Monthly Newsletter From Cal’s Director of Athletics
Cal Family –
Greetings from Haas Pavilion!
As the excitement swirls with our winter sports still in action and most of our spring sports fully underway, we are also keeping an eye on the impending hearing on April 7 that will likely grant final approval for the NCAA House Settlement – which will allow universities across the country to revenue share with student athletes. If approved, universities will be able to provide up to $20.5 million annually to student-athletes through a revenue-sharing pool, and we are committed to continuing to provide the world-class student-athlete experience that has become our longstanding legacy.
Clearly, we will need to continue to maximize our revenue streams in every way possible, and an integral way we plan on doing so is through your support. We have already started fundraising for the new revenue sharing model, and we need your support more than ever before.
One way to demonstrate your support is to participate in our annual “Big Give,” which is right around the corner on March 13. Big Give is critical to our department and helps raise the essential funds needed for our 30 sports programs to operate on a day-to-day basis. Please check out the Big Give website to learn about the different programs you can support, see Big Give matches (donors who have pledged to match funds raised), and participate in the donor challenges throughout the day. You can also Sign up to be an ambassador to help spread the word. Any gift of any size makes a difference and with support from our entire Cal Family, we can thrive in this new era of intercollegiate athletics. THANK YOU!!!
What a thrill it was to see our men’s swimming & diving team win Cal’s first ACC championship in history! Coach Durden and his young men put on a show in Greensboro last week, winning the team championship and taking three individual championships and three relay titles in the process. And guess what? We’re not done. I know there are many, many more championships to come, and when you look at the success some of our teams are currently having, it could be sooner rather than later. We have seven teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, including our No. 5 women’s gymnastics team which remains undefeated in the ACC!
Earlier this month, the Cameron Institute’s community engagement pillar hosted the second annual Go Girls Go Bears Go Play field day event in celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day. We were thrilled to see incredible participation from our student-athletes, teams, and communities. With over 2,000 students and families, 145 student-athletes, and 25 community-based organizations dedicated to expanding access to sports in the Bay Area, the joy and power of sport were on full display. While this event was just one day, it symbolizes our community engagement pillar’s year-round commitment to breaking down barriers and creating pathways to sports, play, movement, and connection to Cal Athletics and the greater campus. We are proud to host initiatives like Go Girls Go Bears Go Play, which create opportunities to make athletics more inclusive and accessible. Thank you to everyone who participated on this special day, and check out the highlight video here!
We’re excited to share how local businesses are stepping up to support our student-athletes through Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities! We hosted an NIL Networking Night with 20 local businesses in the Berkeley community, where we presented the value of NIL and shared opportunities on how they can get involved with student-athletes in the NIL space. Over 100 student-athletes attended, many of whom walked away with NIL deals with members of our local business community. These partnerships not only empower our athletes to build their personal brands but also strengthen the bond between our university and the surrounding community. When local businesses invest in NIL, they’re investing in the future of our student-athletes – on and off the field. We’re proud to see our hometown community rally behind them, and can’t wait to see what’s next! If you are a Bay Area business and interested in working with Cal student-athletes in the NIL space, you can register with the Golden Exchange – the official NIL marketplace to engage in deals with student-athletes, who can be contacted directly in the platform! Thank you for your continued support in making these partnerships possible!
Cal Athletics partnered with Roots of Fight and the Cal Alumni Association to welcome student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus and broader community members to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of Black Heritage and History, as the new Roots of Fight (ROF) Campus Legends x Cal Collection was launched in honor of Jason Kidd and Marshawn Lynch! A packed Alumni House audience was treated to a thoughtful, moderated conversation about Marshawn’s journey and experiences at Cal and beyond. Women’s basketball coach Charmin Smith also shared remarks, and she and Marshawn were presented with their 2024 ACC Unite Awards! Congresswoman Lateefah Simon was a special guest at the event, as were leaders of the Cal Black Alumni Association (Cheryl Wright and Marlon McWilson); and Director of Organizational Transformation/ African American Initiatives Takiyah Jackson. The evening concluded by cheering on our women’s basketball team as they defeated Syracuse at Haas Pavilion!
Spring football is also coming soon with the first practice slated for March 12. In this new landscape of college football, there will once again be numerous new faces getting acclimated to our program this spring – and that applies to both players and coaches! I’m excited to see our new players begin their journey and returners continue to raise the bar, not to mention our handful of new coaches adding to the quality of our leadership. Make sure to join us at CMS this spring!
Believe it or not, our first basketball season in the ACC is winding down, and the women’s basketball team heads to Greensboro next week for its first-ever ACC Tournament. Charmin’s team has already earned a first-round bye at the tournament, but before they take on the field in Greensboro, we have one final home game at Haas on Sunday. We are 23-7 and hungry for more wins, and I can’t wait to watch this team compete in the postseason. Our men’s team also has one more home game on Saturday against Boston College before one final road trip, as they continue to work toward earning a berth in the ACC Tournament.
Thank you again for your continued support – we are grateful!
Go Bears!
Jim
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