 1999 and first
Pac-10 Tournament title in 2006. UCLA made five NCAA Tournaments (1998–2000, 2004, 2006), with its most successful run being to the Elite Eight in
1999. Following a 16–15 season, Olivier resigned from UCLA on March 11, 2008.
Coach Nikki Fargas (2008-11) Nikki Fargas was named the head coach at UCLA on April 17, 2008, with a five-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million. In her first season, UCLA compiled a regular-season record of 18 wins and 11 losses. During the 2009–2010 season, UCLA placed second in the
Pac-10 (25–9) and was defeated by second-ranked Stanford in the
Pac-10 tournament.
Coach Cori Close (2011 - Present) Cori Close was named head coach on April 21, 2011.
2024-25 Season: NCAA Final Four The Bruins finished the
2024–25 season with a 34–3 record, including 16–2 in Big Ten play to finish in second place to
USC. UCLA proceeded to beat USC in the
2025 Big Ten conference tournament to win the championship. They were ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time in program history. They received the number 1 overall seed in the
2025 NCAA Tournament and reached their first NCAA Final Four game, where they were eliminated by the eventual national champion
UConn. A documentary named
You See LA produced by Fox Sports was broadcast on March 1, 2026 on FS1 immediately following the 2026 UCLA-USC women's basketball game. The episode includes footage from games and post-game locker room team meetings, team gatherings, and interviews.
2025-26 Season: 1st NCAA National Championship == Venue ==