UCLA CFO Resigns Amid Financial Concerns

Stephen Agostini, the CFO at UCLA and a key supporter of the university’s plan to relocate its football games from the Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium, has resigned. This unexpected move poses a significant challenge for the Bruins’ athletic department.

The announcement was made on Tuesday through an internal memo from UCLA President Julio Frenk addressed to faculty and staff.

In the interim, Reem Hanna-Harwell, who is the senior vice dean for finance and administration at UCLA College, will step in as the acting CFO as the search for Agostini’s replacement begins.

Agostini had been advocating for the shift to SoFi Stadium as UCLA aimed to explore new revenue opportunities. This plan included a mixed-use development initiative, which was anticipated to provide financial benefits to the university and potentially alleviate costs associated with leaving the Rose Bowl, as well as a breach of contract lawsuit from Pasadena aimed at keeping UCLA at its traditional home.

He recognized the athletic department’s role as a significant marketing and branding asset for the university and supported it in various critical aspects.

Agostini was part of a team that, alongside President Frenk, helped eliminate a comprehensive debt load while allocating $30 million in direct support to athletic departments during the last two fiscal years. This was a considerable move, especially since the athletic department had accumulated a $241.1 million deficit over the past seven years.

However, the financial situation of the athletic department has faced scrutiny from the UCLA Academic Senate, which has demanded an independent audit and a detailed plan to either break even or significantly reduce subsidies.

Agostini joined UCLA in May 2024, leaving a similar role at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His departure might be linked to his comments in the Daily Bruin about the serious mismanagement of university finances that could lead to a projected $425 million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

However, UCLA’s Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications, Mary Osako, countered this by stating that the actual deficit projection is “significantly smaller,” noting that some spending was still under discussion and not yet approved as part of an evolving plan.

Osako emphasized that President Frenk maintains confidence in the leadership at UCLA and the integrity of its financial oversight. Any claims to the contrary, she asserts, are unfounded.

In Agostini’s interview with the Daily Bruin, he portrayed a less favorable view of the university’s financial situation. He noted that the university’s published financial reports contained numerous factual inaccuracies. He also criticized the Ascend finance reform project, which aimed to modernize financial practices but was deemed a “terrible waste of resources” after incurring $150 million in costs and was put on hold indefinitely.

He expressed a sense of disbelief over the university’s financial management issues, stating, “Some days I still wonder how this happened. We have to fix it.”

Now, the responsibility for addressing this economic situation will fall to others.