Dear Friend of Cal Athletics,
 
The excitement around Cal Athletics at this time of year as we move toward commencement while also supporting many of our teams during their championship seasons is incredible. Twelve of our teams are still competing, and five of them are ranked among the top 12 in the country!
 
Our women's water polo team has earned the No. 3 seed in its NCAA Championship, which will take place May 6-8 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Bears solidified their spot with a thrilling 10-9 win over UCLA at the MPSF Tournament last weekend, and they are making their eighth all-time appearance at the national tournament. Our women's golf team is headed to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for its NCAA regional May 9-11, while our women's tennis team, which captured the Pac-12 regular-season title earlier this month, expects to be one of the top seeds in the NCAA Championships when the field is revealed on Monday. I expect we'll have much more to announce in the coming days.
 
One of our biggest events of the spring is on tap for Saturday with our Spring Football Showcase. Gates to the FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium will open at noon, starting a packed schedule of activities for the entire family, including food trucks, bounce houses, a beer garden, the opportunity to meet Cal football legends, and an autograph session with student-athletes and coaches that follows our 1:30 p.m. team scrimmage. I hope to see you in Berkeley for what is sure to be a fun-filled day. If you aren't able to make it to the stadium, the Pac-12 Network will televise the scrimmage and feature interviews with Coach Wilcox, student-athletes and special guests.
 
Saturday also marks the 127th renewal Big Meet at Stanford. Our track & field team is experiencing a resurgence under head coach Robyne Johnson, with both the men's and women's programs earning national rankings this year. Senior Camryn Rogers, already a two-time NCAA champion, broke her own collegiate record in the women's hammer throw earlier this season, while freshman Mykolas Alekna leads the country in the men's discus.
 
Our student-athletes impress me every day with their commitment to their studies, and the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll, announced on Thursday, provides the latest example. Of our eight sports that compete during the season, 92 Golden Bears earned recognition - all with GPAs of 3.30 or higher!
 
Last weekend, we celebrated former head baseball coach Bob Milano and three of the teams he led to the College World Series (1980, 1988, 1992), with more than 100 alumni participating in a ceremony before the Bears hosted UCLA. Bob, who served as head coach for 29 years, is a member of the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and retired as the winningest baseball coach in our history with 688 victories. The outward respect and admiration his players continue to show for him made the day even more special.
 
I'm proud to say that Tom Lowry, our Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief Financial Officer, has earned an Excellence in Management Award. Presented by the UC Berkeley Staff Assembly, these awards honor exemplary managers and supervisors who have led their teams and team members to meaningful accomplishments in the past year. Congratulations, Tom, for a well-deserved recognition!
 
Pei Lin has accepted our offer to become our new head diving coach and will begin her duties with us in May. Pei was a three-time NCAA runner-up on the 3-meter springboard while competing at Miami (Ohio), and she brings coaching experience from Ohio State and South Dakota, where she served as head diving coach this past season. Welcome to the Cal Family, Pei!
 
On Wednesday, June 1 (4-5 p.m), our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Justice office will host a virtual conversation as part of its official public launch. While Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas joined us as our Associate AD for DEIBJ in January 2021, we are excited to host a series of events where we will officially introduce our DEIBJ office to our Cal community and share updates on our progress. In particular, you are cordially invited to engage with our DEIBJ launch video, subscribe to our DEIBJ monthly newsletter and join the virtual conversation through this registration link.
 
We are excited to recognize the amazing accomplishments of our women student-athletes, coaches and administrators when we kick off our year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX on June 23. In line with the initiative, we announced earlier this month that Berkeley native Paul Violich, along with daughters Julia '88 and Mackellar '13, endowed The Paul Violich Family Scholarships for Women's Lacrosse in the hopes of promoting equality and equity in the changing landscape of women's collegiate athletics.You can read the full story about their family legacy and impact here. We are inspired by the individuals who continually step up to support the advancement of women's sports, and we are proud to announce that we are only $1 million away from completing our Gender Equality Campaign.
 
Scholarship support is essential to meeting our mission in Cal Athletics, and this past Sunday we recognized our generous supporters and the accomplishments of our student-athletes at our annual Scholarship Celebration Brunch and Thank You Awards and Luncheon. This year, we honored the Travers Family with the Bear of the Year Award, Ken Lloyd '74, '76 with the Golden Bear of the Year Award, Sunserae Smith '05 with the Cub of the Year Award, and Maya Goehring-Harris '96 with the Cal Spirit Recognition Award. It was incredible to finally gather in-person to celebrate these outstanding individuals. We are excited to return to in-person events, and we will be kicking off the summer with the return of our Coaches Caravans coming to a city near you. More details coming soon to your inbox!
 
Enjoy the great weather of spring, and I hope you come out to support our teams as they compete for championships.
 
Thank you, as always, and Go Bears,

 
Jim Knowlton
Director of Athletics