...and Cal won't be one of them, again.
SF Comicle on Cal hoops
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Last: 3 yr ago by Chapman_is_Gone
...but Monty had assistants, who could and did recruit.
I think the metrics this year for Fox are pretty clear:
1. Wins, obviously
2. Team synergy to produce wins - we have all the experience we need if this is ever going to work
3. Player development - we can't get better without lots of players showing obvious improvement
4. Recruiting - all three recruits have to show that they can play at the PAC 12 level, and contribute meaningfully
No place to hide this year.
1. Wins, obviously
2. Team synergy to produce wins - we have all the experience we need if this is ever going to work
3. Player development - we can't get better without lots of players showing obvious improvement
4. Recruiting - all three recruits have to show that they can play at the PAC 12 level, and contribute meaningfully
No place to hide this year.
Great question Hoop Dreams - fund raising appears consistent for non-athletic/campus initiatives/ areas, while for football and basketball it has been subpar compared to our conference members. Not a PC answer, but while diversity of cultures is certainly a strong positive - I think it is enlighting, progressive and intellectually stimulating for all, it also brings different interests to follow/support where monies flow to that person's rightful choosing. It is disappointing that we don't have higher amounts of funds raised for the key revenue sports of the university. Grid Club membership has increased over the past decade, and with further growth of members, increased funding would definitely be helped. Would like to see more alums who follow basketball, reach out to the the Dept and request a meeting/updates and understand that their monies would be used positively and thus help the program improve. Cal definitely needs to break the continual cycle of not seriously contending for conference titles for far too long. Money will help, but then proper coaching hires must be made and those HC's must not be hand tied with significantly lower assistant salaries, overly restrictive admission standards and student athlete housing options on/near campus be made available for all student athletes.HoopDreams said:
4thGen:
Final point to those that say "run to the hills, ship without a rudder, plane w/o a pilot" etc "Money does not talk, it shouts"! Cal is last in many needed competitive areas and all make the job of HC even tougher than viewed from afar. IE, last in conference in charter flights for players (cuts into practice and study time), non existent for coaches recruiting effectiveness (unlike nearly all conf teams and top programs), low staff pay scale (compared to conf teams), at the near bottom (not all teams info available) for basketball support funds. No practice facility (only one in conf to not have one, one of just 4 D1 schools nationally).
Thanks 4thGen for the info. You obviously have a lot of insight into the program so your info is very appreciated. I think the right coach can break though some of our short-comings, but it's not easy. IMHO, Martin was one of those coaches, but I didn't think he would stay long term, especially after Cal didn't admit his son (which I still find very frustrating considering how good a student I understand he is)
All of our challenges that you listed (no practice facilities, fewer charters, etc) can really only be addressed with money, and the majority of that money needs to come from revenues and fund raising. Revenues is a chicken and egg issue, so the key thing to break the cycle is fund raising
As a flagship university, with many wealthy alum and supporters of the great university, why does our fund raising lag the majority of our conference and P6 schools?
I'm not talking about the USC, Oregon, Texas of the world. I'm talking about Utah, ASU, WSU and apparently even OSU.... or San Diego State, etc?
71Bear said:It all circles back to Cal Administration. There has not been a clearly stated vision since I have followed Cal Athletics. Yes, there has been much lip service but no real action, no commitment to producing winning results.Chapman_is_Gone said:4th Gen Cal and Others,4thGenCal said:Its a real topic and the AD is leading the push - several factors in discussion now from scope (location/size/serving just basketball or additional sports via weightroom/training facilities etc) and thus the variance in amount of needed funds to raise. Desperately needed for both basketball teams to have any lasting ability to be conference/nationally competitive. Only conference program without one and just one of four nationally as well for D1.Chabbear said:
The article mentions a practice facility which was a thread last week. Is the Practice facility real or a Chimera: (a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.)
I'm curious if you can answer this question. Why is there virtually zero information on key Cal sports issues communicated from the Athletic Department to die-hard fans? I get the sense that heavy donors get some information if they pry, but why can't all Cal fans have access to quality information? Why hide things?
Why not have a monthly "State of the Athletic Department" interview / newsletter / podcast, where issues are discussed, alternatives are considered, and fan question are addressed and answered if possible? I can think of 6 questions right off the top of my head that I've NEVER heard the Cal athletic department discuss with Cal fans:
1) Status of a practice facility for the basketball team, and an open discussion of cost estimates for everything from a bare bones facility to a spare-no-expense facility.
2) An open discussion of Learfield's benefits and costs. Is the AD even aware that there is a perception among Cal fans that the game day experience has deteriorated and the band doesn't play as much? If surveys indicate piped-in music is preferred by fans, can we get some insight into those surveys?
3) Is it true that we have stricter admissions standards for football and basketball than our peers, for no reason other than as a self-imposed limitation due to poor student athlete academic performance more than five years ago? If the higher standards are self-imposed, what goals could be achieved for those standards return to being in-line with our peers?
4) A full update on the band. How can we set a 10-year goal to increase the size of the band by 50%, including much more brass? What academic rules could be tweaked to make it more reasonable and attractive for students to devote so much time to being in the band?
5) When a new coach needs to be chosen, has the school considered the route, often proposed on this message board, of a "council of elders" who would recommend a group of finalists, rather than relying on a search firm that doesn't appreciate Cal's values and traditions?
6) What would it take for Memorial Stadium to return to natural grass? And for the rugby field to return to natural grass? What are the cost differences between natural grass and the fake stuff? Has the number of injuries suffered on grass vs. fake stuff been truly analyzed? Have the players been interviewed for their preferences? I do not believe ANY claims of artificial turf companies, having personally experienced what it's like to play on the crap (softball) to hearing just recently the best soccer players in the world complain about its effects on their bodies and on the sport (in the Champions League).
I don't feel like I am in an effective two-way communication with the Cal athletic department. I feel like poor decisions are being made, and at the very least, the fan base should be allowed to understand the rationale for decisions. That way, the logic behind those decisions can be seen, no matter how the decisions turn out. It is not healthy for die-hard Cal fans to be in the dark. Over a 5-year period I personally have gone from donating low five-figures per year to donating nothing. Doesn't Cal believe and understand that if they more effectively engaged their fan base, the result almost certainly would be positive? Why all the secrets?
The current AD may be the worst of the bunch who have held that position on a permanent basis in the last several decades. He clearly does not understand the role athletics play at Cal. He is just a glad handler who works feverishly to keep smoke and mirrors in place in order to avoid being held accountable for the poorest results by Cal Athletics in several decades. And, of course, his handling of the process to select a men's BB Coach was a master class in how NOT to hire a collegiate head coach of a revenue producing program.
We constantly hear from the donor community that all is well and big things are right around the corner. Obviously, they are being hoodwinked by the master magician in the AD's office. Otherwise, we would be seeing improvement on the field and court.
Have faith, 71, success is just around the corner.
Okay, I could not keep a straight face when I wrote that. I do not see us on a successful path right now in football or basketball. Maybe we could be successful in football as early as next year, but I am not seeing it. Maybe we could be successful in basketball as early as... geez, I'm not seeing anything out there right now.
In lieu of "success", I'm hoping we can win a few more football games this season and then regroup. Basketball, I'm hoping we win significantly more games than last year (that's a low bar). In any event, I will still follow the Golden Bears closely and root for them like crazy!
Travis Decuire. Got our Pac-12 POY.puget sound cal fan said:
..but Monty had assistants, who could and did recruit.
I do like the banter and opinions - "when they are fact based and know the obstacles the AD/dept/coaches face". I hope we will win many more games this year and the anti Fox group, pauses and give due credit if earned. Having said that, it is good to hear all respectful opinions (and CalAlumnus enjoy your communication)Just back from an basketball event and open practice. If naming a starting team today (things change certainly) Coach would start(in his words): Joel, Shepard, Kuany, Grant, Kelly. Celenstine and Hyder coming on but closer to 85%+. I was impressed with the freshmen Sam and Obinna - active and great effort - one I think Obinna? could shoot well from outside. Team got a bit of a slow start due to 3 covid cases and thus missed a full week of team practices. DJ and Roberson were held out of practice today due to concussion protocol and illness respectively. I have coached mid level AAU previously and watched several top level coaches run their own practices. Coach Fox and staff run a solid practice covering several areas in an efficient and well coordinated routine (proper instruction when needed). Players are clearly working hard and overall look in much better condition. Clearly the team will battle interior defense and sufficient 3 point shooters issues this season. Likely per coach, that this team will not shoot as many 3's as last season. Don't want to bore the message participants, so all for now. I will later mention the progress of the practice facility plan and despite several on here blasting the AD, Jim K is making excellent progress working thru the mind wearing down # of committee's that have to weigh in/get approvals etc Before the Chancellor can give the green light. One example of internal battle's deals with the PC crowd on prioritizing Lights for the softball facility (which has morphed into a complete rebuild and huge increase in cost.Big C said:71Bear said:It all circles back to Cal Administration. There has not been a clearly stated vision since I have followed Cal Athletics. Yes, there has been much lip service but no real action, no commitment to producing winning results.Chapman_is_Gone said:4th Gen Cal and Others,4thGenCal said:Its a real topic and the AD is leading the push - several factors in discussion now from scope (location/size/serving just basketball or additional sports via weightroom/training facilities etc) and thus the variance in amount of needed funds to raise. Desperately needed for both basketball teams to have any lasting ability to be conference/nationally competitive. Only conference program without one and just one of four nationally as well for D1.Chabbear said:
The article mentions a practice facility which was a thread last week. Is the Practice facility real or a Chimera: (a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.)
I'm curious if you can answer this question. Why is there virtually zero information on key Cal sports issues communicated from the Athletic Department to die-hard fans? I get the sense that heavy donors get some information if they pry, but why can't all Cal fans have access to quality information? Why hide things?
Why not have a monthly "State of the Athletic Department" interview / newsletter / podcast, where issues are discussed, alternatives are considered, and fan question are addressed and answered if possible? I can think of 6 questions right off the top of my head that I've NEVER heard the Cal athletic department discuss with Cal fans:
1) Status of a practice facility for the basketball team, and an open discussion of cost estimates for everything from a bare bones facility to a spare-no-expense facility.
2) An open discussion of Learfield's benefits and costs. Is the AD even aware that there is a perception among Cal fans that the game day experience has deteriorated and the band doesn't play as much? If surveys indicate piped-in music is preferred by fans, can we get some insight into those surveys?
3) Is it true that we have stricter admissions standards for football and basketball than our peers, for no reason other than as a self-imposed limitation due to poor student athlete academic performance more than five years ago? If the higher standards are self-imposed, what goals could be achieved for those standards return to being in-line with our peers?
4) A full update on the band. How can we set a 10-year goal to increase the size of the band by 50%, including much more brass? What academic rules could be tweaked to make it more reasonable and attractive for students to devote so much time to being in the band?
5) When a new coach needs to be chosen, has the school considered the route, often proposed on this message board, of a "council of elders" who would recommend a group of finalists, rather than relying on a search firm that doesn't appreciate Cal's values and traditions?
6) What would it take for Memorial Stadium to return to natural grass? And for the rugby field to return to natural grass? What are the cost differences between natural grass and the fake stuff? Has the number of injuries suffered on grass vs. fake stuff been truly analyzed? Have the players been interviewed for their preferences? I do not believe ANY claims of artificial turf companies, having personally experienced what it's like to play on the crap (softball) to hearing just recently the best soccer players in the world complain about its effects on their bodies and on the sport (in the Champions League).
I don't feel like I am in an effective two-way communication with the Cal athletic department. I feel like poor decisions are being made, and at the very least, the fan base should be allowed to understand the rationale for decisions. That way, the logic behind those decisions can be seen, no matter how the decisions turn out. It is not healthy for die-hard Cal fans to be in the dark. Over a 5-year period I personally have gone from donating low five-figures per year to donating nothing. Doesn't Cal believe and understand that if they more effectively engaged their fan base, the result almost certainly would be positive? Why all the secrets?
The current AD may be the worst of the bunch who have held that position on a permanent basis in the last several decades. He clearly does not understand the role athletics play at Cal. He is just a glad handler who works feverishly to keep smoke and mirrors in place in order to avoid being held accountable for the poorest results by Cal Athletics in several decades. And, of course, his handling of the process to select a men's BB Coach was a master class in how NOT to hire a collegiate head coach of a revenue producing program.
We constantly hear from the donor community that all is well and big things are right around the corner. Obviously, they are being hoodwinked by the master magician in the AD's office. Otherwise, we would be seeing improvement on the field and court.
Have faith, 71, success is just around the corner.
Okay, I could not keep a straight face when I wrote that. I do not see us on a successful path right now in football or basketball. Maybe we could be successful in football as early as next year, but I am not seeing it. Maybe we could be successful in basketball as early as... geez, I'm not seeing anything out there right now.
In lieu of "success", I'm hoping we can win a few more football games this season and then regroup. Basketball, I'm hoping we win significantly more games than last year (that's a low bar). In any event, I will still follow the Golden Bears closely and root for them like crazy!
Several positive areas of progress and hopefully we will see improved play of both of our major sports.
Thanks for the info 4thgen. I think we are all rooting for hoops to surprise us, but they are going to have to earn the fans trust.
Would love to hear latest updates on the facilities.
Would love to hear latest updates on the facilities.
Looking forward to seeing the new players and watching their development. Just as with every team past, rooting for these guys as individuals and as a team! Go Bears!
4thGenCal said:Great question Hoop Dreams - fund raising appears consistent for non-athletic/campus initiatives/ areas, while for football and basketball it has been subpar compared to our conference members. Not a PC answer, but while diversity of cultures is certainly a strong positive - I think it is enlighting, progressive and intellectually stimulating for all, it also brings different interests to follow/support where monies flow to that person's rightful choosing. It is disappointing that we don't have higher amounts of funds raised for the key revenue sports of the university. Grid Club membership has increased over the past decade, and with further growth of members, increased funding would definitely be helped. Would like to see more alums who follow basketball, reach out to the the Dept and request a meeting/updates and understand that their monies would be used positively and thus help the program improve. Cal definitely needs to break the continual cycle of not seriously contending for conference titles for far too long. Money will help, but then proper coaching hires must be made and those HC's must not be hand tied with significantly lower assistant salaries, overly restrictive admission standards and student athlete housing options on/near campus be made available for all student athletes.HoopDreams said:
4thGen:
Final point to those that say "run to the hills, ship without a rudder, plane w/o a pilot" etc "Money does not talk, it shouts"! Cal is last in many needed competitive areas and all make the job of HC even tougher than viewed from afar. IE, last in conference in charter flights for players (cuts into practice and study time), non existent for coaches recruiting effectiveness (unlike nearly all conf teams and top programs), low staff pay scale (compared to conf teams), at the near bottom (not all teams info available) for basketball support funds. No practice facility (only one in conf to not have one, one of just 4 D1 schools nationally).
Thanks 4thGen for the info. You obviously have a lot of insight into the program so your info is very appreciated. I think the right coach can break though some of our short-comings, but it's not easy. IMHO, Martin was one of those coaches, but I didn't think he would stay long term, especially after Cal didn't admit his son (which I still find very frustrating considering how good a student I understand he is)
All of our challenges that you listed (no practice facilities, fewer charters, etc) can really only be addressed with money, and the majority of that money needs to come from revenues and fund raising. Revenues is a chicken and egg issue, so the key thing to break the cycle is fund raising
As a flagship university, with many wealthy alum and supporters of the great university, why does our fund raising lag the majority of our conference and P6 schools?
I'm not talking about the USC, Oregon, Texas of the world. I'm talking about Utah, ASU, WSU and apparently even OSU.... or San Diego State, etc?
You mentioned the Grid Club before. I hadn't heard about it before. Why would that be? Have I just not paid attention? It seems like it would not be difficult for Cal to explain these various groups and their role/scope (i.e. Grid for FB, Excellence for BB?)
The one 'handicap' we can solve without money is our admissions standard. Is someone trying to change that to be in line with UCLA, UCSB, and the other UC schools with D1 programs?
Grid Club is well known and has 150 members - really good cause which helps to support the football program. For further info the President is John Stock johnvstock@gmail.com. Meets weekly during the season and offers lunch, HC and various additional speakers (occasionally AD or Chancellor speak). Excellence Club has just 25+- members and the contact is Alex Romagnolo, aromagnolo@berkeley.edu members meet with the HC quarterly during season and are invited to events including an open practice and latest updates etc. Both are great ways to give back to Cal and provide much needed support.HoopDreams said:4thGenCal said:Great question Hoop Dreams - fund raising appears consistent for non-athletic/campus initiatives/ areas, while for football and basketball it has been subpar compared to our conference members. Not a PC answer, but while diversity of cultures is certainly a strong positive - I think it is enlighting, progressive and intellectually stimulating for all, it also brings different interests to follow/support where monies flow to that person's rightful choosing. It is disappointing that we don't have higher amounts of funds raised for the key revenue sports of the university. Grid Club membership has increased over the past decade, and with further growth of members, increased funding would definitely be helped. Would like to see more alums who follow basketball, reach out to the the Dept and request a meeting/updates and understand that their monies would be used positively and thus help the program improve. Cal definitely needs to break the continual cycle of not seriously contending for conference titles for far too long. Money will help, but then proper coaching hires must be made and those HC's must not be hand tied with significantly lower assistant salaries, overly restrictive admission standards and student athlete housing options on/near campus be made available for all student athletes.HoopDreams said:
4thGen:
Final point to those that say "run to the hills, ship without a rudder, plane w/o a pilot" etc "Money does not talk, it shouts"! Cal is last in many needed competitive areas and all make the job of HC even tougher than viewed from afar. IE, last in conference in charter flights for players (cuts into practice and study time), non existent for coaches recruiting effectiveness (unlike nearly all conf teams and top programs), low staff pay scale (compared to conf teams), at the near bottom (not all teams info available) for basketball support funds. No practice facility (only one in conf to not have one, one of just 4 D1 schools nationally).
Thanks 4thGen for the info. You obviously have a lot of insight into the program so your info is very appreciated. I think the right coach can break though some of our short-comings, but it's not easy. IMHO, Martin was one of those coaches, but I didn't think he would stay long term, especially after Cal didn't admit his son (which I still find very frustrating considering how good a student I understand he is)
All of our challenges that you listed (no practice facilities, fewer charters, etc) can really only be addressed with money, and the majority of that money needs to come from revenues and fund raising. Revenues is a chicken and egg issue, so the key thing to break the cycle is fund raising
As a flagship university, with many wealthy alum and supporters of the great university, why does our fund raising lag the majority of our conference and P6 schools?
I'm not talking about the USC, Oregon, Texas of the world. I'm talking about Utah, ASU, WSU and apparently even OSU.... or San Diego State, etc?
You mentioned the Grid Club before. I hadn't heard about it before. Why would that be? Have I just not paid attention? It seems like it would not be difficult for Cal to explain these various groups and their role/scope (i.e. Grid for FB, Excellence for BB?)
The one 'handicap' we can solve without money is our admissions standard. Is someone trying to change that to be in line with UCLA, UCSB, and the other UC schools with D1 programs?
Hi and the latest is that the AD Jim Knowlton has worked tirelessly thru the multitude of necessary committee's to get initial approvals/ support (architectural design, environmental, space committee's and too many others to mention). Once all of these committee's are on board, then the proposal is taken to the Chancellor, for the ultimate blessing. Timing for these approvals are very close. Location slated to be adjacent to the Haas Arena weight room (North side of the Arena = where there is just surface parking. Cost not yet nailed down though very likely north of $50M. Upon Chancellor blessing, then the fund raising can start (assume 2 years) and then the design/plans submittal/permit process before the 2 year+ construction process is completed( thus likely a 4+- year start to finish timeline). As usual with Cal - there are some political issues to overcome, namely the softball lights/new facility/beach VB to be completed. Title 9 /federal funding eligibility-requires funding for women's sports and before Softball coach Diane N retired, a big complaint involving court/legal pursuit was started to provide her program with requested upgrades. Thus the monies for the softball facility likely will have to fully raised, before the practice facility can be unleashed. Please understand that this is a very general overview and not in the detail/with all facts provided, known and fairly stated. Bottom line, the AD is making Great progress with this badly needed Practice facility(which will serve both men's/women's programs) and would mean we would no longer be the ONLY conf program w/o such a facility. Conference programs have been very successful in using the fact of no practice facility against Cal - since it is spun/shows that there is simply limited/no university commitment, to a top level program. So fingers crossed, as the steps are definitely pointing in the right direction and am very confident this will happen!philbert said:
Thanks for the info 4thgen. I think we are all rooting for hoops to surprise us, but they are going to have to earn the fans trust.
Would love to hear latest updates on the facilities.
Thanks, but what do you mean 'well known'?4thGenCal said:Grid Club is well known and has 150 members - really good cause which helps to support the football program. For further info the President is John Stock johnvstock@gmail.com. Meets weekly during the season and offers lunch, HC and various additional speakers (occasionally AD or Chancellor speak). Excellence Club has just 25+- members and the contact is Alex Romagnolo, aromagnolo@berkeley.edu members meet with the HC quarterly during season and are invited to events including an open practice and latest updates etc. Both are great ways to give back to Cal and provide much needed support.HoopDreams said:4thGenCal said:Great question Hoop Dreams - fund raising appears consistent for non-athletic/campus initiatives/ areas, while for football and basketball it has been subpar compared to our conference members. Not a PC answer, but while diversity of cultures is certainly a strong positive - I think it is enlighting, progressive and intellectually stimulating for all, it also brings different interests to follow/support where monies flow to that person's rightful choosing. It is disappointing that we don't have higher amounts of funds raised for the key revenue sports of the university. Grid Club membership has increased over the past decade, and with further growth of members, increased funding would definitely be helped. Would like to see more alums who follow basketball, reach out to the the Dept and request a meeting/updates and understand that their monies would be used positively and thus help the program improve. Cal definitely needs to break the continual cycle of not seriously contending for conference titles for far too long. Money will help, but then proper coaching hires must be made and those HC's must not be hand tied with significantly lower assistant salaries, overly restrictive admission standards and student athlete housing options on/near campus be made available for all student athletes.HoopDreams said:
4thGen:
Final point to those that say "run to the hills, ship without a rudder, plane w/o a pilot" etc "Money does not talk, it shouts"! Cal is last in many needed competitive areas and all make the job of HC even tougher than viewed from afar. IE, last in conference in charter flights for players (cuts into practice and study time), non existent for coaches recruiting effectiveness (unlike nearly all conf teams and top programs), low staff pay scale (compared to conf teams), at the near bottom (not all teams info available) for basketball support funds. No practice facility (only one in conf to not have one, one of just 4 D1 schools nationally).
Thanks 4thGen for the info. You obviously have a lot of insight into the program so your info is very appreciated. I think the right coach can break though some of our short-comings, but it's not easy. IMHO, Martin was one of those coaches, but I didn't think he would stay long term, especially after Cal didn't admit his son (which I still find very frustrating considering how good a student I understand he is)
All of our challenges that you listed (no practice facilities, fewer charters, etc) can really only be addressed with money, and the majority of that money needs to come from revenues and fund raising. Revenues is a chicken and egg issue, so the key thing to break the cycle is fund raising
As a flagship university, with many wealthy alum and supporters of the great university, why does our fund raising lag the majority of our conference and P6 schools?
I'm not talking about the USC, Oregon, Texas of the world. I'm talking about Utah, ASU, WSU and apparently even OSU.... or San Diego State, etc?
You mentioned the Grid Club before. I hadn't heard about it before. Why would that be? Have I just not paid attention? It seems like it would not be difficult for Cal to explain these various groups and their role/scope (i.e. Grid for FB, Excellence for BB?)
The one 'handicap' we can solve without money is our admissions standard. Is someone trying to change that to be in line with UCLA, UCSB, and the other UC schools with D1 programs?
Thank you, 4thgen. The most informative post on the practice facility in a long time. I believe BearGreg last said the track stadium stands were being considered, but that was a long time ago. The spot you mentioned seems best.
The mods have mentioned the grid club on occasion. Here's one post.HoopDreams said:Thanks, but what do you mean 'well known'?4thGenCal said:Grid Club is well known and has 150 members - really good cause which helps to support the football program. For further info the President is John Stock johnvstock@gmail.com. Meets weekly during the season and offers lunch, HC and various additional speakers (occasionally AD or Chancellor speak). Excellence Club has just 25+- members and the contact is Alex Romagnolo, aromagnolo@berkeley.edu members meet with the HC quarterly during season and are invited to events including an open practice and latest updates etc. Both are great ways to give back to Cal and provide much needed support.HoopDreams said:4thGenCal said:Great question Hoop Dreams - fund raising appears consistent for non-athletic/campus initiatives/ areas, while for football and basketball it has been subpar compared to our conference members. Not a PC answer, but while diversity of cultures is certainly a strong positive - I think it is enlighting, progressive and intellectually stimulating for all, it also brings different interests to follow/support where monies flow to that person's rightful choosing. It is disappointing that we don't have higher amounts of funds raised for the key revenue sports of the university. Grid Club membership has increased over the past decade, and with further growth of members, increased funding would definitely be helped. Would like to see more alums who follow basketball, reach out to the the Dept and request a meeting/updates and understand that their monies would be used positively and thus help the program improve. Cal definitely needs to break the continual cycle of not seriously contending for conference titles for far too long. Money will help, but then proper coaching hires must be made and those HC's must not be hand tied with significantly lower assistant salaries, overly restrictive admission standards and student athlete housing options on/near campus be made available for all student athletes.HoopDreams said:
4thGen:
Final point to those that say "run to the hills, ship without a rudder, plane w/o a pilot" etc "Money does not talk, it shouts"! Cal is last in many needed competitive areas and all make the job of HC even tougher than viewed from afar. IE, last in conference in charter flights for players (cuts into practice and study time), non existent for coaches recruiting effectiveness (unlike nearly all conf teams and top programs), low staff pay scale (compared to conf teams), at the near bottom (not all teams info available) for basketball support funds. No practice facility (only one in conf to not have one, one of just 4 D1 schools nationally).
Thanks 4thGen for the info. You obviously have a lot of insight into the program so your info is very appreciated. I think the right coach can break though some of our short-comings, but it's not easy. IMHO, Martin was one of those coaches, but I didn't think he would stay long term, especially after Cal didn't admit his son (which I still find very frustrating considering how good a student I understand he is)
All of our challenges that you listed (no practice facilities, fewer charters, etc) can really only be addressed with money, and the majority of that money needs to come from revenues and fund raising. Revenues is a chicken and egg issue, so the key thing to break the cycle is fund raising
As a flagship university, with many wealthy alum and supporters of the great university, why does our fund raising lag the majority of our conference and P6 schools?
I'm not talking about the USC, Oregon, Texas of the world. I'm talking about Utah, ASU, WSU and apparently even OSU.... or San Diego State, etc?
You mentioned the Grid Club before. I hadn't heard about it before. Why would that be? Have I just not paid attention? It seems like it would not be difficult for Cal to explain these various groups and their role/scope (i.e. Grid for FB, Excellence for BB?)
The one 'handicap' we can solve without money is our admissions standard. Is someone trying to change that to be in line with UCLA, UCSB, and the other UC schools with D1 programs?
https://bearinsider.com/forums/1/topics/96468/replies
My suggestion to the mods is to have two prominent advertisements to both of those clubs (and any others that might exist) on this website. Too many of us had no idea about these clubs.
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