This feature originally appeared in the 2022 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.




Berkeley native Paul Violich, along with daughters Julia '88 and Mackeller '13, have recently 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 athletics.

The roots of the Violich family are tied around the Golden State and centered in the heart of Berkeley. Paul Violich describes his family as "California centric," dating back to a lineage of ancestors coming to California in 1849 in search of gold.

Violich's connection with the University began well before his time as a philanthropist, with both of his parents graduating from Cal as members of the class of '25 and '26, respectively. Growing up in Berkeley, Violich began selling programs outside of California Memorial Stadium in 1947 while watching Golden Bear greats such as Jackie Jenson and Johnny Olszewski during the Pappy Waldorf era. It was here that he developed his enthusiasm for Cal Athletics.

"The team used to take the bus up from Harmon Gym to the stadium," Violich said. "All the kids would gather around the bus, and the players would put their arms around us and take us into the game. On one occasion, Jackie Jenson put his arm around me and took me into the game … and you couldn't touch my shoulder for two weeks after that."

Although illicitly training at Harmon Gym while in high school, Violich was recruited to swim and play water polo at Stanford, where he majored in history and economics. During his senior year, he made the decision to join the Navy, ultimately becoming a Navy Seal. He later returned to Stanford to obtain his MBA before embarking on a career in finance and agriculture.

"When I worked in New York, I was the first person in my family to live outside of California in over a hundred years," Violich said. After a stint on Wall Street, he moved back to the Bay Area. He first engaged in investment management and currently serves as the president of Violich Farms, Inc., one of the largest producers of almonds and walnuts in California. In the meantime, he has continued to honor the Cal-Stanford rivalry by attending 67 Big Games since 1946.

Fate would continue to link Violich to Berkeley, as daughters maintained the family's tradition by competing as student-athletes. Julia was a member of the Cal women's soccer program, while Mackeller found a home within the Golden Bear lacrosse team.

Seeing athletics through the lens of a Cal parent, Violich knew he wanted to create a legacy of equity and accountability for women's sports. He began his endeavor by endowing both the head women's swim coach and the head women's lacrosse coach positions at his alma mater, Stanford.

Fast forward a few years, and the spirit of philanthropy has developed in daughters Julia and Mackeller, who joined forces to generate opportunities for female student-athletes at Cal. As former Golden Bears, they believed it was important for them to give back to the programs they held near and dear. Cal's women's soccer program has its full allotment of scholarships, so the Violiches focused their attention on lacrosse and the program's need for scholarship support.

"When I played at Cal, there were only three women's lacrosse scholarships," Mackeller stated. "We now have seven out of 12. I think having these scholarships will help to rebound the program and make a really big impact on women's lacrosse, not only at Cal but on the entire West Coast."

The Paul Violich Family Scholarships for Women's Lacrosse were officially endowed in December of 2021, and were inspired by two matching scholarship gifts from the Rogers Family Foundation and an anonymous donor.

"Scholarships are the foundation of support we can provide to student-athletes," Cal head lacrosse coach Brooke Eubanks said. "The Violich family has been an instrumental part of our scholarship increases, having a huge impact on our current team and future recruits. Words cannot describe the gratitude our program has for the Violich family."

The Violiches hope that in creating these scholarships, they will inspire others to give back and help Cal lacrosse reach the program's maximum scholarship limit.
"The Violich family has made a monumental impact on our women's lacrosse program and the lives of our student-athletes," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "I could not be more grateful of their support and appreciative of their commitment to our young women and our program."