UPDATE: Cal Men's Basketball Fans Raise Half A Million For NIL
The Golden Bear family has stepped up huge to help Mark Madsen and company move forward.
UPDATE: The initial goal of $250,000 has been raised, triggering the $250,000 matching donation and $500,000 going to the Cal basketball program. New goal is $350,000 for Cal fans to get us to $700,000!
It was a return to the standard of basketball that has long graced the corridors of the California Golden Bears this year, as Cal won 22 games and skirted the edge of the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Bears look to build on this success and make the Dance for the first time in a decade next season with another NIL fndraising campaign.
Cal has seen plenty of success from earlier NIL fundraising campaigns from its general fanbase, reaching over $1.2 million for football during College Gameday week and hitting $3 million over the holidays after Tosh Lupoi was hired. Attention now turns to the hardcourt, where resources have been a bit more scarce for Mark Madsen due to a decade of malaise and fairly muted support from athletic department leadership. There have been whispers of other programs taking notice of Madsen, so it’s more important than ever for the Cal fanbase to step up and give him the resources he needs to succeed.
This could be quelled by Cal fans hitting modest fundraising goals. The Bears would like to retain the majority of their starters, as top players like Justin Pippen and Dai Dai Ames figure to get major offers from top programs when the transfer portal opens next week.
Cal fans have already raised over 90% of their initial goal of $250,000, which with the help of an anonymous matching donor, will lead to half a million in funds for Cal men’s basketball. Let’s see if we can
You can donate here! Here’s the full message from Mark Madsen.
Cal Family,
I can’t tell you how thrilled I was with this past season and all of our collective success. Whether you were in Haas Pavilion cheering our team on or following from afar, please know how much we appreciate your engagement with our program during our first postseason appearance since 2017.
And the great thing is – this is just the beginning of what we are capable of, together.
With the transfer portal opening on April 7th, we are counting on our entire Cal community, myself included, to help us take a step forward as we prepare for the 2026-27 season. The only way we will build off the momentum from this year is by raising the necessary funds to retain our top talent and invest in new talent from the portal to deepen our team.
I am excited to share that we are launching our Fight for California Men’s Basketball Crowdfunding campaign for support of our Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative leading into the portal window.An anonymous donor and I have decided to join forces to offer a match to the Cal community. We will match dollar-for-dollar all contributions up to $250,000 from Tuesday, March 31st, through the opening of the portal next Tuesday, April 7th. Together If we reach our goal, we will raise $500,000 in impactful, new funding for Cal Men’s Basketball.
As you think about ways to support us, consider the following:
Make a gift of any size today!
Consider joining our Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative
Get the word out to your peer group that Cal Men’s Basketball needs your support around this crowdfunding opportunity. Perhaps you have a fellow Cal alum who you know is passionate about the program. Connect them to our teammates in the Cal Athletics Fund and let’s get them invested in the program!
Please reach out to Devin Shallowhorn (dshallowhorn@berkeley.edu) and Tim McLaughlin (tmclaughlin@berkeley.edu) if you have any questions about this crowdfunding effort or joining the Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative if you are willing to help me in our continued efforts to build a championship program.
Thank you so much for a season we won’t forget, and for considering partnering with me in building a championship team and an even brighter future for our program.
Go Bears!
Mark Madsen
Cal Men’s Basketball Head Coach
Update: Initial goal reached! New goal is $350,000.
This is great news.
Unfortunately, you now need $10-$12M to field a legit, Sweet 16 caliber roster. The 4 schools in the Final 4 are all north of $15M. Mediocre players in the portal seeking $3M per….its stupid.
Plenty of work still be done, but Cal fans and MM continue to keep things moving in a forward direction.
Next up, hire a GM…