I am pleased to report that earlier this week Ron Rivera hosted a news conference where he said that he now has full operational control of the football program. My understanding is that Ron will now be in a position to oversee everything from our budget to coaching to marketing to facilities management to medical staff to player attraction and retention.
While the exact reporting lines remain complicated, the substantive issues have been resolved and we are already starting to see real changes being implemented. I understand that one of Ron's first orders of business was to revise some decisions relating to the student meal plans and supplement funds being spent in that area. Other administrative issues are being addressed as we speak. There are a lot of smiles in Memorial Stadium at the moment.
I would like to thank Ron for taking on this challenge and Chancellor Lyons for the vision required to bring this to reality. Make no mistake, this is a gutsy and innovative move on the Chancellor's part. It acknowledges that college football now requires professional managers who understand the sport in order to maximize football's critical role in serving as the front porch of the University. It is hard to imagine anyone being better suited to this task at this moment in time than Ron Rivera and we are blessed to have him with us.
To celebrate this milestone, Coach Wilcox, Ron Rivera, and myself are joining together and launching the $1m #RonHasTheKeys Challenge Grant (note, Cal will almost certainly not call it that, but I will). We are collectively contributing $500k from the three of us (that's together, not individually this "hobby" has not been kind to yours truly's net worth over the past three years) and challenging our fanbase to celebrate this moment by helping us raise $1m (or more). This money will be going directly to Cal (NOT the California Legends Collective) and so will be fully tax deductible. These funds should go a long way to helping Cal field a championship caliber team in this critical year.
Those of you interested in helping celebrate Ron's elevation can use the following link:
https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/46361
Alternatively you can email Adam Brooks at atbrooks@berkeley.edu. He can help answer questions about how the funds are being directed and allocated (an issue I've spent A LOT of time on myself. I've been assured these funds are being handled appropriately through Caliber).
Some of you are undoubtedly asking yourselves what this means for these last few days of the portal. Having spoken with virtually every player who has left and most who have decided to stay, suffice it to say that we and the players all want the same thing; namely for Cal to be able to put a winning team on the field this fall. I've long argued that we fans need to be shown that Cal is serious about creating a winning program. Our support has frankly been taken for granted for far too long. Well the players want Cal to have a winning program every bit as much as we do, and probably more. If they are convinced that we are pulling out all the stops and show some strong progress then we can both retain the talent we need and attract new players to finish out the roster. Some very encouraging on that front have come in already. This hopefully sets Cal up for a very special season.
The first step (or honestly maybe just the next step for many of us) is putting our money where our mouths are. We wanted Ron to have the keys. Well he now has them. Time to show this was more than just talk on our part. Time to show the players, each other and indeed the country that we are a sleeping giant no longer. We have awoken and we are ready to win.
Please join coach Wilcox, GM Ron Rivera and myself in helping make the dream of a Cal football championship program a reality. Reach out to Adam Brooks atbrooks@berkeley.edu or hit this link https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/46361 if you can help.
Go Bears!
While the exact reporting lines remain complicated, the substantive issues have been resolved and we are already starting to see real changes being implemented. I understand that one of Ron's first orders of business was to revise some decisions relating to the student meal plans and supplement funds being spent in that area. Other administrative issues are being addressed as we speak. There are a lot of smiles in Memorial Stadium at the moment.
I would like to thank Ron for taking on this challenge and Chancellor Lyons for the vision required to bring this to reality. Make no mistake, this is a gutsy and innovative move on the Chancellor's part. It acknowledges that college football now requires professional managers who understand the sport in order to maximize football's critical role in serving as the front porch of the University. It is hard to imagine anyone being better suited to this task at this moment in time than Ron Rivera and we are blessed to have him with us.
To celebrate this milestone, Coach Wilcox, Ron Rivera, and myself are joining together and launching the $1m #RonHasTheKeys Challenge Grant (note, Cal will almost certainly not call it that, but I will). We are collectively contributing $500k from the three of us (that's together, not individually this "hobby" has not been kind to yours truly's net worth over the past three years) and challenging our fanbase to celebrate this moment by helping us raise $1m (or more). This money will be going directly to Cal (NOT the California Legends Collective) and so will be fully tax deductible. These funds should go a long way to helping Cal field a championship caliber team in this critical year.
Those of you interested in helping celebrate Ron's elevation can use the following link:
https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/46361
Alternatively you can email Adam Brooks at atbrooks@berkeley.edu. He can help answer questions about how the funds are being directed and allocated (an issue I've spent A LOT of time on myself. I've been assured these funds are being handled appropriately through Caliber).
Some of you are undoubtedly asking yourselves what this means for these last few days of the portal. Having spoken with virtually every player who has left and most who have decided to stay, suffice it to say that we and the players all want the same thing; namely for Cal to be able to put a winning team on the field this fall. I've long argued that we fans need to be shown that Cal is serious about creating a winning program. Our support has frankly been taken for granted for far too long. Well the players want Cal to have a winning program every bit as much as we do, and probably more. If they are convinced that we are pulling out all the stops and show some strong progress then we can both retain the talent we need and attract new players to finish out the roster. Some very encouraging on that front have come in already. This hopefully sets Cal up for a very special season.
The first step (or honestly maybe just the next step for many of us) is putting our money where our mouths are. We wanted Ron to have the keys. Well he now has them. Time to show this was more than just talk on our part. Time to show the players, each other and indeed the country that we are a sleeping giant no longer. We have awoken and we are ready to win.
Please join coach Wilcox, GM Ron Rivera and myself in helping make the dream of a Cal football championship program a reality. Reach out to Adam Brooks atbrooks@berkeley.edu or hit this link https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/46361 if you can help.
Go Bears!
