91Cal said:

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socaliganbear said:

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There's not enough data to say whether JK is a good AD or not. Obviously, his most high profile hire was a disaster, a big L. In contrast to what appear to be his W's; successful fundraising benchmarks and campus relationship. However, the ultimate goals of a major D1 athletic department are not to be a good bureaucratic entity, but rather to win sports games and provide the university with the larger benefits of those wins. So far, Cal athletics has mostly regressed the last 3 years. The question is, are these the results of the Mike Williams era, or the new norm under JK.

Being really good at running a losing athletics program is not a good thing. There's no reason to spend 100 million dollars every year for these results, even if you do a good job at getting to those results.

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I don't disagree with your statement that there's not enough data to make the call on whether JK is a good AD or not. However, I would like to know what data you base the statement, "So far, Cal athletics has mostly regressed the last 3 years."

My take, without looking into it more deeply is that we are about the same if not a little better simply because the football program is on the rise, fundraising seems to be building some momentum and some of the Title IX deficit is being addressed.

JK does not deserve 100% of the credit for the stadium debt, but it has happened on his watch and is #1 on the list of why the football program (and thus all of IA) is seen as stable as it has been in a decade or more.

Valid criticisms abound:

- Men's basketball is no longer in a free fall...similar to the Sonny hire, no one wanted to come to Cal and take on the dumpster fire WJ was allowed to build;
- Women's basketball literally had the bottom dropped, but general outlook is positive - the coach is well regarded and has strong recruiting results/pipeline building.
- Baseball seems stuck...many cite the coach, I don't know enough
- Volleyball appears to be in a shambles, but the pieces appear to be there...JK inherited a teetering program/coaching situation, but appears to have made a good hire...oh, and BVB beat Stanford!

And positives are out there as well:
- Gymnastics overall and the women in particular has been on the upswing
- Aquatics overall is chugging along and JK should get credit for securing Durden, MWP had its strongest season in a couple of years
- SB coaching hire is highly regarded...one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks. With the new facilities (thanks in particular to Riverboat Ron and his wife!), the recruiting should see the upswing (plus the revenue of hosting regional playoffs)

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calumnus said:

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touchdownbears43 said:

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Showed his cards a la Dykes did. Oh well. I don't think he's irreplaceable. Wilcox was probably a good hire where as Fox was an absolutely dumpster fire. Cal can probably do better if he leaves.

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Knowlton didn't hire Wilcox. Williams, the Cal alum everyone bags on here, did.

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BearSD said:

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calumnus said:

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touchdownbears43 said:

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Showed his cards a la Dykes did. Oh well. I don't think he's irreplaceable. Wilcox was probably a good hire where as Fox was an absolutely dumpster fire. Cal can probably do better if he leaves.

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Knowlton didn't hire Wilcox. Williams, the Cal alum everyone bags on here, did.

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Williams burned the basketball program to the ground by hiring Wyking, but I will give him credit for realizing that Dykes was pretty much begging to be fired, and for hiring Wilcox.

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killa22 said:

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Well, someone better sort out this under armour situation regardless.

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okaydo said:

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KJ seems like just the right guy for our student athletes.

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hanky1 said:

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71Bear said:

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philbert said:

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Knowlton haters will be happy if he gets the job

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This could turn the "worst year" into one of the best. Knowlton has been a disaster from the day he took the job. Cal desperately needs a person who clearly understands the culture of the university.

While I never advocate that Cal hire an alum to coach one of the teams, I think hiring an alum for the role of AD would address a lot of the issues within the department and its relationship to the rest of the campus.

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The guy Knowlton replaced was an alum and he is probably the worst AD in Cal history. I can't even say his name...

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

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"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

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"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

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The tailgates didn't convince you?

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

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The tailgates didn't convince you?

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

---

I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

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socaliganbear said:

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As an athletic department, existing for the sake of existing as the end goal is a pathetic waste of money. We need to produce better than just effective administrative work.

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socaliganbear said:

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As an athletic department, existing for the sake of existing as the end goal is a pathetic waste of money. We need to produce better than just effective administrative work.

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okaydo said:

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OaktownBear said:

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That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

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OaktownBear said:

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mbBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

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My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

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BearSD said:

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OaktownBear said:

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That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

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Those are important but raising money is an even more important part of the AD's job. Cal ranks 9th in the Pac-12 in donations to the athletic department. What is Knowlton doing to change that?

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socaliganbear said:

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OaktownBear said:

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mbBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

---

My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

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Yes!

Being really good at running an efficient, collaborative , and sound Athletic Department that loses more and more sports games that matter is not something that we should hold in high regard or aspire to! The point of having a successful athletic department is to foster great alumni, community, and BRAND sentiment and growth. We're not accomplishing literally any of that, arguably all of those things have gotten worse the last 3 years. We're not going to build fandom and community by being good operational managers. No one is rooting for the Assistant AD of Excel formulas.

If this doesn't translate to wins, it has failed.

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OaktownBear said:

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mbBear said:

---

71Bear said:

---

Fyght4Cal said:

---

I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

---

My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

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01Bear said:

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WalterSobchak said:

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01Bear said:

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HearstMining said:

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MilleniaBear said:

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We could put together a great list of Cal sports alums who perform well at administration - Sean Marks, Shareef Abdur Rahim, Kevin Johnson, etc. KJ would be great - he managed to get that new downtown arena for Sac. Heck lets get AR! It would be great to have him sit down with his old instructor and explain why they need to inspire students!

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KJ is an interesting thought and I think a great candidate. Two-term mayor of Sacramento during the Great Recession when the city's finances were really in the toilet and did a good job albeit with some controversy. Started the St Hope Development Corp to redevelop parts of the Oak Park neighborhood in Sac and the St Hope charter school. As mentioned above, shepherded the change in ownership of the Sac Kings and building of the downtown arena. It appears that the guy got a lot done and additionally demonstrated the ability to bring in outside funds for many of his projects. And not a bad guy to help close the deal on a 5* basketball prospect.

The fly in the ointment is a sexual assault/harassment charge from 1996 when he was in Phoenix that, from what I read, the authorities there elected not to pursue. While that would prevent the SF Board of Ed from naming a school after him, would it render him persona non grata by the Cal administration and faculty?

And of course the other question, would he want to do it?

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Coincidentally enough, I was re-reading the thread on DJ Rodgers last night. Some very good points about why his offer may have been rescinded despite no formal charges being leveled against him were made.

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You only think those points were good because you don't know the law, which is why the threads keep getting locked and the topic is forbidden.

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Oh? Are you a prosecutor? Or maybe a criminal defense attorney? Were you one before? Are/were you even a lawyer? If you are/were, you should know that the law has little bearing on the rescission of a scholarship offer, except insofar as it may be determined to be a breach of a contract. Frankly, it seems you are the one who is unfamiliar with the law, here.

Along those lines, what makes you think I'm unfamiliar with the law? You have no idea who I am, what I do, or what I've studied.

Additionally, do you know to which thread I alluded? Incidentally, it was not locked. This suggests the points to which I alluded are not the same ones you you have in mind.

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82gradDLSdad said:

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OaktownBear said:

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mbBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Fyght4Cal said:

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I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

---

My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

---

Your point about Gladstone is spot on. But identifying and hiring good coaches is a bit of a crapshoot. Even Gladstone, if given enough chances, would have a healthy failure rate. What you also need to be able to do is recognize that you missed, maybe much earlier in a coach's tenure than most would feel comfortable with, and fire. Most ADs aren't good at either of these.

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OaktownBear said:

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82gradDLSdad said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

mbBear said:

---

71Bear said:

---

Fyght4Cal said:

---

I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

---

My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

---

Your point about Gladstone is spot on. But identifying and hiring good coaches is a bit of a crapshoot. Even Gladstone, if given enough chances, would have a healthy failure rate. What you also need to be able to do is recognize that you missed, maybe much earlier in a coach's tenure than most would feel comfortable with, and fire. Most ADs aren't good at either of these.

---

yes and no on Gladstone. Investing can be a crapshoot, but I'll take a guy who goes through in depth research before he buys rather than a guy who googles "What is a good stock to buy" and buys the one at the top of the list.

Holmoe was dead man walking the day Gladstone was hired. Gladstone spent months in preliminary research. Then he spent a good long time identifying and interviewing several candidates. And, by the way, he identified several candidates that went on to success. They were interviewed in depth by a search committee and the process was driven by himself and Clark, two national championship coaches, rather than administrators who have zero clue or experience hiring coaches. I would argue it was the most well thought out, in depth process Cal has ever used to hire a football or basketball coach. It did not guarantee success, but it definitely increased the odds over the process that Knowlton used to hire Fox.

I would also say that look, coaches are not employees. You don't use the same process you would use to hire an accountant.

---

82gradDLSdad said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

82gradDLSdad said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

mbBear said:

---

71Bear said:

---

Fyght4Cal said:

---

I like Jim Knowlton - a lot. I'm glad he didn't go to Northwestern. He provides much needed continuity in the on-going transformation of the Athletic Department.

Jim has cut through so much of the dense undergrowth that is the Cal bureaucracy. He has created clearings for the warring fiefdoms to meet and collaborate. I can't remember a time in the last 40 years that we've seen Athletics so aligned with the rest of the campus.

We should continue to celebrate the exceptional partnership between Chancellor Christ and JK. The support from the top for Athletics has made a tremendous difference, putting the AD on a path to possible profitability. We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of Golden Age as a campus department.

From the standpoint of campus relations, Jim's most valuable asset is his status as former engineering faculty. As a member of the professoriate he has instant credibility in every faculty setting. This has made the Chancellor's job building campus support for Athletics much easier.

Moreover, Athletics and the Cal Alumni Association are in an amazing partnership right now. They decided to work together to give Cal fans a better experience at events like our road tailgates. I think all credit goes to JK & CAA ED Cloey Hewlett for their leadership and cooperative spirits.

Speaking of which, I've had the pleasure of working with Jim on two tailgates in LA. I find him to be well-organized, decisive, honest, and trustworthy. He was willing to work with our LA club to create two tailgates at the Rose Bowl for our biennial tilt against the Baby Bears there. He trusted us to deliver, when he could easily have said no. For these reasons, and so many others JK has shown himself to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.

I notice that a few people have mentioned Jim's politics. I find this an unreasonable, irrelevant attempt to slime a good man. I say this as a progressive labor Democratic activist.

When he was introduced as our AD, he mentioned that he approaches the job with a "servant's heart". As a Black Christian this evangelical language raised a red flag. I actually asked him about the use of the term. His answer allayed my concerns. I concluded that he was either a highly sincere, ethical man or he was extremely savvy to slip one past me.

If Jim is a Republican, he's a can-do Republican of the sort I grew up around. If he's an evangelical Christian, he has an open heart and an accepting spirit. From everything I've seen, we are lucky to have him here now.

---

"We may not be winning championships, but Cal Athletics is in a sort of a Golden Age as a campus department."

Yep, lollipops for everyone. Instead of competing for championships, the idea under Knowlton is winning as many participation trophies as possible and maintaining good relations with everyone!

I don't care about his politics or religious beliefs. I care about winning championships. Otherwise, why bother fielding a program. To that point, Cal's "worst year ever" tells me that he is an abject failure at the one job he was hired to do - produce a winning program.

---

He worked hard with the university for a graduate program that works for athletes. He is/was working through Title IX issues left by his predecessor. You have never been a guy whose post come across as, "let's just snap our fingers and will will be in the Rose Bowl in no time."
.

---

My main issues with Knowlton are:

1. The process he used to hire a basketball coach (far and away #1)
2. The hire that resulted from that process (far and away #2)

But this isn't snap your fingers and get a Rose Bowl. It has been 3 years and the results of our programs are tanking nearly across the board. A graduate program or Title IX is not the goal. They are means to the goal and the goal is tanking.

I appreciate the things you guys are crediting him with. I appreciate the hard work and competence. But that is baseline. Don't be misled by the fact that Cal sometimes fails at baseline.

But let's assume that these things that Knowlton has accomplished are special. That he has a skill that is hard to come by. It is not only not achieving the goal, the goal is getting farther out of reach.

If a guy builds a house with faulty bricks so that it falls down, the next move is not to hire a guy who is really good at buying bricks, who brings them to the site, puts them in a pile, puts a sign on them that says "House" and leaves. You don't praise him for buying good bricks. You still don't have a house.

I appreciate the effort he has put in. But you guys are exaggerating the import of things like a grad program. It is good. Given that or a top notch running backs coach, I'll take the running backs coach. Because here is what you don't understand. The grad program doesn't help the basketball team because no grad that would improve the team wants to play for our program. The goal is the program.

For all the hard work to achieve the grad program, he put 4 days into his most important decision, outsourced it to a search firm, interviewed two guys they gave him and picked one. And picked the wrong one. That had a thousand times the impact of the grad program. If he doesn't understand that, he is not going to succeed.

By all accounts, Gladstone was terrible at everything you guys are saying Knowlton does well. And he is by far the most important AD at Cal in 60 years because he put everything he had into one decision. That decision brought in a lot of money, brought a lot of notoriety, sent a lot of Cal kids to the pros, and for all the work Sandy put in to get the stadium done, and she deserves a ton of credit, the stadium doesn't enter the conversation if Gladstone doesn't ace that decision.

That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

---

Your point about Gladstone is spot on. But identifying and hiring good coaches is a bit of a crapshoot. Even Gladstone, if given enough chances, would have a healthy failure rate. What you also need to be able to do is recognize that you missed, maybe much earlier in a coach's tenure than most would feel comfortable with, and fire. Most ADs aren't good at either of these.

---

yes and no on Gladstone. Investing can be a crapshoot, but I'll take a guy who goes through in depth research before he buys rather than a guy who googles "What is a good stock to buy" and buys the one at the top of the list.

Holmoe was dead man walking the day Gladstone was hired. Gladstone spent months in preliminary research. Then he spent a good long time identifying and interviewing several candidates. And, by the way, he identified several candidates that went on to success. They were interviewed in depth by a search committee and the process was driven by himself and Clark, two national championship coaches, rather than administrators who have zero clue or experience hiring coaches. I would argue it was the most well thought out, in depth process Cal has ever used to hire a football or basketball coach. It did not guarantee success, but it definitely increased the odds over the process that Knowlton used to hire Fox.

I would also say that look, coaches are not employees. You don't use the same process you would use to hire an accountant.

---

Not sure what "...no on Gladstone" means. No that he would never fail hiring a good coach? I disagree. I agree he went through a good process. I agree that he knew what it took to be a head coach and a leader. I disagree that he would always end up with a winner. Too many human variables and constraints. I think we can both agree that we wish Gladstone was in charge of hiring our coaches. At least the Gladstone of 20 years ago. No idea what he is like these days.

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BearoutEast67 said:

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Williams will always have a (tiny) place in my heart for firing Dykes the way he did. This whole past year was a wash in the Pac12.

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ColoradoBear said:

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BearSD said:

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OaktownBear said:

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That is the issue here guys. Tailgates, giving coaches the feels, grad programs, Title IX, talking with faculty, they are all good things but they are all nibbling around the edges. I would trade all of that plus all my draft picks for the next 10 years for an AD that hired a good basketball and football coach. Period. The value proposition is easy to see.

---

Those are important but raising money is an even more important part of the AD's job. Cal ranks 9th in the Pac-12 in donations to the athletic department. What is Knowlton doing to change that?

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What's the source on that? I'd guess a lot of alumni donations are 'hidden' in that they go to endowments and not the deparment directly.

Football and Basketball donations reported on the yearly budget summary are definitely skewed downwards due to the accounting used.

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