Christ’s retirement is a good start…wish her the best, but change was needed. Knowlton absolutely needs to be gone, ASAP…Madsen was certainly a great hire, no doubt about it, but Montgomery and Jay John were just as responsible for that lead, if not more so. If the team is just competitive this year, as they should be, things should get going again quickly. However, it all comes down to football, IMO.
Now more than ever, football needs to right the ship. Given the uncertainty surrounding the NCAA landscape, this is as big a year for the football program as we’ve seen in a long while. The schedule is real tough (thanks a bunch for the early September trip to Denton, TX, Sonny, you punk) and while I remain hopeful, Wilcox remains just a huge question mark. I hope he gets things turned around, but it really is just a leap of faith right now….a rising blue tide on the gridiron is literally the key to survival right now.
I haven't seen enough of an upgrade on the football side of the ball to be optimistic. There have been a few linemen added through the portal that "might" be an improvement but that is tbd. The bigger tbd is the QB. I'm not impressed as most are and doubt he can survive a season of play given his style of play. Honestly I haven't seen a QB jump to throw the ball since the old clips of when the forward pass was first utilized in the NFL.
MBB seems to have upgraded their talent significantly. As importantly, the coaching staff appears to be exceptional.
Women's softball and gymnastics are good. Rugby remains at the top along with several Olympic sports.
Bigger areas of concern for me are when is Knowlton going to be gone? Who will replace Christ and will they be friendly to athletics? Until then I don't see a lot changing on the Cal athletic landscape.
You need an "anxious" option in the poll. I think we've taken some significant steps forward in basketball and football coaching. If not for the existential conference drama, I'd probably be cautiously excited.
Given the uncertainty of the Pac-12, Christ's eventual departure, and Knowlton's continued leadership, there's a lot to be nervous about. But I'm really enjoying the current sunshine coming out of the MBB and football programs while it lasts.
Madsen is a huge upgrade for MBB. His enthusiasm and recruiting are a nice surprise for a sad basketball program the last 5 years.
Coach Wilcox hiring new offensive coaches is something he needed to do, probably earlier than he did, but things look promising with the new recruits for '23 and '24.
And, BTW, screw The Bruins and USC. Hope they get hammered.
I’ve always felt like collegiate athletic success is either an extremely iterative process in that one generation places allegorical rings on the ladder so that the next can go higher and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that; or a process driven by big personality coaches who can 180 programs in a year or two.
The problem with us is our clock has been ticking for quite a while and the rungs are slowly rusting away and we don’t appear to have coaches (other than Madden) with the potential to 180 a program. We’re getting to the point that recruits no longer idolize an Aaron Rodgers, Desean Jackson, Jahvid, CJ, Marshawn, et al and those days are long since gone in basketball.
All said I think on the football side we still have a glimmer of ability to recruit based on alumni recognition but have lost all hope on success being driven by good coaching. On the basketball side our hope is that a big personality coach can 180 us. I think Madsen can but I’m pensive because he could leave for an NBA gig in a heartbeat whereas with Wilcox the opposite worries me. I worry we might get stuck with him.
We most certainly are at an inflection point but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A good season from Wilcox and Madsen and big invite is a near certainty. A bad one and we’re riding this bitch (the p12) not just til the wheels fall off but until it crashes into an Acme Bread van and bursts into flames.
I agree that we are stuck with Wilcox for 3 or 4 years. What the hell compelled Knowlton to give him such a generous extension especially when Troy Taylor was ripe for the picking. I continue to be stewed about Taylor in red when he could have come home. My preference for the next AD is Mark Orr...
I think the Bears have made some good moves this year....especially with the hires in mens BB and football. However, I'm extremely discouraged in the larger picture of college sports. I think the transfer portal is ruining important traditions in college sports. There is no loyalty among the players and that will lead to a lack of identity and loyalty by fans. It's terrible to see what Colorado football has done and what has happened with all the transfers of even key players from the basketball programs throughout the conference. Yes, it's hard to see Troy Taylor at Stanford, but, Stanford has suffered more than any other school because of the new transfer rules. He's going to have a very hard time staying out of the cellar and they have lost key players, and brought in almost no one.
It's you know what, you know what, or get off the pit for many in the Cal sports program. The men's basketball get a pass this season, but not football.
We're on our last legs. Backs are against the wall. If the 2022 season is repeated in 2023 we can kiss our place in the Big 10 goodbye. And open ourselves up to the likely possibility of being rejected from modern power 5 sports for the rest of time.
(In the event that either Oregon/UW defect to the Big 10 or the Big 12 poaches some south schools)
But thankfully it seems some alumni have noticed our scary predicament and finally provided our athletic department with much needed NIL money. A 6-6 record in football and a tournament appearance in basketball that wakes up the student turn out numbers would be more valuable to us now than it ever has been in the past. And honestly, I believe in Madsen, I believe in Spav, I think we can do it. THE BEAR WOULD NOT QUIT, THE BEAR WOULD NOT DIE!
Something tells me if Cal finally starts putting points on the board with this new offense, the defense will have a collapse. It's almost scripted that a guy like Wilcox is not going to have everything running smoothly at the same time. I mean, he hasn't in 7 seasons, right? On the other hand, most HC's with that level of mediocrity are not given an 8th season to make things right. Who knows?
This will be the biggest make-or-break year in Cal athletics in over a decade. Last make-or-break year was the 2012 season when Memorial finished renovations, and we all know how that one went...
- HUGE year for Cal football. It's vital that they show considerable improvement especially on offense. If not, it could be crushing for both recruiting, the portal, and for conference realignment
- Cal MBB and the need for the practice facility. If they can ink that in, it would be monumental for the program and give Madsen the tools to recruit the best (which I think he can)
- Cal WBB overhauled their roster, big year for them
- Conference realignment
- We need a chancellor that cares about sports and new AD that is actually good. Last time Cal football was good was when we had a good chancellor and a good AD
So...I'm saying there's a chance....Always excited, dang facts notwithstanding..GO BEARS!!!!!!!!
Christ’s retirement is a good start…wish her the best, but change was needed. Knowlton absolutely needs to be gone, ASAP…Madsen was certainly a great hire, no doubt about it, but Montgomery and Jay John were just as responsible for that lead, if not more so. If the team is just competitive this year, as they should be, things should get going again quickly. However, it all comes down to football, IMO.
Now more than ever, football needs to right the ship. Given the uncertainty surrounding the NCAA landscape, this is as big a year for the football program as we’ve seen in a long while. The schedule is real tough (thanks a bunch for the early September trip to Denton, TX, Sonny, you punk) and while I remain hopeful, Wilcox remains just a huge question mark. I hope he gets things turned around, but it really is just a leap of faith right now….a rising blue tide on the gridiron is literally the key to survival right now.
Better hurry up,I have been waiting since Joe Kapp took us to the Rose
Bowl and I’m running out of time.Lets
Win one fot the octogenarians
I haven't seen enough of an upgrade on the football side of the ball to be optimistic. There have been a few linemen added through the portal that "might" be an improvement but that is tbd. The bigger tbd is the QB. I'm not impressed as most are and doubt he can survive a season of play given his style of play. Honestly I haven't seen a QB jump to throw the ball since the old clips of when the forward pass was first utilized in the NFL.
MBB seems to have upgraded their talent significantly. As importantly, the coaching staff appears to be exceptional.
Women's softball and gymnastics are good. Rugby remains at the top along with several Olympic sports.
Bigger areas of concern for me are when is Knowlton going to be gone? Who will replace Christ and will they be friendly to athletics? Until then I don't see a lot changing on the Cal athletic landscape.
You need an "anxious" option in the poll. I think we've taken some significant steps forward in basketball and football coaching. If not for the existential conference drama, I'd probably be cautiously excited.
But, instead, mostly anxious.
Given the uncertainty of the Pac-12, Christ's eventual departure, and Knowlton's continued leadership, there's a lot to be nervous about. But I'm really enjoying the current sunshine coming out of the MBB and football programs while it lasts.
Madsen is a huge upgrade for MBB. His enthusiasm and recruiting are a nice surprise for a sad basketball program the last 5 years.
Coach Wilcox hiring new offensive coaches is something he needed to do, probably earlier than he did, but things look promising with the new recruits for '23 and '24.
And, BTW, screw The Bruins and USC. Hope they get hammered.
I feel pensive and let me frame it…
I’ve always felt like collegiate athletic success is either an extremely iterative process in that one generation places allegorical rings on the ladder so that the next can go higher and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that; or a process driven by big personality coaches who can 180 programs in a year or two.
The problem with us is our clock has been ticking for quite a while and the rungs are slowly rusting away and we don’t appear to have coaches (other than Madden) with the potential to 180 a program. We’re getting to the point that recruits no longer idolize an Aaron Rodgers, Desean Jackson, Jahvid, CJ, Marshawn, et al and those days are long since gone in basketball.
All said I think on the football side we still have a glimmer of ability to recruit based on alumni recognition but have lost all hope on success being driven by good coaching. On the basketball side our hope is that a big personality coach can 180 us. I think Madsen can but I’m pensive because he could leave for an NBA gig in a heartbeat whereas with Wilcox the opposite worries me. I worry we might get stuck with him.
We most certainly are at an inflection point but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A good season from Wilcox and Madsen and big invite is a near certainty. A bad one and we’re riding this bitch (the p12) not just til the wheels fall off but until it crashes into an Acme Bread van and bursts into flames.
I agree that we are stuck with Wilcox for 3 or 4 years. What the hell compelled Knowlton to give him such a generous extension especially when Troy Taylor was ripe for the picking. I continue to be stewed about Taylor in red when he could have come home. My preference for the next AD is Mark Orr...
I will be surprised if we end the season 5-7 or better. Going bowling prob has same odds as getting into the B1G
I think the Bears have made some good moves this year....especially with the hires in mens BB and football. However, I'm extremely discouraged in the larger picture of college sports. I think the transfer portal is ruining important traditions in college sports. There is no loyalty among the players and that will lead to a lack of identity and loyalty by fans. It's terrible to see what Colorado football has done and what has happened with all the transfers of even key players from the basketball programs throughout the conference. Yes, it's hard to see Troy Taylor at Stanford, but, Stanford has suffered more than any other school because of the new transfer rules. He's going to have a very hard time staying out of the cellar and they have lost key players, and brought in almost no one.
It's you know what, you know what, or get off the pit for many in the Cal sports program. The men's basketball get a pass this season, but not football.
We're on our last legs. Backs are against the wall. If the 2022 season is repeated in 2023 we can kiss our place in the Big 10 goodbye. And open ourselves up to the likely possibility of being rejected from modern power 5 sports for the rest of time.
(In the event that either Oregon/UW defect to the Big 10 or the Big 12 poaches some south schools)
But thankfully it seems some alumni have noticed our scary predicament and finally provided our athletic department with much needed NIL money. A 6-6 record in football and a tournament appearance in basketball that wakes up the student turn out numbers would be more valuable to us now than it ever has been in the past. And honestly, I believe in Madsen, I believe in Spav, I think we can do it. THE BEAR WOULD NOT QUIT, THE BEAR WOULD NOT DIE!
Always hype for Cal Athletics. And don’t sleep on the women’s gymnastics program
Something tells me if Cal finally starts putting points on the board with this new offense, the defense will have a collapse. It's almost scripted that a guy like Wilcox is not going to have everything running smoothly at the same time. I mean, he hasn't in 7 seasons, right? On the other hand, most HC's with that level of mediocrity are not given an 8th season to make things right. Who knows?
This will be the biggest make-or-break year in Cal athletics in over a decade. Last make-or-break year was the 2012 season when Memorial finished renovations, and we all know how that one went...
- HUGE year for Cal football. It's vital that they show considerable improvement especially on offense. If not, it could be crushing for both recruiting, the portal, and for conference realignment
- Cal MBB and the need for the practice facility. If they can ink that in, it would be monumental for the program and give Madsen the tools to recruit the best (which I think he can)
- Cal WBB overhauled their roster, big year for them
- Conference realignment
- We need a chancellor that cares about sports and new AD that is actually good. Last time Cal football was good was when we had a good chancellor and a good AD
For California through and through. Go Bears!
Neutral. A lot has to be proven now that we cannot assume the revenue sports will regularly attain even .500 records.