I feel like the rankings are a mostly accurate representation of the state of affairs at Cal - and I hope the AD looks at how to change this in the future. There's no way we will ever be in the upper half for a lot of these - the circumstances and realities of our campus infrastructure and the donor profile of our alumni/community is already difficult to move the needle on things like academic donations - and that's what the core mission of the university is. But things like quality of life, donor support and leadership alignment aren't bound by our unchangable issues.
"When Cal athletics was perhaps at its lowest ebb in decades, they were still able to hire a conventionally successful, experienced candidate for athletic director in Jim Knowlton. They were still able to find the funding to hire a new MBB coach. They have been able to retain Justin Wilcox, though we don’t really know to what extent he’s had other opportunities."
I suspect (but obviously can't prove) that even while Cal Athletics may have tanked its reputation, it can continue to ride the reputation of the University in general. People want to be associated with strong brands, and perhaps Cal continues to punch somewhat above its weight in recruiting (if not retention) due to a strong University brand. Of course, this may also have the corollary effect of preventing the Athletic Department from recognizing how weak its own brand has become.
I actually emailed Knowlton about some of the activities that go on at football games in between plays that might at best be considered distractions. He responded within 3 days with a very well thought out, personalized response. I was very impressed and continue to be with him. With regard to the statement that some of the campus academics either ignore or are a bit hostile to sports, that has not changed apparently since I was a student, when the same sentiments were expressed.
Back in the day, a fairly large segment of the general student population had some connection with high school football programs. Now, I imagine few ever have seen a football game. Times do change.
Knowlton is a great choice for our AD. If anyone can effect positive change it will be him. Sadly, he is in a highly politicized environment with different groups pressing for financial resources. If Wilcox keeps up his progress and we pay him and his staff to keep them, we could see a lot of positive change, the way Alabama's football success has positively impacted the University. When I look through the list the first thing that pops up is facilities. Because we have very limited land area, it makes it real difficult to have world class facilities for all sports. When you couple this with lack of donor giving you and up with what we have. (Its sad that with a alumni group as large as CAL's that we can't find more donors...even small donors). The one I don't get is quality of life. Berkeley is an awesome place to go to school. Maybe the cost of living there is what they are considering?
I feel like the rankings are a mostly accurate representation of the state of affairs at Cal - and I hope the AD looks at how to change this in the future. There's no way we will ever be in the upper half for a lot of these - the circumstances and realities of our campus infrastructure and the donor profile of our alumni/community is already difficult to move the needle on things like academic donations - and that's what the core mission of the university is. But things like quality of life, donor support and leadership alignment aren't bound by our unchangable issues.
"When Cal athletics was perhaps at its lowest ebb in decades, they were still able to hire a conventionally successful, experienced candidate for athletic director in Jim Knowlton. They were still able to find the funding to hire a new MBB coach. They have been able to retain Justin Wilcox, though we don’t really know to what extent he’s had other opportunities."
I suspect (but obviously can't prove) that even while Cal Athletics may have tanked its reputation, it can continue to ride the reputation of the University in general. People want to be associated with strong brands, and perhaps Cal continues to punch somewhat above its weight in recruiting (if not retention) due to a strong University brand. Of course, this may also have the corollary effect of preventing the Athletic Department from recognizing how weak its own brand has become.
I actually emailed Knowlton about some of the activities that go on at football games in between plays that might at best be considered distractions. He responded within 3 days with a very well thought out, personalized response. I was very impressed and continue to be with him. With regard to the statement that some of the campus academics either ignore or are a bit hostile to sports, that has not changed apparently since I was a student, when the same sentiments were expressed.
Back in the day, a fairly large segment of the general student population had some connection with high school football programs. Now, I imagine few ever have seen a football game. Times do change.
I’m shocked, shocked! to find that the top 3 football schools are in the bottom half in compliance.
I'm not asking for top tier... just get us somewhere respectable like in the middle... PLEASEEEEEEE
Knowlton is a great choice for our AD. If anyone can effect positive change it will be him. Sadly, he is in a highly politicized environment with different groups pressing for financial resources. If Wilcox keeps up his progress and we pay him and his staff to keep them, we could see a lot of positive change, the way Alabama's football success has positively impacted the University. When I look through the list the first thing that pops up is facilities. Because we have very limited land area, it makes it real difficult to have world class facilities for all sports. When you couple this with lack of donor giving you and up with what we have. (Its sad that with a alumni group as large as CAL's that we can't find more donors...even small donors). The one I don't get is quality of life. Berkeley is an awesome place to go to school. Maybe the cost of living there is what they are considering?