BERKELEY – Jerry Figone, for over three decades the team manager and director of operations for California rugby, received an honorary membership award from the Big C Society at its annual Senior Recognition Banquet April 19 at the International House.
“What a well-deserved honor,” head coach Jack Clark told the audience during his remarks. “Jerry really has been a dedicated servant to all things Cal, and I think the lion’s share of that beneficiary has been our rugby program.”
In addition to his wife, Valerie, for her support; associate head coach of Cal rugby, Tom Billups, for nominating him; and the Big C Society, the entity that awards varsity letters in athletics, for voting for his recognition, Figone thanked coach Clark for “continuing to give me the opportunity every day to work with my colleagues and have a shared learning experience with our world-class student-athletes. It’s a true honor to receive this honorary membership and be noted for all time with the other honorary members and recipients who make the Big C Society so wonderful.”
“Jerry Figone’s willingness to work and the selflessness of his time commitment is unmatched on our campus,” said coach Billups. “His inclusion to the Big C Society is just reward for all he has done for the rugby program, the Intercollegiate Athletics department and the university.”
Figone was presented the award at the banquet by Kent Brewer, President of the Big C Society, after being introduced by Cal Athletic Hall of Famer Gary Hein, an All-America rugby player and gridiron football player in the 1980s as a Bear whose Cal rugby teams won multiple national championships.
“To outsiders who wonder whether Cal rugby is autonomous and on auto pilot, it is not,” said Hein. “There are a number of people who give a massive amount of time to it, but none more so than ‘Bones.’ There are several decades of Cal ruggers who affectionately refer to Jerry as ‘Bones,’ especially since, by the end of most postseasons, that’s all that’s left of him. Jerry has given every ounce that he has to our rugby program. His selfless approach and his ability to draw people together is unparalleled.”
Figone officially joined the Cal rugby staff as an assistant coach to Clark in the mid-’80s, and over time he became the team’s manager. Figone was also involved with Clark in USA Rugby beginning in the mid-’90s, eventually becoming its equipment manager.
A seemingly omnipresent figure at Doc Hudson Fieldhouse and Witter Rugby Field who has mentored hundreds of student-athletes to achieve in the classroom and on the pitch, Figone also helped to found the women’s rugby club at the university in 1978 and later coached the Berkeley Youth Rugby Club.
He joined the Golden Bears in an official capacity after managing the Old Blue RFC in the early ’80s and coached both the Northern California and Pacific Coast U-19 teams during his early years with the Bears.
Ray Lehner, a Cal rugby great from the 1990s, like Hein a former All-American, Oxford Blue and player on the U.S. National Team, and also a former assistant coach for the Rugby Bears, called Figone “an institution unto himself” and “the glue that holds the whole thing together. Not only will Jerry give you the shirt off his back, but he never forgets a name and he will always give you the warmest, most-accredited introduction, and that’s because he truly loves his friends.”
Assistant coach Mike MacDonald, who was an All-American at Cal before a professional playing career and record-setting 67 appearances on the U.S. National Team, said of Figone, “His unwavering devotion to Cal rugby and the University of California is unparalleled. He is loved and admired by the players that have come and gone, and a master at everything that he does.”
Andrew Lindsey, another former Cal All-American and captain of the 2006 national collegiate champions, said Figone “made everyone’s life a little bit easier by doing the hard jobs. He means a lot to all of us and cares so much for his players. Everyone knows and appreciates what he does.”
“‘Bones’ is at the heartbeat of Cal rugby,” added 2011 champion co-captain and current English Premiership professional Blaine Scully. “When you’re part of the program, you feel as though ‘Bones’ would do anything for you. After graduation, that feeling does not change. Coach Figone is an amazing part of the fabric that makes the University of California the special place that it is.”
Extending well beyond campus, the love and appreciation for Figone permeates the American rugby landscape at every level. His deep roots in the Bay Area also offer frequent reminders that the respect he commands from the Cal Athletics family is mutually shared with the community at large.
Everyone who has had the pleasure and privilege to work with him – from those in the American rugby community, to his friends, colleagues and student-athletes at the University of California, and countless others among the many walks of life in which he has marched proudly – send their sincere gratitude and congratulations to Jerry Figone for this deserved recognition.
