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.
I remember the latter 60's [Some of us were alert and oriented then. : ) ], when Memorial was filled with local high school bands on "Band Day." It seemed like the entire north end of Memorial was loaded with colors of bands and drill teams (or whatever they were called). Lots of noise and enthusiasm prevailed. Certainly gave some kids exposure to the Big U who would not have been on campus otherwise. I like DMF85's idea to invite high school athletes and their parents (whole family?) to a free game. BB, FB... Make a big day of it with some cool gear and food. The community should extend from Yreka to Grapevine, Tahoe to the Farallons.
Perhaps how easy is it would be to donate to the NIL, either individually or on behalf of W4C? If it would be as easy and transparent as GoFundMe and we could throw in a few bucks as a community every now and then, I might consider doing it.
We should do a Q&A with the Cal Legends Collective but I do think it is that easy. Also the Collective has no overhead I believe bc Beast Mode handles the back office stuff for them, unlike other Collectives where you lose 15% or so of donations to overhead
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?
Knowlton has sucked for most of his tenure. And part of the player slide scandals are his responsibility. But if Madsen and Spavital (and crew) pay off it may change his overall narrative.
A mid-season firing was more to keep players from leaving and keep fans from bailing during a lost season. The interim would have just been on the bench and would not likely have led to any more wins. Fortunately, Madsen seems like enough of a home run hire that it may have worked out. At least I am extremely pleased.
It's not like firing Fox during the season and elevating one of the assistants to interim head coach would result in Cal the elevating the interim HC to permanent head coach. So no, we wouldn't have lost the ability to hire Madsen. Either way, Cal is looking for a new coach at the end of the year.
But, by firing Fox and having an interim coach, hopefully they would open up the O and we could see how the current players would play in a different system, a system that a more modern coach would run. One that suits the players that we have on the roster. One that would perhaps allow the players to attempt to score before the defense becomes set. One that would have led to more wins than 0. One that would keep the alums more interested in the program because it could lead to more than 0 wins. Who knows. There is a reason that really only one team in D1 runs Fox's system successfully and Cal has 0 players that would be on that team.
But by keeping Fox, you're guaranteed of keeping the same old system that didn't work all season (last 16 games had 0 wins), didn't really suit the roster we had, and we only had a chance to win a handful of games, all of which we lost. And the only reason we won one of those games is because for some reason we couldn't miss against Furd. Of which we never, ever, were able to reproduce.
Not sure how you think 0-16 in our last 16 is the best answer. Team never got better and I bet more alum support was lost by going 0-16 rather than firing Fox and elevating an asst coach. Either way, Cal was searching for a new coach after the last game so Madsen would probably still be the head coach.
We should have fired Fox mid-season but hired his replacement well enough and quickly enough that it rendered the debate moot. But, yes, I am convinced that every day Fox spent coaching our players he made them WORSE at the game of basketball.
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.
RE: Community engagement
I remember the latter 60's [Some of us were alert and oriented then. : ) ], when Memorial was filled with local high school bands on "Band Day." It seemed like the entire north end of Memorial was loaded with colors of bands and drill teams (or whatever they were called). Lots of noise and enthusiasm prevailed. Certainly gave some kids exposure to the Big U who would not have been on campus otherwise. I like DMF85's idea to invite high school athletes and their parents (whole family?) to a free game. BB, FB... Make a big day of it with some cool gear and food. The community should extend from Yreka to Grapevine, Tahoe to the Farallons.
Perhaps how easy is it would be to donate to the NIL, either individually or on behalf of W4C? If it would be as easy and transparent as GoFundMe and we could throw in a few bucks as a community every now and then, I might consider doing it.
We should do a Q&A with the Cal Legends Collective but I do think it is that easy. Also the Collective has no overhead I believe bc Beast Mode handles the back office stuff for them, unlike other Collectives where you lose 15% or so of donations to overhead
I looked it up. Super easy. Not tax deductible like a donation to the university but this, by definition, goes to the athletes.
I think NIL collectives often keep a little financial secrecy (to imply there's more money). But would be nice to learn the other details.
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?
Knowlton has sucked for most of his tenure. And part of the player slide scandals are his responsibility. But if Madsen and Spavital (and crew) pay off it may change his overall narrative.
A mid-season firing was more to keep players from leaving and keep fans from bailing during a lost season. The interim would have just been on the bench and would not likely have led to any more wins. Fortunately, Madsen seems like enough of a home run hire that it may have worked out. At least I am extremely pleased.
It's not like firing Fox during the season and elevating one of the assistants to interim head coach would result in Cal the elevating the interim HC to permanent head coach. So no, we wouldn't have lost the ability to hire Madsen. Either way, Cal is looking for a new coach at the end of the year.
But, by firing Fox and having an interim coach, hopefully they would open up the O and we could see how the current players would play in a different system, a system that a more modern coach would run. One that suits the players that we have on the roster. One that would perhaps allow the players to attempt to score before the defense becomes set. One that would have led to more wins than 0. One that would keep the alums more interested in the program because it could lead to more than 0 wins. Who knows. There is a reason that really only one team in D1 runs Fox's system successfully and Cal has 0 players that would be on that team.
But by keeping Fox, you're guaranteed of keeping the same old system that didn't work all season (last 16 games had 0 wins), didn't really suit the roster we had, and we only had a chance to win a handful of games, all of which we lost. And the only reason we won one of those games is because for some reason we couldn't miss against Furd. Of which we never, ever, were able to reproduce.
Not sure how you think 0-16 in our last 16 is the best answer. Team never got better and I bet more alum support was lost by going 0-16 rather than firing Fox and elevating an asst coach. Either way, Cal was searching for a new coach after the last game so Madsen would probably still be the head coach.
We should have fired Fox mid-season but hired his replacement well enough and quickly enough that it rendered the debate moot. But, yes, I am convinced that every day Fox spent coaching our players he made them WORSE at the game of basketball.
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.