Dear Cal Family -

Greetings from Haas Pavilion! This is always such an exciting time of year, with our winter sports still in full swing and our spring sports getting started. We have 22 of our 30 sports in season, and there is so much for our Cal Family to celebrate - we have 11 teams currently nationally ranked, including seven in the top-10!

• No. 2 Men's Swimming & Diving
• No. 3 Women's Gymnastics
• No. 5 Women's Water Polo
• No. 7 Rugby
• No. 7 Women's Swimming & Diving
• No. 8 Beach Volleyball
• No. 8 Men's Gymnastics
• No. 14 Women's Tennis
• No. 19 Women's Golf
• No. 20 Men's Golf
• No. 21 Softball

I could not be more appreciative of the atmosphere our fans have created at our recent men's basketball games. As many of you likely know, we had our first sellout in seven years a couple of weeks ago against USC and also had near-capacity crowds against both Stanford and UCLA. I know Coach Madsen and everyone associated with the program shares my appreciation for establishing such a terrific home court advantage. The electricity inside Haas Pavilion - from the students to our rally committee to every single fan in the seats - has been absolutely palpable. I am thrilled about the future - and the present - of our program under Coach Madsen's energy, leadership and commitment to success!

Coach Smith also continues to guide our women's basketball program in an upward trajectory. We recently beat both Washington State and Washington on the road to give us a season sweep of both Washington schools for the first time in five years! At 15-11, Coach Smith now has her most wins since taking over as head coach - and plenty of opportunities for more success this season!

If you haven't had a chance to watch our women's gymnastics team in action yet this season, you're missing out! We are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation with some of the best student-athletes in the country. Mya Lauzon is the No. 3-ranked all-around individual in the nation and ranks No. 2 in three individual events. It should be especially exciting when we host the NCAA Regionals coming in early April at Haas Pavilion! Click here to reserve your seats today!

Spring football practice is right around the corner, and the team added two more student-athletes on National Signing Day to bring its recruiting class to 30 new players. As we continue our preparations to transition to the ACC in August, I couldn't be more excited about the future of our team with Coach Wilcox at the helm. Spring Practice begins March 18 and will be exciting and competitive!

Speaking of the ACC, I was joined by Chancellor Christ, Senior Woman Administrator Jenny Simon-O'Neill and Faculty Athletics Representative Oliver O'Reilly for the conference's winter meetings in Charlotte last week. We spent a lot of time discussing the current enterprise of intercollegiate athletics as well as scheduling and general operations within the ACC. The ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips, and his staff are truly first-class and we also enjoyed the time with our colleagues from across the conference schools.

The Cameron Institute held its inaugural "Go Girls, Go Bears, Go Play!" event earlier this month that brought together over one thousand young people and their families to Haas Pavilion in celebration of National Girls & Women In Sports Day. Fifteen of our teams led stations to expose youth to sports and learn directly from our student-athletes. Our teams were joined by 15 community organizations that provide services dedicated to creating equitable access to sports in the East Bay. It was truly a memorable event that celebrated the power of sport as a bridge to connect with our community.
 
I'm thrilled to share that through the Cal Family's generosity, the Campaign for Cal Athletics Excellence has reached an outstanding total of $350.2M over the last ten years, with $334.5M in support of the Light the Way Campaign. This historic achievement represents a pivotal moment for Cal Athletics, ushering in a new era of progress in facilities, scholarships, and the holistic student-athlete experience. Heartfelt thanks to the entire Cal Family for your immense generosity and unwavering support!
 
Earlier this month, we commemorated our scholarship student-athletes and donors at the annual Honorific Scholarship Celebration. It was an enriching experience to hear from remarkable individuals such as Jalen Cone from our men's basketball team, Kennedy Goss from lacrosse, co-head women's gymnastics coach Liz Crandall-Howell, and scholarship donors and Cal alums Ron and Stephanie Rivera. Thank you to all who contributed to support our student-athletes scholarship program and our staff for helping to make this evening truly special and meaningful for all involved.
 
Coming up, we are looking forward to the 10th anniversary of Big Give! I invite you to save the date as the entire Cal community will come together on March 14th to support our university and athletics programs. Your contribution will directly impact our 850-plus student-athletes, enabling Cal to thrive both academically and athletically at the pinnacle of competition. Your support on this day is invaluable!
 
See you soon - Go Bears!



Jim


 

• Green Jr. Named To Lou Gehrig Impact Team
• Smith Named To 100 Most Impactful People List
• Cal Duo Named To Golden Spikes Watch List
• 5 Bears Earn Preseason All-Pac-12 Honors
• Cole Murray, Alyssa Andreno Round Out Volleyball Staff
• Caleb Lomavita Named Preseason All-American
• Anzaldo Named To Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
• Borchers Tabbed As CSC Academic All-District Honoree
• Tyson Among Top 10 For Julius Erving Award