In the fall of 1980, a fledgling field hockey program in only its fifth season of existence made a run all the way to the national championship final.
 
Now, nearly 40 years later, two members of that team are giving back in a way that will help support the program for another 40 years – or longer. Thanks to a pair of $1 million gifts from Tom Shaffer and his mother, Abby, and Emily Risberg and her husband, Jeff, field hockey will become the first women's sport at Cal to have its head coaching position endowed. From now on, the position will be known as the Donna Fong Director of Field Hockey, named in honor of the Golden Bears' first head coach.
 
"I got excited when we found there was a way to have a significant impact on our budget and honor Donna," said current head coach Shellie Onstead, who played for Fong and became the first field hockey All-American in Cal history. "The fact that field hockey is the first women's sport to have a coaching endowment says a lot about the history of this program and the passion behind it. This was ideal in so many ways."
 
Both Tom Shaffer and Emily Risberg have long connections to Cal field hockey, dating back to when they were students in Berkeley during the early years of the team's existence. Risberg was a midfielder for the Bears, while Shaffer served as the team's assistant coach. Under Fong's guidance, they helped the program achieve its highest finish ever with a runner-up performance in the 1980 AIAW national tournament.

 

As a student at Cal, Shaffer was a member of the junior varsity men's basketball team for two years before learning the sport of field hockey. He continued to play after graduation and made several appearances with the U.S. National Team. Shaffer earned his degree in chemical engineering in 1979, then officially joined Cal field hockey as Fong's assistant coach in 1980.
 
During his stint with the Bears, he embarked on his professional career with Chevron. Over the ensuing years, he stayed close to Cal field hockey, and he remains passionate about ensuring gender equity in sports.
 
"I'm very supportive of the field hockey program, and I'm very supportive of Donna," Tom Shaffer said. "I appreciate having the connection to Cal and being able to do things to impact Cal. I feel this is something we can leverage to help get people to support women's athletics and the field hockey program. It's a great activity and a great program in need of support."
 
Risberg played for the Bears through the 1980 season, graduating in 1981 with her degree in nutrition and food science. While she spent the majority of her career in the biotech and bioinstrumentation fields, she has continued to support the sport of field hockey, even coaching it for 10 years at the high school level. Risberg is a supporter of gender equity in sport and business, and in 2015 she founded a nonprofit company called Title IX Media in support of the cause. In addition, she is a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Palo Alto, a volunteer division of the Palo Alto Fire Department.
 
Risberg's desire to honor the legacy of her college coach dates back to when she first met Fong at a summer field hockey camp as a young teenager. The impression Fong made continues to this day.
 
"I would have never dreamed that she would ultimately be my coach," said Risberg, who, with Jeff, also honored Fong in 2015 by establishing the Donna Fong Scholarship Fund given each year to support a deserving student-athlete. "I was so impressed by her because she just had this quiet style about her. Her technical knowledge of the game was just amazing."
 
Fong oversaw the Cal field hockey program for 19 seasons, beginning with the team's initial campaign in the fall of 1976. She ultimately guided the team to the postseason seven times before her retirement in 1994. Over her final three seasons, Fong led Cal to three conference titles and earned NorPac Coach of the Year each time.
 
Over the course of her career, Fong coached seven All-Americans, and her players earned all-conference honors 52 times. During the historic 1980 season, the roster featured Onstead and future two-time Olympian Marcy Place. Other star players who suited up for Fong over the years included Sheryl Johnson, who became a member of three U.S. Olympic teams, and Renee Chatas, who served as an official at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Johnson, Place, Chatas and Onstead each had stints as members of the U.S. National Team.

"We are incredibly appreciative of Tom, Abby, Emily and Jeff for their commitment to our field hockey program by honoring a coach, Donna Fong, who had a lasting impact on their lives," Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "Their investment in Cal field hockey not only strengthens its foundation for long-term success, but also helps ensure consistency and sustainability in the program for now and into the future."
 
Onstead succeeded Fong in 1995 and recently completed her 25th season as head coach. She had her own Olympic moment in 2008 when she served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team in Beijing. On the turf, she is a six-time conference Coach of the Year and has led the Bears to 11 NCAA Tournaments.
 
The field hockey position is the third coaching endowment at Cal, following the establishment of the Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf announced in 2016 and the Director of Men's Tennis created by an anonymous donor in 2018.