Cal Family -

Greetings from Haas Pavilion!

I'd like to begin this month's newsletter by officially welcoming Rich Lyons as our new Chancellor. We are excited about our new partnership with Chancellor Lyons. He certainly has Blue & Gold in his blood as the first Cal undergrad to be named Chancellor of the University. He will bring incredible insight and understanding to this position, and we are looking forward to working together as we face challenging opportunities in the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics. As always, our core mission to provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes will not change!

We are now just a few short weeks away from becoming official members of the ACC, and the excitement around our department is palpable. We've announced all of our fall schedules, and we have some amazing road trips in store to new locales that will be exciting for our teams and fans. We are looking forward to playing in East Coast locations that have Cal alumni and supporters in their footprint, as well as bringing our Bay Area fans on the road to visit these new areas of the country!

The Olympics begin next week, and we have 57 current and former athletes and coaches making their way to Paris for the Summer Games.– which ties our previous record of 57 set at the last Olympics in Tokyo! We have an especially strong contingent in the pool, with 20 swimmers qualifying and our Director of Swimming & Diving Dave Durden serving as an assistant coach for Team USA. We also have four men's water polo players and three on the women's side, along with former Cal standout Chris Oeding serving as an assistant coach for the United States' women's water polo team.

Below is the complete breakdown of our representatives by sport:

• Swimming: 21
• Rowing: 14
• Water Polo: 9
• Track & Field: 5
• Soccer: 2
• Golf: 2
• Badminton: 2
• Field Hockey: 1
• Table Tennis: 1

Speaking of water polo, it was a thrill to see Nikolaos Papanikolaou and Isabel Williams sweep the prestigious Cutino Awards last month. The Peter J. Cutino Award is named after our longtime men's water polo coach here at Cal and is awarded each year to the top male and female player in the country. While "Papa" won the award for the third consecutive year, Isabel became the first woman in Cal history to take home the honor! It was also only the sixth time ever a single institution swept both awards in the same year. Nikolaos and Isabel were both exemplary student-athletes while they were at Cal, and we can all learn a lot by the way they carried themselves and succeeded in everything they did here in Berkeley.

I wanted to recognize a couple of our teammates who have earned impressive recognition lately. Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, our associate athletics director for diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and justice, was one of three individuals to be named a 2024 Champion of Diversity and Inclusion – which is awarded by the NCAA's Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee. The honor is handed out twice a year to individuals at NCAA colleges, universities and athletics conferences who have shown a commitment to influencing and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; advocating for and supporting underrepresented populations, and diversifying pipeline opportunities within college athletics.

Meanwhile, Markeisha Everett, our chief marketing and communications officer, was named the president of NACMA – the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators. Markeisha is the first Black female to serve in the role.

We also had a distinct honor issued to our Black Student-Athlete Community – the 2024 Black Student-Athlete Organization of the Year. The group was recognized for its unique and well-established events and programming throughout the 2023-24 academic year which included numerous interactions with groups on campus as well as within the community.

We won yet another NCAA championship last month in track & field, as Rowan Hamilton became our first men's hammer throw national champion in over 100 years! The last time Cal had the national champion in the men's hammer throw was 1922. Rowan also became our first NCAA men's champion in any event since 2011. We are hoping we don't have to wait another 100-plus years for another champion!

And it was so special to see Jaylen Brown be named MVP of the NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics. Jaylen continues to acquit himself as a bona fide superstar in the league and his efforts on and off the court continue to make us so proud to call him a Golden Bear. Jaylen was part of a strong Cal flavor in the NBA Finals – joining Dallas head coach Jason Kidd and Mavs CEO Cynt Marshall. In case you missed it, Dr. Douglas wrote this terrific op-ed illustrating the impact this "Big Three" had on the NBA Finals.

Our men's basketball program continues to travel and engage with the Cal community. Last month, Head Coach Mark Madsen visited with alumni and supporters in Asia, and last weekend he and the team traveled to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League and to engage with former Cal players - including Jaylon Tyson, who is now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

We recently hosted one of my favorite events of the year in Lake Tahoe - our Cal Athletics Coaches' Caravan at Gar Woods Grill & Pier with the help of our Bears in the Woods alumni chapter. We had over 150 people attend this lively event that featured coaches Charmin Smith, Kirk Everist, Jen Malcom, Neil McGuire, Mike Bloesch, and Adam Mazarei. Big thanks to Tom and Maureen Turner - owners of Gar Woods - as well as Chet Curtis, leader of Bears in the Woods, who make this annual event possible. We hope you will consider joining next year.

Your support of our Cal student-athletes is critical to our success, especially as we approach the upcoming fall season. You can help our Golden Bears compete at the highest level through giving to the Cal Athletics Fund or the California Legends Collective . Cal Athletics also has two incredible events leading up to our football game at Auburn on Sept. 7 - enjoy an exclusive dinner at the College Football Hall of Fame on the evening before the game, featuring Cal spirit, dance, and other special guests! Then on gameday, join us at the official Cal Athletics tailgate prior to the game featuring Cal fanfare, all-you-can-eat BBQ and a selection of beverages. To purchase tickets to both events, click here

As we make our final preparations to move to the ACC, we continue to ensure we are well-prepared to handle the ongoing changes to the collegiate landscape. We can all feel the excitement building as we get closer to fall competitions. 

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who gave to Cal Athletics last fiscal year. Together, your generosity will provide over $38 million in support of our student-athletes, ensuring they have the resources to excel both academically and athletically. A big THANK YOU!!!

I look forward to seeing you at an event soon - Go Bears!



Jim