Dear Friend of Cal Athletics:
 
In my January Knowlton's Notes, I offered nine priorities that I have for our department for 2019. At the top of the list was to create a vision and strategic plan, and I put it there for a reason.
 
A well-conceived and thought-out plan is essential for our success, providing clear direction for our department and a framework for the months and years ahead. It will include short-term and long-term goals and help prioritize them so that we can take organized, deliberate steps forward. Importantly, the plan will be nested within the campus strategic plan that was released in December.
 
At Cal, we have a responsibility, and I would even say expectation, to deliver exceptional. The more we put into our plan, the more we will get out of it and the more powerful it can be. The plan has to be a working document – it cannot go on a shelf and gather dust – and we must use it regularly as a guideline to evaluate where we are and where we need to go.
 
One of our points of emphasis will be increasing revenues and our philanthropic efforts. To that end, we are excited that Brian Mann begins his tenure as our Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Development Officer today. You can read Brian's welcome message here.
 
We have had an active first couple of months of the New Year, including the annual NCAA Convention in January. Among the proposals we passed in Orlando was a Pac-12-sponsored requirement that institutions make mental health services and resources available for student-athletes. While we have invested in this area at Cal in recent years, this resolution strengthens the commitment nationwide among the Autonomy Five Conferences (Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC) and adds to the number of student-athlete-focused reforms that have been adopted since 2015, including cost of attendance and time management.
 
Within our department, we welcomed Dr. Derek Greenfield, a nationally known speaker on diversity and inclusion, to campus in late January for a pair of presentations – one with our entire staff and one for all of our student-athletes. Dr. Greenfield challenged us to connect with each other, see and appreciate our differences, and acknowledge the discomfort that some inclusion conversations can create. He stressed that we need to work to be the best team possible by embracing everyone, with all of our similarities and differences. This session was a first of multiple intentional steps that we will take in the coming months with the goal of improving our department culture as it pertains to acceptance, inclusion, diversity, belonging, and support for all people.
 
On February 6, we celebrated National Girls and Women in Sport Day, which is recognized nationally at high schools, colleges, universities and other sports organizations. At Cal, we have a student-led organization called Golden Girls that meets weekly with the goal of bringing together female student-athletes across all sports. With the help of our staff, these student-athletes put together a video, and it is inspiring to see how confident and unified our young women are as they develop at Cal. A few days later at our women's basketball game vs. Oregon State, student-athletes from multiple sports hosted clinics on the court at halftime for girls and boys in attendance – and the floor was packed!
 
Also on February 6, we held a football signing day event at the University Club with emcee John Stock, as well as many members of the audience, posing questions to Coach Wilcox on the incoming student-athletes and what fans can expect to see in the fall. It was great to listen to his vision for the program, and the excitement and enthusiasm for the upcoming season was quite evident.
 
At the annual Baseball Gala, we honored Andrew Vaughn, the 2018 Golden Spikes Award winner, along with alumni Bob Melvin and Marcus Semien of the Oakland A's and Larry Baer of the San Francisco Giants. That same week, we held our Scholarship Banquet, which allows our student-athletes to connect with the families that provide funding for their scholarships. And on next Monday, we will host our Annual Thank You Luncheon, which recognizes our donor community for its ongoing commitment to our athletics programs. I'd like to thank Chancellor Christ for attending all of these important events and showing her continued support for our department, our student-athletes and our alumni.
 
We focused much of our time in January on end-of-the-season reflection and review meetings with our fall sport coaches. These 90-minute sessions, which we will do for all of our sports at the end of their competitive seasons, include the head coach and the sport administrator and are a comprehensive look at the just-completed season and the overall program. We review a 10-year summary of statistics, including records, postseason results, grade-point averages and graduation rates, use feedback from student-athletes and staff, examine the sport's Listening Days action plan, provide a performance review of the head coach and address any other topics the coach wants to raise.
 
While these meetings require a substantial investment in preparation and execution, I do believe that this is one of the most valuable uses of our time. Our head coaches are key ambassadors for our department and the University as a whole, and it is important that we take time to work together to ensure we provide the best student-athlete experience while fielding nationally competitive programs.
 
On the courts, field and pools, our student-athletes continue to inspire us. In particular, we had a historic weekend in women's basketball February 8-10 when Kristine Anigwe became our all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and Asha Thomas set our career 3-point field goal record. Our men's team, while young and still learning how to win, continues to work hard and believe in each other. I have spent a lot of time talking with Coach Jones about how we can continue to improve our program. Although I know that the results are not what we want to see, I believe the team continues to improve and we are all working together to raise the bar.
 
With March approaching, the postseason is right around the corner with the Pac-12 basketball tournaments slated for Las Vegas and the swimming & diving teams in Federal Way, Washington, for their Pac-12 meets. Our gymnastics teams are also readying for their conference meets in late March (women) and early April (men). Many of our spring sports are also well underway, and our spring football game is set for Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. in California Memorial Stadium.  Season-ticket holders will receive information about an exclusive event on the 16th soon, and we'll be handing out our annual spring football poster with a few special appearances added in. With rugby, baseball, women's tennis and lacrosse also playing on campus that day, it should be a good time in Berkeley for all.
 
As always, we appreciate all that you do as supporters and representatives of our department. We are continuing to work hard to make you proud of Cal Athletics, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our many events soon.
 
Go Bears,



Jim Knowlton
Director of Athletics