Greetings from Haas Pavilion!

The energy in Haas Pavilion has been palpable ever since Mark Madsen arrived on campus a couple of weeks ago! Watching Mark introduce himself to our Cal Family has been exciting, and he has certainly hit the ground running since the moment he agreed to become our new head men's basketball coach. Simply put, Mark is a superb fit for our team, our department and our University. His commitment to academic and athletic excellence align perfectly with our mission, and the success he has experienced at every level of basketball gives him a unique edge as he leads our program into the future. As I said at the time we announced his hire, Mark's name repeatedly rose to the surface the more we delved into the exhaustive search to find our new head coach. I can't wait to watch him lead our young men as he works to restore our program back to where it belongs.

Speaking of men's basketball, I had the thrill and honor of spending time last month with members of our 1992-93 team that went to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen at a 30-year reunion in Las Vegas. Cal legends such as Lamond Murray, Monty Buckley and many more shared stories of that memorable run, and it served as a reminder of the rich and successful history of our program. Our top-notch marketing and creative staff produced this video to commemorate the event, and I look forward to making more of such memories in the future!

You've probably seen by now that Dave Durden and our men's swimming & diving team did it again! NCAA championship No. 8 came last month in Minneapolis as the team tallied 482 points to win the national title over runner-up and fellow Pac-12 foe Arizona State. It was the second consecutive national championship for our men's swimming & diving team and the sixth for Coach Durden. Dave was named the CSCAA National Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Coach of the Year as he continues to train our swimmers at an elite level, and I'm sure there are more celebrations to come in the future!

I wanted to send out a special shout-out to our women's gymnastics team, which recently completed one of the best seasons in program history! The team advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time ever and took a No. 4 national ranking into the meet. We also won a regional for the first time in program history with the highest team score of any team in any regional. Kudos to co-head coaches Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell, who were named the WCGA National Co-Head Coaches of the Year!

I hope many of you had a chance to join us on Saturday for our Spring Showcase at California Memorial Stadium. It was a beautiful day in Strawberry Canyon and our football team put on a great show for our fans. It was so exciting to see the work that our coaches and student-athletes put in this spring, and I know the team will continue to grow during the summer for what should be an exciting fall. Season tickets are on sale and can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com or calling (800)-GO-BEARS.

Before the Spring Showcase, the Cal Athletics Fun hosted its annual Thank You Luncheon and Awards Celebration, where we honor and thank everyone who supports our 850 student-athletes each year. This year, we honored Jack Clark '79 (Cal Spirit Recognition Award), Jason Gant '06 (Cub of the Year), Kevin Kennedy '91 (Golden Bear of the Year) and Bud Lyons '72 (Bear of the Year) – all played a transformative role in our department through their generosity and commitment to our student-athletes.

Our men's basketball program also hosted a reunion in our south end zone terrace, and many of our alums got the chance to meet Coach Madsen and share their excitement about the new chapter of our program.

Our women's gymnastics team's success is part of what has been an incredible run for so many of our spring sports. As I write this, we have seven teams that are nationally ranked and a handful of others that are either in the postseason or headed that way. Our rugby team is coming off a huge win over Saint Mary's in the quarterfinals of the National Collegiate Championships and will host BYU this Saturday at Witter Rugby Field. Men's gymnastics competed in the NCAA Championships last weekend with seven individual qualifiers and finished ranked ninth in the nation. Our men's rowing is ranked No. 1 in the country as it looks to defend its national championship from last year. Women's water polo, women's rowing and beach volleyball are all ranked in the top 10, and our softball and tennis teams look on their way to postseason berths as well.

Big congratulations to Makena Smith of our softball team! Makena was taken in the Women's Pro Fastpitch Draft earlier this week. She was selected with the 15th overall pick by the Smash It Sports Vipers!

We continue with our year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Our women's water polo team held a special dedication game in which over 20 alums from the early years of the program – before it was recognized as a varsity sport - were honored during a special ceremony just before our game against Indiana. They then held a reunion at Legends Aquatic Center where our pre-varsity alums shared stories of their experiences. We continue to be inspired by the women who paved the way for our female student-athletes of today!

I would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who attended the Scholarship Celebration in March - it was an incredible evening where we celebrated our scholarship student-athletes and recognized the generous supporters who make scholarships possible. Adding scholarships continues to be a priority for the department, with a campaign goal to hit the NCAA maximum for all sports. Visit calathleticsfund.com to learn more about giving opportunities. 

I look forward to seeing you at fields, pools and courts in the weeks ahead as we support our Cal Bears, and also to watching many of our young men and women walk across the dais at commencement on May 13 as they graduate from the No. 1 public university in the world.

Go Bears!


 
Jim