Men's Rowing - IRA championship final on June 4th, national champs poised to repeat after beating UW this weekend (I should write a post on this)
Track and Field - mainly throwing with Mykolas Alekna (men's discus) and Anna Purchase (women's hammer) at NCAA championships on on June 7-10
NCAA Championships bound:
Women's Water Polo - should make semifinal, could make final
Beach Volleyball - should return for 2nd straight year (NCAA expanded field), could win a match
Women's Crew - should be in the tier above but has slipped a bit
Should make the bigger NCAA postseason:
Softball - would be the first time in the Chelsea Spencer era, could make noise in a regional if matchup is right
Men's Tennis - ranked No.28, would be first postseason under Kris Kwinta
Women's Tennis - ranked No.27, one of the key player missed some time but is now back to give Cal depth; probably a top-20 team at full strength
Men's Golf - No.50, team's got the talent (based on recruiting buzz) to be a national title contender but hasn't quite got the results...yet
Women's Golf - No.40
If they get hot and make then win the Pac-12 Tournament...
Baseball - early promise fizzled after losing ace to TJ, some of the other guys have started to pitch better and longer but not quite enough. Only top-8 makes the Pac-12 tourney, Cal (6-15 in Pac-12 play) need to make up ground on Arizona (9-12)
Also active:
Lacrosse (5-11) is in their first season under a new head coach in Jennifer Wong, recently won back-to-back matches for the first time in a few seasons, also beat Oregon twice this year so not the worst in the Pac
Apr 24, 2023·edited Apr 24, 2023Liked by Nick Kranz
1. Athletic Department Finances. (A). Donor Support and Age Distribution: is there broad support, or are we relying on older donors only, what are the plans for the continued development and broadening of support? (B) the state of Sponsorships and the Learfield contract. (C) Projections.
2. Community Engagement and the absence of it. Why not expand Patrick Laird's Read for California? We have empty seats at almost every department event. Why not build our long term identity with communities from Sacramento to San Jose and out to Fresno with free tickets for school kids and high school athletes and their parents. We have already sunk the cost for the facilities. They will buy some merch and concessions and there will be more fans in the stands rooting for the teams. This is labor intensive but not expensive.
3. The state of Cal's NIL.. How much has been raised and spent. How does it work.
It would be fun to read about past teams and what worked about them. Stories on Tedford's best days, Dykes on offense. What, exactly, made those teams tick?
I'd suggest most of us here have a seat of the pants understanding about football, and what makes one team great vs. mediocre vs. bad. Yet I've learned over the years that there is more to it than QB talent or other positional depth. Tedford coming in and dropping 70 with the same players Holmoe lost with is a great example.
What are the realistic chances of Knowlton being fired for his performance? We've all been saying it particularly this past basketball season but that was more of an emotional fan rant. What are his accomplishments that's not widely known and how is he valued by the others in the university or the college sports world? Is he actually decent at some things? Or is he really really bad as I think?
1 - In depth analysis of Cal's athletics department's deterioration from Sandy Barbour to present including the erosive role played by the accumbent administration (especially each chancellor) and faculty.
2 - Is Wilcox the guy to lead Cal out of the Wilderness?
3 - Analysis of the cultures of excellence embodied in Ca's successful programs (crew, rugby, MW swimming, etc.) vs. the grim anonymity of failure program (track and field, cross country, M gymnastics, MW basketball, etc.)
4 - What has to happen for Cal to be invited to join the Big 10?
5 - Should Cal follow the route of the Univ. of Chicago and drop intercollegiate athletics?
What is still to come this school year:
National Championship or Bust:
Rugby 15s - D1A championship final on May 6th
Men's Rowing - IRA championship final on June 4th, national champs poised to repeat after beating UW this weekend (I should write a post on this)
Track and Field - mainly throwing with Mykolas Alekna (men's discus) and Anna Purchase (women's hammer) at NCAA championships on on June 7-10
NCAA Championships bound:
Women's Water Polo - should make semifinal, could make final
Beach Volleyball - should return for 2nd straight year (NCAA expanded field), could win a match
Women's Crew - should be in the tier above but has slipped a bit
Should make the bigger NCAA postseason:
Softball - would be the first time in the Chelsea Spencer era, could make noise in a regional if matchup is right
Men's Tennis - ranked No.28, would be first postseason under Kris Kwinta
Women's Tennis - ranked No.27, one of the key player missed some time but is now back to give Cal depth; probably a top-20 team at full strength
Men's Golf - No.50, team's got the talent (based on recruiting buzz) to be a national title contender but hasn't quite got the results...yet
Women's Golf - No.40
If they get hot and make then win the Pac-12 Tournament...
Baseball - early promise fizzled after losing ace to TJ, some of the other guys have started to pitch better and longer but not quite enough. Only top-8 makes the Pac-12 tourney, Cal (6-15 in Pac-12 play) need to make up ground on Arizona (9-12)
Also active:
Lacrosse (5-11) is in their first season under a new head coach in Jennifer Wong, recently won back-to-back matches for the first time in a few seasons, also beat Oregon twice this year so not the worst in the Pac
Lesser known places to eat when I make my next football pilgrimage.
1. Athletic Department Finances. (A). Donor Support and Age Distribution: is there broad support, or are we relying on older donors only, what are the plans for the continued development and broadening of support? (B) the state of Sponsorships and the Learfield contract. (C) Projections.
2. Community Engagement and the absence of it. Why not expand Patrick Laird's Read for California? We have empty seats at almost every department event. Why not build our long term identity with communities from Sacramento to San Jose and out to Fresno with free tickets for school kids and high school athletes and their parents. We have already sunk the cost for the facilities. They will buy some merch and concessions and there will be more fans in the stands rooting for the teams. This is labor intensive but not expensive.
3. The state of Cal's NIL.. How much has been raised and spent. How does it work.
Thanks for asking and for the work you all do.
It would be fun to read about past teams and what worked about them. Stories on Tedford's best days, Dykes on offense. What, exactly, made those teams tick?
I'd suggest most of us here have a seat of the pants understanding about football, and what makes one team great vs. mediocre vs. bad. Yet I've learned over the years that there is more to it than QB talent or other positional depth. Tedford coming in and dropping 70 with the same players Holmoe lost with is a great example.
In depth look at recruiting for football.
What has to happen to get an invite to the BIG 10?
A look into our NIL
Thanks Nick!
What are the realistic chances of Knowlton being fired for his performance? We've all been saying it particularly this past basketball season but that was more of an emotional fan rant. What are his accomplishments that's not widely known and how is he valued by the others in the university or the college sports world? Is he actually decent at some things? Or is he really really bad as I think?
1 - In depth analysis of Cal's athletics department's deterioration from Sandy Barbour to present including the erosive role played by the accumbent administration (especially each chancellor) and faculty.
2 - Is Wilcox the guy to lead Cal out of the Wilderness?
3 - Analysis of the cultures of excellence embodied in Ca's successful programs (crew, rugby, MW swimming, etc.) vs. the grim anonymity of failure program (track and field, cross country, M gymnastics, MW basketball, etc.)
4 - What has to happen for Cal to be invited to join the Big 10?
5 - Should Cal follow the route of the Univ. of Chicago and drop intercollegiate athletics?
Can Cal go after these Colorado kids that just entered the transfer portal? Montana Lemonious-Craig is crazy good.