Cal Family - 
 
Greetings from Haas Pavilion! I hope everyone had a memorable holiday season!
 
As the calendar turns to a new year, I find myself filled with excitement and anticipation for the months ahead. As you know, 2024 will be a historic year for our athletic department as we make the transition to the ACC on August 2. There is much work to be done between now and then, and much that has already taken place. We are currently immersed in finalizing the schedules for our fall sports - volleyball, women's soccer, men's soccer and field hockey. As you may know, we have already announced our home and away football schedule for the next seven seasons - and we will find out specific dates for the 2024 season around the end of this month! 
 
I last spoke to you from Independence Stadium in Shreveport before our football team played in the Independence Bowl. Although we didn't get the result we wanted in the game, I couldn't be more proud of how the team represented our department and University during our stay. As you know, the team won its final three games of the regular season to become bowl-eligible. While in Shreveport, over 50 student-athletes took their final exams, which were proctored by our Athletic Study Center. All in a day's work at the No. 1 public university in the world. 
 
For some of our athletes, those finals marked the culmination of their academic careers, and we were able to hold a short but memorable commencement ceremony on the field of Independence Stadium the morning of the game. We were thankful that Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ben Hermalin was able to join us on the trip and help oversee the proceedings. The event was a special moment for our student-athletes, their families and our team!
 
We are excited to celebrate the Campaign for Cal Athletics Excellence accomplishment of surpassing our collective $350 million goal, $335 million of which benefited the Light the Way Campaign. To everyone who has supported Cal Athletics over the years - thank you! Your support directly impacted our student-athletes and made it possible for us to provide a world-class intercollegiate athletics experience, now and into the future. We plan to share and celebrate more in the coming months!
 
If you haven't already, please read our 2022-23 Cal Athletics Fund annual report, which highlights student-athlete achievements, feature stories, and the impact that you - our Cal Athletics family - has had on the department and our student-athletes. 
 
Our basketball teams have provided us with some memorable moments in recent weeks, and I expect there will be plenty more to come! Our men's basketball team gave our fans a thrill with a remarkable come-from-behind victory over a strong Colorado team that has been ranked in the top 25 this season. We also recorded our first win at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion since 2010! Before the game took place, we hosted 130 supporters for a tour of their practice facility and some pregame refreshments. It was great to see our fans gather together and celebrate this exciting matchup.
 
Our women's basketball squad has been getting noticed nationwide in recent weeks, as Coach Smith was named the ESPN Coach of the Week after the team notched qualify victories over Washington and Washington State. We also started earning votes in the Associated Press top 25. There are plenty of opportunities to watch both teams play this week at Haas Pavilion!
 
I'm excited to welcome Jen Malcom to our Cal Family as our new volleyball coach. Jen has had an accomplished career as an assistant coach at a number of Power Five programs and is a terrific fit to lead our young women into the future. Jen is already hard at work assembling her staff and I know she will have our players working hard in the offseason to prepare for next fall.
 
The Cameron Institute continues to be a national leader in student-athlete development. At the end of the fall semester, it launched its bi-annual California Way Reflection - a reflective survey that serves as a vital tool for the Cameron Institute team to gain insights into the unique Cal student-athlete experience, gather feedback on services, and inform its framework. The results provide the Cameron Institute and the department with essential data into Cal student-athletes' holistic development.
 
The Cameron Institute also recently released its 2022-23 Annual Report, which contains data that captures ultimate outcomes, insights and feedback on its services.
 
Finally, I'd like to offer my condolences to the families of two great Golden Bears who passed away recently - Chris Carpenter and Richard Thornton. Chris played basketball at Cal in the early 1960s and went on to become a mainstay with the Big C Society. Richard was the son of our legendary coach Nort Thornton and also a terrific swimmer at Cal who qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics. They will be dearly missed.
 
Best wishes to all for a special 2024! 

Go Bears!


 
Jim