Dear Friend of Cal Athletics:
I want to wish you a happy Big Game Week as we prepare to play Stanford in the 122nd renewal of the series this weekend. We're expecting a big Cal contingent to cheer for the Golden Bears on the Farm, as we make a final push over these last two games to earn a second consecutive bowl berth. The lead up to the Big Game is always a special time in the Bay Area, filled with rallies, luncheons and parties as generations of alumni and fans come together for one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football.
Our official pregame tailgate co-hosted by the Cal Alumni Association and Cal Athletics will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Koret Plaza on Stanford campus. Registration has closed with limited walk-ups registrations on the day of the game, but you can still join us in the stands to cheer on our Golden Bears. The Cal Alumni Association – LA Chapter is also hosting a tailgate prior to the UCLA game next Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Join us by registering at
CalUCLATailgate.Eventbrite.Com.
I'd also like to take this time to thank you for your support throughout our home season at California Memorial Stadium. Your presence and enthusiasm create a tremendous atmosphere and helps inspire our student-athletes on the field. We had our best turnout of the season at Tailgate Town last week prior to the USC game, as Maxwell Family Field was filled with fans listening to our final pregame concert and generally enjoying themselves in a range of activities. We held our annual Sons of California football alumni reunion on Maxwell, which was highlighted by honoring Golden Bear All-American quarterback
Craig Morton with the Glenn Seaborg Award for his career accomplishments in academics, athletics, leadership and attitude. Congratulations, Craig!
We hope to see you back in Memorial Stadium next fall when we will entertain a seven-game home schedule featuring TCU, Cal Poly, Utah, Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Stanford. To renew your tickets or place a deposit for new season tickets, please call (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) and press option 3.
On the basketball court, coach
Mark Fox has our men's team off to an exciting 4-0 start, and they have a great opportunity on the national stage this week when they face Duke and either Texas or Georgetown in Madison Square Garden in New York. For the women, coach
Charmin Smith picked up her first win last Sunday against UC Riverside, and she and her staff signed the nation's sixth-ranked recruiting class earlier this month. Special ticket deals for both teams are now available through the
tickets link on CalBears.com or by calling the ticket office.
On Thursday night, our men's soccer team plays UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. (you can watch the
live stream of the game here), and if the Bears win, they'll be back in the Bay Area at Saint Mary's Sunday for a second-round match starting at 1 p.m.
Kevin Grimes, who is in his 20th season leading our program, recently became our all-time winningest coach when Cal upended then-No. 1 Washington, 3-2, in Seattle, while senior Simon Lekressner, an economics major, was named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's soccer. Congratulations, Kevin and Simon!
Our women's soccer team just completed a terrific season with a 13-5-3 record and earned its 26th overall trip to the NCAA playoffs – a total that ranks fifth among all Division I programs. Freshman Angelina Anderson was voted both the
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year. I'd also like to congratulate our rugby program for capturing the
PAC 7s title for the seventh time in the last eight years. Go Bears!
Here on campus, our men's water polo team is hosting the
MPSF Championships at Spieker Aquatics Complex through Sunday with spots in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Our volleyball team looks to finish its year strong and has four difficult matches on the road to close the regular season, starting Friday at Colorado. With 20 wins, they are on a trajectory to return to the NCAA Tournament with selections announced on Sunday, Dec. 1.
I've had several opportunities to attend some inspiring events over the past couple of weeks, none more so than our annual Hall of Fame inductions, which were held on campus in the Pauley Ballroom for the first time on Friday, Nov. 8. Done in partnership with the Big C Society, we inducted seven accomplished individuals and a national champion crew. The program began with a
moving video that really captures what it means to be a student-athlete at Cal.
Last week, we held our second
Career Connections: Going Pro Beyond Sports in the University Club. More than 80 student-athletes and 50 professionals, many of them former student-athletes themselves, came together for an information session and networking event. It was a great reminder about the strength of the Cal Athletics family and how successful our Cal alumni become in their professional lives.
In addition, I presented our
strategic plan and spoke about the
Cameron Institute to a campus town hall hosted by Vice Chancellor Mark Fisher and spoke to more than 300 members of the SAE on the occasion of the Cal chapter's 125th anniversary, further helping spread good news about our department to faculty, staff and alumni.
A couple of weeks from now marks
Giving Tuesday, which provides an opportunity for us to contemplate what matters most in our lives. It is a chance to slow down from the busy pace of this time of year and to support the causes that are important to us. When you consider your philanthropy, we hope that you will support our student-athletes every day and especially on Giving Tuesday on Dec. 3.
I'd like to wish all of our Cal family a happy Thanksgiving and hope that you are able to enjoy the company of family and friends during this holiday season. Thank you, as well, for the role you play in enabling our 850 student-athletes to achieve success in all their endeavors.
Go Bears,
Jim Knowlton
Director of Athletics
