It is 49 days from today (1/19) to the day after the first round of the Pac12 tournament. And while not impossible for the Bears to win that first game it is doubtful. In THEORY (if JK is not the worst P5 AD in history) that means 49 days left of the Mark Fox regime.

Seriously - forcusing on the fact that we are now less than 50 days away from the firing makes things a lot less painful.

" We thank Mark Fox for providing much needed stability to our basketball program . We wish him well but feel the needed to go in a different direction. A top notch search firm has been hired to find the next leader of our basketball program. We will look countrywide to assure the right candidate will be found"

socaltownie said:

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It is 49 days from today (1/19) to the day after the first round of the Pac12 tournament. And while not impossible for the Bears to win that first game it is doubtful. In THEORY (if JK is not the worst P5 AD in history) that means 49 days left of the Mark Fox regime.

Seriously - forcusing on the fact that we are now less than 50 days away from the firing makes things a lot less painful.

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Methinks you mistake Knowlton with an AD with competence.

Big Dog said:

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calumnus said:

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oskidunker said:

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" We thank Mark Fox for providing much needed stability to our basketball program . We wish him well but feel the needed to go in a different direction. A top notch search firm has been hired to find the next leader of our basketball program. We will look countrywide to assure the right candidate will be found"

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I am pretty sure that first Knowlton will bring up a litany of excuses for Fox (really himself): the program he inherited, the departures and need to "rebuild the roster," COVID, the injuries and "how tough it is to win at Cal." Maybe even the lack of a dedicated practice facility…. Make us cry for Fox as He hands him a $2 million severance check most of us can only dream of.

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Exactly. We have a new covid variant now, so instead of firing Fox, we should extend him again.

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I'm bracing for the fact that Knowlton will keep Fox. According to Fox, the problem last night was that the players didn't decide to play defense. The scheme was just fine. Sigh.

oskidunker said:

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" We thank Mark Fox for providing much needed stability to our basketball program . We wish him well but feel we needed to go in a different direction. A top notch search firm has been hired to find the next leader of our basketball program. We will look countrywide to assure the right candidate will be found, and I expect to announce the new coach tomorrow."

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Added the bolded words to make it more like Knowlton.

I am spending a lot of money on chairback seats. Will not renew if Fox is the coach. Many are at the end of their rope.

I have no confidence that fox will be fired.

oskidunker said:

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" We thank Mark Fox for providing much needed stability to our basketball program . We wish him well but feel the needed to go in a different direction. A top notch search firm has been hired to find the next leader of our basketball program. We will look countrywide to assure the right candidate will be found"

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Two weeks later:

"There was tremendous interest from candidates across the country to lead our men's basketball team to new heights. In the end, I just had a good feeling about SpongeBob SquarePants."

Forty nine reasons all in a line
All of them good ones all of them lies
Driftin' with my lady we're oldest of friends
Need a little work and there's fences to mend
-Stephen Stills

Picture this:

Total silence from the AD's office after the Bears' season ends.

Then, a press release is issued during the week of the men's Final Four.

"Coach Fox did a magnificent job getting this team to where it was only 4 wins away from the NCAA tournament. He led the team through a rough patch of injuries and battled all the way to the end. He truly deserves the multi-year contract extension that we are announcing today."

socaltownie said:

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It is 49 days from today (1/19) to the day after the first round of the Pac12 tournament. And while not impossible for the Bears to win that first game it is doubtful. In THEORY (if JK is not the worst P5 AD in history) that means 49 days left of the Mark Fox regime.

Seriously - forcusing on the fact that we are now less than 50 days away from the firing makes things a lot less painful.

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Well the problem is that JK has proven to be the worst AD in history already, so I wouldn't be the least surprised if he does nothing after the season.

And if anyone thinks that moniker is unwarranted, I'd like to see another example of an AD who:

- provided millions in arbitrary extensions to every single coach, including a basketball coach who has been an abject failure and set an all time school conference losing record and a swim coach who was the subject of numerous allegations of abuse

- provided so little support to the football program during Covid times that the HC, who rarely speaks out negatively about anything, as well as several players, publicly expressed anger that no one was fighting for them. Not to mention came off as a complete bumbling embarrassment in a video in which he attempted to describe the situation.

- provided a $30m 6 year guaranteed extension to a football coach with a losing record and downward trajectory

- was mentioned in several articles which provide accounts from student athletes and their parents describing how the AD brushed off their complaints alleging abuse and even ended a serious conference call to discuss these issues by yelling "go bears"

- hired a HC coach with a multi million dollar contract within such a short time frame that no reasonable due diligence could possibly have been performed

- heads an athletic department that didn't have cheerleaders arranged for the football season

- has the worst combined record in the country (or maybe second worst) in football and basketball during his tenure

These are just the examples off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many other examples that I'm leaving out or unaware of.

oskidunker said:

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I am spending a lot of money on chairback seats. Will not renew if Fox is the coach. Many are at the end of their rope.

I have no confidence that fox will be fired.

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Well OD, you're rope is one year longer than mine was (maybe two). And mine was a lot longer than many, many other fans that left earlier. There is nothing in Fox's performance this year that wasn't completely evident last year and even the season before. Actually, it appears more like a downward trend from low ceiling to low floor. Let's be honest, FOX looked best before his first interview and practice and it has gone downhill ever since.

As I've expressed here before, when I voiced my concerns, JK and his minions made it very clear that they don't value Mens Bball, my support or other enthusiastic fans meddling/annoying him with complaints. He clearly sees Mens Bball as an albatross around his neck and wants all of us to go away and leave him alone. Furthermore, similar concerns expressed to Carol Christ generate responses along the lines of: "I think Jim has been doing a great job and really enjoy working with him. Our focus is on student athletes where Cal can compete on a national stage - not media driven revenue sports and a cash focused arms race"


I would be very surprised (but overjoyed) if JK replaces FOX in April. But from a leadership perspective, I haven't seen the evidence for change.

BeachedBear said:

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oskidunker said:

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I am spending a lot of money on chairback seats. Will not renew if Fox is the coach. Many are at the end of their rope.

I have no confidence that fox will be fired.

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Well OD, you're rope is one year longer than mine was (maybe two). And mine was a lot longer than many, many other fans that left earlier. There is nothing in Fox's performance this year that wasn't completely evident last year and even the season before. Actually, it appears more like a downward trend from low ceiling to low floor. Let's be honest, FOX looked best before his first interview and practice and it has gone downhill ever since.

As I've expressed here before, when I voiced my concerns, JK and his minions made it very clear that they don't value Mens Bball, my support or other enthusiastic fans meddling/annoying him with complaints. He clearly sees Mens Bball as an albatross around his neck and wants all of us to go away and leave him alone. Furthermore, similar concerns expressed to Carol Christ generate responses along the lines of: "I think Jim has been doing a great job and really enjoy working with him. Our focus is on student athletes where Cal can compete on a national stage - not media driven revenue sports and a cash focused arms race"


I would be very surprised (but overjoyed) if JK replaces FOX in April. But from a leadership perspective, I haven't seen the evidence for change.

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The funny thing is that if it is a stage that only a select few (former athlets and parents of such) care about is it REALLY a national stage? The argument that colleges should be sponsoring athletic endevors like that is actually pretty ludicrious.

Or put more bluntly.....as a tax payer in the great golden state I have a hard time wrapping my head around why I subsidize diving. I can't name a signle diver except Greg with a last name that starts with L. Came out a few years ago. Won medals at an abjectly corrupt international meet that happens every 4 years. Good for him. It serves NO purposes - unlike revenue sports that help Cal BARELY increase its representation of African American students who are woefully underrepresented at the University and, in theory, which help engage alumni for giving purposes.

SBGold said:

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Why the negativity? I'm expecting us to beat the Beavs at home this weekend

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Last time you chimed in we beat CU. You are the lucky charm!

Wasn't Knowlton going to keep Wyking for a third year until some big-shot alums squawked? I would suggest that unless a similar hue and cry occurs, accompanied by the alumni $$$ for the buy-out, Fox will be around for at least an additional year.