Cal Athletics continued to build upon its legacy of philanthropy and unwavering commitment towards student-athletes and their experiences throughout the last year. Through the generosity of the Cal family and dedicated supporters, we continue to be inspired by those who rose to the occasion during the 2021-2022 fiscal year. This critical support will make an incredible impact on our student-athletes and their experience at Cal, and further advances our work to being the model of academic and athletic excellence within college athletics. 

 

In total, Cal Athletics received $39.6 million in gifts and pledges last fiscal year from 10,882 gifts made by 5,926 donors. In addition, the number of donors who supported Cal Athletics grew by 9% from 2020-21. Support this year made it possible to increase our scholarship count by 3.5, bringing our department much closer to the full NCAA scholarship allotment. We also increased investments in our coaches and support staff, allowing Cal to attract and retain top talent to best support our student-athletes. And, we remain committed towards further enhancements of the holistic development of student-athletes with resources channeled towards the Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development as well as the Cal Athletics Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Justice Office.

 

Last year represented another banner year for Cal Athletics as $14,426,224 was raised in direct operational support for our sports and athletic programs, the highest ending balance since the 2017-18 academic year. This additional support was particularly impactful as the number of student-athletes increased from a yearly average of 850 to 930 this past year due to additional NCAA eligibility allowed for COVID exceptions. A return to normal operations was meaningful to our department, but especially to our student-athletes who have endured two unpredictable years of practice and competition. 

 

Our student-athletes excelled in the classroom and in competition last year! Cal Athletics captured its 100th team national championship with men’s swimming and diving, men’s water polo, and men’s crew all winning their respective championship. Our student-athletes earned 356 conference all-academic selections, 30 all-american honors, two national athlete of the year awards, seven individual conference champions and four individual national championships among numerous other academic and athletic accolades. 

 

This year’s success both academically and athletically was made possible by our supporters, who remained committed to our student-athletes despite challenging times. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who supported our department and programs this year, and are excited to share several gifts that will have a transformational impact on our sports programs and student-athlete experience. 

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Bud Lyons '72 bequeathed Cal Rugby $2.5 million in his estate. Lyons, a longtime supporter and alum of the Cal rugby program, will leave a lasting legacy and bring Cal rugby much closer to being a fully endowed program.

 

Rick Bailey will forever be remembered thanks to a generous $1 million gift from the Doug and Corinne Cole family to create the Rick Bailey Cal Rugby Endowment. In addition, the Coles offered a challenge to rugby alumni to match gifts of any size to the Friends of Cal Rugby Fund or the Rick Bailey Endowment up to $250,000. 

 

Paul Clark made a $1.57 million estate gift to Cal men’s swimming and diving, ensuring this championship program has the resources and support to continue its legacy for decades to come.  

 

Ken Montgomery '18 made a planned gift via his estate for a total of $2.7 million to support Cal men’s water polo, with $2 million of this gift going towards endowing the men’s water polo head coaching position, and $700,000 going to the Donna Kacerek Men's Water Polo Excellence Fund. Through Ken’s generosity, resources will be secured for men's water polo to add an additional scholarship and operational support.

 

Showing their incredible support to Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton, longtime supporters Carol and Warren “Ned” Spieker made a $1 million gift to support the Athletic Director’s Excellence Fund, giving Jim Knowlton flexible resources to enhance the student-athlete experience at his discretion. 

 

An anonymous donor continued their long history of philanthropy with a $1 million gift to support both the men’s and women’s tennis programs, ensuring that the Peter Wright Director of Men’s Tennis Kris Kwinta and Women’s Tennis Head Coach Amanda Augustus have the resources to enhance the Cal tennis experience.

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Patricia Padley '64, Cal alum and lifelong supporter, along with her husband David Cierzan established the Pepi Family Scholarship with a gift of $1 million, making it possible to endow a scholarship for a female student-athlete in perpetuity.

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Berkeley native Paul Violich, along with his daughters and former Cal Golden Bears Julia '88 and MacKellar '13, made a $1 million gift to support Cal lacrosse. The gift, which was generously matched by the Rogers Family Foundation and an anonymous donor, will have a generational impact on the lacrosse program, allowing the team to add two new scholarships, bringing its total allotment to seven full scholarships of 12 allowed by the NCAA. 

 

June 23, 2022 marked the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, federal legislation that helped advance women’s participation in sport. Cal Athletics has prioritized sourcing increased support of women’s sport programs, and this year completed the Gender Equity Campaign - which will allow us to provide equitable facilities for our softball and beach volleyball. The completion of this campaign was made possible by generous and dedicated members of the Cal family who gave their time, talent, and treasure in promoting and supporting this effort. Special thanks goes to our Gender Equity Committee and its co-chairs, Lynda Brothers ‘68, Bill Ausfahl ‘61 and Brad Brian ‘74. We look forward to celebrating 50 years of Title IX and the incredible women of Cal Athletics throughout 2023.

 

C. Bryan Cameron, for whom the Cameron Institute for Student-Athlete Development is named, continued his generous philanthropy to Cal and its student-athletes with a $1 million gift to support the Gender Equity Campaign. 

 

The Banatao family made a $1 million gift to beach volleyball to support the new facility, which will now be named as the Banatao Beach Volleyball Facility. In addition, their gift helped close out the Gender Equity Campaign, allowing Cal to upgrade its women’s facilities and amenities to be on par with its male counterparts. 

 

Cal Athletics continues to make significant strides towards completing the Campaign for Cal Athletics Excellence and its three bold goals, which encompassses providing exceptional student-athlete experiences, team and individual competitive success, and attracting and retaining the best people. 

 

To date, Cal Athletics has raised more than $290 million of the $350 million campaign goal (83 percent). We look to continue the momentum and close out the campaign in one-and-half years on December 23rd, 2023. We need the support of the Cal family now more than ever to reach our goal and close out the campaign on a high note, thus ensuring future academic and athletic excellence for many future generations of Golden Bears!

 

Go Bears!