Dear Friend of Cal Athletics:
As I have reflected over the past few days, what strikes me most is the incredible team that we have in Cal Athletics. We are doing things this spring that we never thought we could do and certainly never thought we would have to do — host 29 in-season sports at the same time. From the intense planning in the fall to the consistent communication and teamwork and the willingness to adjust and troubleshoot has made this endeavor possible. While I know that this year continues to put a significant load on our coaches and staff to make it all happen, I do think that seeing our student-athletes competing in the sports they love makes it all worthwhile.
While COVID-19 has negatively impacted every team across the country, I think it's hard to understand the cumulative impact on student-athletes and the unique challenges they face. Unlike most other schools, our teams at Cal have not been inside their locker rooms, their team rooms or our dining rooms. Weight rooms have been set up outside and our basketball teams even had to practice on our tennis courts for two months before they went inside Haas Pavilion. Still, we haven't heard a complaint or excuse. I am so impressed at how our student-athletes have persevered under these circumstances.
To show what it can take, please check out this
time-lapse video we took last weekend when we hosted two men's basketball games, a volleyball match and a women's gymnastics meet. It truly captures the incredible work that our staff has done to turn Haas Pavilion over multiple times to accommodate all of these sports in 34 seconds!
It feels great to be able to cheer again after such a long layoff for so many of our teams and student-athletes, some of whom didn't get a chance to compete for well over a year. Our student-athletes have persevered through it all. They have put in so much work and effort, made sacrifices, and held themselves and their teammates accountable. We've seen how fragile this year can be, but our student-athletes have displayed character every step of the way, and I could not be prouder of what they have done this year.
As I write to you this week, we have seven teams ranked among the top 10, including two — women's swimming & diving and men's water polo — that are No. 1 in the country. The others are men's swimming & diving (2nd), women's water polo (8th), beach volleyball (9th), women's gymnastics (9th) and men's gymnastics (10th). In fact, our first conference championships are underway with the men's and women's diving and women's swimming Pac-12 meets taking place this week. Men's swimming and women's basketball are set for next week, and the men's basketball Pac-12 Tournament follows beginning March 10.
While much of our focus is understandably on supporting our teams back on campus, we have kept our eyes on the world around us with a particular emphasis in February on Black History Month. Since Feb. 1, we have been implementing a social media campaign on our @CalAthletics channels that offers a new post every morning at 8:46 a.m. – representing the time that a police officer's knee was on George Floyd's neck. In one video,
student-athletes discuss leaders in the Black community who have had an impact on them. We have also posted several pieces on CalBears.com, including on our
student-athletes, coaches and staff who attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit last month, a
first-person story from field hockey's Brynn Zorilla and a
feature on Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, our new Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, who has already made a huge impact on our department and the greater campus community with his ability to connect with people and offer a vision that will have a profound and lasting effect.
Many of our teams have also taken on their own projects during Black History Month, including our women's gymnastics team, which, along with alum and 2016 Olympian Toni-Ann Williams, participated in a virtual event with nearly 500 middle school students from Everett Middle School in San Francisco last week. The student-athletes shared insights on how they embrace their "One Day Better" team pledge. The event was the first of what will be a series of Accelerate school engagement sessions around the Bay Area.
The Cal Athletics Fund is grateful for the Golden Bear family stepping up to support safe and exceptional experiences for our student-athletes during these extraordinary times. We are excited to announce that through Dec. 31, 2020, we have raised approximately $18.9 million in gifts and pledges for fiscal year 2021 — about $4.7 million ahead of our pace through the end of 2019. In addition, our community has rallied behind the
Roll On campaign to provide essential annual fund resources to help us weather the pandemic while maintaining our championship culture. Through the end of 2020, we raised approximately $6.1 million in annual support — about $1 million ahead of our pace through 2019. Thank you to everyone who has given generously to support our future leaders through endowments and annual support. If you have not already given to the
Roll On campaign,
please make a gift to the sports or programs that mean the most to you.
In other news around the department, congratulations are in order for Michael Saffell, who has been named
the Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Michael earned his degree from the Haas School of Business in 3 1/2 years and will be returning in the fall as a graduate student. We've also continued with the roll out of
The Cameron Institute, with recent features highlighting each of the program's four pillars. Among the recent alumni we have profiled on our website is a
piece on former rugby player Pete Sonsini '90, who has become one of the most prolific investors in startup companies that have originated on our campus.
In addition, we had two well-attended Zoom events over the past couple of weeks. On Feb. 3, more than 500 people participated in a football signing day call with head coach
Justin Wilcox and his coordinators and a Q&A with alum Lorenzo Alexander, who recently retired from a long NFL career and was a Walter Payton Man of the Year finalist. And earlier this week, we continued our engagement with our alumni, holding another in our series of Zoom events specific for letterwinners. In "Bears in the Bubble: Professional Sports during the Pandemic," moderated by
Cassidy Raher '00 (men's basketball), Steve Birnbaum '13 (men's soccer), Reshanda Gray '15 (women's basketball), Jazmyn Jackson '18 (softball) and Katie McLaughlin '19 (women's swimming) discussed how they are managing their athletic careers during this unique time. We are so thankful for their engagement.
As you can tell, we are moving full speed ahead supporting our student-athletes and our alumni, and we could not do it without your support.
Thank you, and Go Bears!
Jim Knowlton
Director of Athletics
