Do you think Fox will be fired?

11,833 Views | 109 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by calumnus
calumnus
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HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.
Ursine
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Cal8285 said:


I'm not well in touch with the donor community, but I don't think the problem is that the donor community is buying what Christ and Knowlton are selling, because my sense is that, with the possible exception of some very small numbers, I don't think they are buying what Knowlton is selling.
It doesn't really matter whether they're buying what he's selling. Any other university with an athletics program like ours, there would be a huge outcry for Knowlton to be fired, contract be damned. That doesn't exist here. In fact, I'm not certain Cal has ever actually fired an athletic director in my lifetime. Most of the time, it's sold as they resigned or stepped down.
Big C
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calumnus said:

HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
stu
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Big C said:

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
But now we have Knowlton.
4thGenCal
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Big C said:

calumnus said:

HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
I would recommend concerned alums/backers of the program (via game attendance/donations) set up a mtg with the AD and voice your opinion. JK is accessible and He is meeting with various donors now (25+), to gauge their impression/thoughts etc. JK has not and will not tip his hand (expected as its unprofessional to do so during a season) but indications thus far, are that terminating the HC at the end of the season (as shocking as it is) is at best 50/50. And while the program results/quality of recruits etc has steadily decreased under the current staff's guidance, declining fan attendance etc the key obstacles to a replacement are: 1) Key donor's are not being vocal/leveraging their involvement enough. 2) $3.15M+ buyout which very likely would need to be raised by the AD from the donor's (and then it is less monies donated for other needed areas) 3) the list of valid obstacles - that all competing conferences have an advantage over Cal hoops. Yes its very frustrating, but the message board posters here, either don't reach out to JK and actually connect live, don't donate enough/frequently or have even made their opinion heard by JK.
JK is going to base his decision on a # of factors including the % of donors that want a termination, is there sufficient monies validated, to be available via donor's to cover the buyout, how hard/engaged the players are playing for the staff, and what plan is in place to turn around the not acceptable results. Very Sorry to say, this is not a slam dunk dismissal - how the team finishes up - including the post season conf tournament will factor in as well.
Big C
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stu said:

Big C said:

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
But now we have Knowlton.

Yes, but before, we had _____________.
(fill in the blank with one of the names of the other lame ADs we have had over the years)

(I read 4thGen's latest... rather disheartening, but the info is appreciated.)
sluggo
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4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

calumnus said:

HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
I would recommend concerned alums/backers of the program (via game attendance/donations) set up a mtg with the AD and voice your opinion. JK is accessible and He is meeting with various donors now (25+), to gauge their impression/thoughts etc. JK has not and will not tip his hand (expected as its unprofessional to do so during a season) but indications thus far, are that terminating the HC at the end of the season (as shocking as it is) is at best 50/50. And while the program results/quality of recruits etc has steadily decreased under the current staff's guidance, declining fan attendance etc the key obstacles to a replacement are: 1) Key donor's are not being vocal/leveraging their involvement enough. 2) $3.15M+ buyout which very likely would need to be raised by the AD from the donor's (and then it is less monies donated for other needed areas) 3) the list of valid obstacles - that all competing conferences have an advantage over Cal hoops. Yes its very frustrating, but the message board posters here, either don't reach out to JK and actually connect live, don't donate enough/frequently or have even made their opinion heard by JK.
JK is going to base his decision on a # of factors including the % of donors that want a termination, is there sufficient monies validated, to be available via donor's to cover the buyout, how hard/engaged the players are playing for the staff, and what plan is in place to turn around the not acceptable results. Very Sorry to say, this is not a slam dunk dismissal - how the team finishes up - including the post season conf tournament will factor in as well.
I love this part. The plan. Fox, oh yeah, he has got a plan. It is going to work for sure. If the players would only listen.

I would love to hear how JK compares this season's results to historically typical results.
HoopDreams
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Thanks 4thGen for everything you do for the program. You donations, the housing and your efforts are outstanding and hugely impactful to the players and the program

Many of us try to help in different ways, from attending games, making donations and NIL even if not big ones, providing our voice, etc.

some fans may feel that their financial means don't allow them to impact the program in a meaningful way (yes, everything counts, no matter how big), but what too few of us do (myself included) is contribute their TIME.

Running a program takes money, but a lot of things that money is used for is resources, employees, etc.

We should all provide input to the AD office and University Leaders as you suggest. It only takes a few minutes to write the AD and Chancellor and both their emails are readily available. Yet how many fans here have actually taken those few minutes?

Are there also things we can do with our time to support the program? To provide some additional people resources on a volunteer basis?

On the insider board, Sebastra talked about doing a better outreach to former players in football. Can a similar effort be taken for our basketball alums. I'd be willing to spend some time if I can help (I have a super busy job, but have volunteered some time to support the business school to help mentor students and student athletes)
OdontoBear66
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Time to get serious. There are some real losers out there. Cal, St. Johns, G'town.....First to dump first and hire Rick Pitino is one step ahead. At Iona he is ready. Thinking big, not necessarily PC... Hahaha.

No meant to disrespect to today's players who sought opportunity but since Cuonzo left this has been a major basketball Sh**Show.....
bearister
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Speaking of coaches I always wanted, Kyle Smith just stuffed Bobby Hurley.
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
calumnus
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bearister said:

Speaking of coaches I always wanted, Kyle Smith just stuffed Bobby Hurley.


Smith, yes, Hurley, no. Kidd would have been great.
barsad
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$1.5 mil. Can't believe that's what we're talking about. Berkeley has a $3 billion annual budget and probably spends that on campus toilet paper. Cut him loose!!
barsad
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Rick Pitino, I say hell yes! I had to look up what his scandal was all about l, seems pretty tame from a 2023 point of view when we're allowing players to make millions off of social media and endorsement deals. Rick, we need you!
stu
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barsad said:

$1.5 mil. Can't believe that's what we're talking about. Berkeley has a $3 billion annual budget and probably spends that on campus toilet paper. Cut him loose!!
And if we keep Fox we'll probably need more toilet paper.
calumnus
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barsad said:

$1.5 mil. Can't believe that's what we're talking about. Berkeley has a $3 billion annual budget and probably spends that on campus toilet paper. Cut him loose!!


I think it is more than that thanks to Knowlton giving Fox an extension, but not much more. Plus, if we fire h now we owe less on the last year of the contract. Plus he has an obligation to mitigate. That can be used to negotiate a lower payout.

The bottom line is we need to just fire him now and make Francis the interim, then hire an up and coming coach for around $1 million, or let Pasternak's big donor supporters put up the money.

It will end up costing us far more to keep Fox.
eastcoastcal
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Look at Dennis Gates' twitter feed. Constantly thanking the fans, encouraging them to come out to games, saying that the atmosphere helps them win games. In his entire tenure, has Fox once done an ounce of Cal basketball PR that he wasn't contractually obligated to do?
Big Dog
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4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

calumnus said:

HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
I would recommend concerned alums/backers of the program (via game attendance/donations) set up a mtg with the AD and voice your opinion. JK is accessible and He is meeting with various donors now (25+), to gauge their impression/thoughts etc. JK has not and will not tip his hand (expected as its unprofessional to do so during a season) but indications thus far, are that terminating the HC at the end of the season (as shocking as it is) is at best 50/50. And while the program results/quality of recruits etc has steadily decreased under the current staff's guidance, declining fan attendance etc the key obstacles to a replacement are: 1) Key donor's are not being vocal/leveraging their involvement enough. 2) $3.15M+ buyout which very likely would need to be raised by the AD from the donor's (and then it is less monies donated for other needed areas) 3) the list of valid obstacles - that all competing conferences have an advantage over Cal hoops. Yes its very frustrating, but the message board posters here, either don't reach out to JK and actually connect live, don't donate enough/frequently or have even made their opinion heard by JK.
JK is going to base his decision on a # of factors including the % of donors that want a termination, is there sufficient monies validated, to be available via donor's to cover the buyout, how hard/engaged the players are playing for the staff, and what plan is in place to turn around the not acceptable results. Very Sorry to say, this is not a slam dunk dismissal - how the team finishes up - including the post season conf tournament will factor in as well.
IMO, concerned alums/backers of the program should setup a meeting with the Chancellor and voice their opinion of Knowlton. She is responsible for JK's long-term extension: AD 'till retirement. Regardless, a competent AD would have already recognized that there is no realistic "plan in place to turn around the not acceptable results." (and quite frankly, I question if the Chancellor and AD are all that concerned about the results, after all, 'there is more to athletics than winning...'
CalLifer
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Big Dog said:

4thGenCal said:

Big C said:

calumnus said:

HoopDreams said:

kinda cherry picking aren't we?

yeah, there are some posters who agree with each thing you listed

but how many and what proportion are we talking about?

i'm often in bewilderment when there are people who argue so hard against a very minority opinion

and I doubt there is even one or two posters who agree with everything you listed


calumnus said:

Big C said:

stu said:

Is(are) there some major donor(s) who have a strong affinity for Knowlton, Fox, and McKeever?

My sense is that, up until about a year and a half ago, the major donors were largely pleased with Knowlton. But at that point, football got worse instead of getting better. And basketball, we know... Then there was McKeeverGate. Then there is our conference situation. Then we started football last fall w/o yell leaders, etc. Hard to find many positives in the past 18 mos.


Yes, if you take this board as an indicator, a little over a year ago most were celebrating Knowlton extending Wilcox 5 years because he interviewed/possibly offered at Oregon. Those of us who said it was idiocy to extend Wilcox without seeing if he can turn it around in 2022 were a distinct minority. A year ago people were arguing Musgrave was good, but Garbers was bad and we would be finally great with Plummer.

Similarly, a year ago people here were still arguing thst Williams, Cuonzo and Jones were the cause of our current problems in men's basketball. Every single player that left the program since Fox was hired explained as leaving for some reason other than the head coach. Some people bought the COVID excuse for our record conference losses. The AD blamed the City of Berkeley and found a ready audience.
The "you can't win at Cal" trope was resurrected. People are stil talking about the need for a $130 million practice facility despite there being a lot of basketball courts on campus, our winning recently with the current facilities and our being well into the NIL era.

Insiders still claim Christ "is the best Chancellor for athletics in Cal history" despite her principle role in athletics being to hire a good AD and instead she hired the worst AD I have ever seen, gave him a ridiculous $1.3 million salary and then an 8 year contract extension.

So yeah, part of what makes the current era so dangerous is we have big donors buying what Christ and Knowlton are slinging when they are clearly clueless. That Knowlton is trying to solicit donations to fix the problem he created is not surprising. The latest news that a big donor is making his donation for the practice facility contingent on retaining Fox is stunning. Unless that is just more disinformation coming from the AD office….



I am not talking about the majority on this board.

My impression was the defense (lauding and excuse making for) of Christ, Knowlton, Wilcox and Fox over the last four years was skewed towards those who claim to be insiders and big donors. Some of them have gradually changed their position, some have made abrupt 180s and are now vocal Knowlton critics when they we singing his praises before.

Now we have a report that a big donor has conditioned his donotion on Fox being retained. How do we take that?

It may not be true, but it might be. My point in "cherry picking" views expressed on this board is that such views are possible and would be consistent with a donor who buys ALL the excuses and like Knowlton, identifies with Fox and sympathizes with him. Thinks he is a good coach who just got a raw deal at Cal and is willing to leverage his donation on his behalf. Or it could be disinformation from the AD.

If you look at every other football and basketball coach that Cal has let go over the past 40+ years, Fox's program at this point is at least as bad as theirs were, when they got canned (arguably, Holmoe's final season might've been worse). This is why I'm pretty sure he will not be retained.
I would recommend concerned alums/backers of the program (via game attendance/donations) set up a mtg with the AD and voice your opinion. JK is accessible and He is meeting with various donors now (25+), to gauge their impression/thoughts etc. JK has not and will not tip his hand (expected as its unprofessional to do so during a season) but indications thus far, are that terminating the HC at the end of the season (as shocking as it is) is at best 50/50. And while the program results/quality of recruits etc has steadily decreased under the current staff's guidance, declining fan attendance etc the key obstacles to a replacement are: 1) Key donor's are not being vocal/leveraging their involvement enough. 2) $3.15M+ buyout which very likely would need to be raised by the AD from the donor's (and then it is less monies donated for other needed areas) 3) the list of valid obstacles - that all competing conferences have an advantage over Cal hoops. Yes its very frustrating, but the message board posters here, either don't reach out to JK and actually connect live, don't donate enough/frequently or have even made their opinion heard by JK.
JK is going to base his decision on a # of factors including the % of donors that want a termination, is there sufficient monies validated, to be available via donor's to cover the buyout, how hard/engaged the players are playing for the staff, and what plan is in place to turn around the not acceptable results. Very Sorry to say, this is not a slam dunk dismissal - how the team finishes up - including the post season conf tournament will factor in as well.
IMO, concerned alums/backers of the program should setup a meeting with the Chancellor and voice their opinion of Knowlton. She is responsible for JK's long-term extension: AD 'till retirement. Regardless, a competent AD would have already recognized that there is no realistic "plan in place to turn around the not acceptable results." (and quite frankly, I question if the Chancellor and AD are all that concerned about the results, after all, 'there is more to athletics than winning...'


It is just amazing to me that when we are in the WORST FOUR YEAR STRETCH of Cal basketball since at least Lou Campanelli (30+ years), the onus is somehow on the fans and backers to understand how bad things have gotten and convince the person paid more than a million dollars a year to actually manage the athletic department that a change needs to be made.

I appreciate 4thGenCal's suggestions, but that just points to how pathetically awful an athletic director we have. Fox's team is significantly worse in his 4th year than it was in his first, and yet that trendline is ignored. The fact that after the 0-12 start, after the 20pt home loss to OSU, after the absolute drubbing by Stanford, our AD has sat by quietly and not said a word… there are no words to adequately describe the abject failure that is Knowlton.
bearmanpg
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calumnus said:

barsad said:

$1.5 mil. Can't believe that's what we're talking about. Berkeley has a $3 billion annual budget and probably spends that on campus toilet paper. Cut him loose!!


I think it is more than that thanks to Knowlton giving Fox an extension, but not much more. Plus, if we fire h now we owe less on the last year of the contract. Plus he has an obligation to mitigate. That can be used to negotiate a lower payout.

The bottom line is we need to just fire him now and make Francis the interim, then hire an up and coming coach for around $1 million, or let Pasternak's big donor supporters put up the money.

It will end up costing us far more to keep Fox.
I look at it this way...Fire MFer and give him 3M give or take a few hundreds, hire a BASKETBALL coach, get about 8k more attendance for about 15 games, $25 per head = 3 million....close to a wash money wise and you get the bonus of actually having a chance to have a basketball program again....
calumnus
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bearmanpg said:

calumnus said:

barsad said:

$1.5 mil. Can't believe that's what we're talking about. Berkeley has a $3 billion annual budget and probably spends that on campus toilet paper. Cut him loose!!


I think it is more than that thanks to Knowlton giving Fox an extension, but not much more. Plus, if we fire h now we owe less on the last year of the contract. Plus he has an obligation to mitigate. That can be used to negotiate a lower payout.

The bottom line is we need to just fire him now and make Francis the interim, then hire an up and coming coach for around $1 million, or let Pasternak's big donor supporters put up the money.

It will end up costing us far more to keep Fox.
I look at it this way...Fire MFer and give him 3M give or take a few hundreds, hire a BASKETBALL coach, get about 8k more attendance for about 15 games, $25 per head = 3 million....close to a wash money wise and you get the bonus of actually having a chance to have a basketball program again....



There is no need to condition the firing on big donations. Fire him now. Install Francis as interim and start collecting donations. That not only costs nothing, it actually saves almost $1 million in payments to Fox two years out. Hire an up and coming coach with charisma at around $1 million and an incentive laden contract. Boosters can focus on NIL donations.
oskidunker
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Georgia fans knew what we know now.

https://www.dawgsports.com/2017/3/9/14872386/georgia-needs-to-fire-mark-fox
Go Bears!
PtownBear1
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oskidunker said:

Georgia fans knew what we know now.

https://www.dawgsports.com/2017/3/9/14872386/georgia-needs-to-fire-mark-fox


What we know now? Within 5 minutes of Cal announcing Fox was hired, I was able to perform enough due diligence to tell Fox was a loser. From what I recall, very few people were happy about the hire.
calumnus
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PtownBear1 said:

oskidunker said:

Georgia fans knew what we know now.

https://www.dawgsports.com/2017/3/9/14872386/georgia-needs-to-fire-mark-fox


What we know now? Within 5 minutes of Cal announcing Fox was hired, I was able to perform enough due diligence to tell Fox was a loser. From what I recall, very few people were happy about the hire.


There were some who thought he "had a high floor" but this year shows that his floor was lower than low, even lower than Wyking Jones' floor. Moreover, the trend is downward, with Fox, every year is worse than the previous.
Bobodeluxe
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He is now a Super Senior, however.
HKBear97!
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PtownBear1 said:

oskidunker said:

Georgia fans knew what we know now.

https://www.dawgsports.com/2017/3/9/14872386/georgia-needs-to-fire-mark-fox


What we know now? Within 5 minutes of Cal announcing Fox was hired, I was able to perform enough due diligence to tell Fox was a loser. From what I recall, very few people were happy about the hire.


Exactly! Anyone who was being honest and not trying to spin the hire knew it was a terrible decision from the get go.
Big C
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calumnus said:

PtownBear1 said:

oskidunker said:

Georgia fans knew what we know now.

https://www.dawgsports.com/2017/3/9/14872386/georgia-needs-to-fire-mark-fox


What we know now? Within 5 minutes of Cal announcing Fox was hired, I was able to perform enough due diligence to tell Fox was a loser. From what I recall, very few people were happy about the hire.


There were some who thought he "had a high floor" but this year shows that his floor was lower than low, even lower than Wyking Jones' floor. Moreover, the trend is downward, with Fox, every year is worse than the previous.

Cal: where there's often a floor lower than anyone could imagine!
Bobodeluxe
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Anyone who saw Stanley Hall being built knows how low the bottom goes.
smh
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Bobodeluxe said:

Anyone who saw Stanley Hall being built knows how low the bottom goes.
had to look it up
signed, class of '73
https://qb3.berkeley.edu/facilities/stanley-hall/#about-stanley-hall

calumnus
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smh said:

Bobodeluxe said:

Anyone who saw Stanley Hall being built knows how low the bottom goes.
had to look it up
signed, class of '73
https://qb3.berkeley.edu/facilities/stanley-hall/#about-stanley-hall




72-73 we went 11-15 (4-10) #54
73-74 we went 9-17 (3-11). #103
74-75 we went 17-9 (7-7) #58

22-23 we are currently 3-18 (2-8) #193

This is far worse. 6 years of Cal basketball that each have been worse than any year from any other period in Cal history.
southseasbear
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calumnus said:

smh said:

Bobodeluxe said:

Anyone who saw Stanley Hall being built knows how low the bottom goes.
had to look it up
signed, class of '73
https://qb3.berkeley.edu/facilities/stanley-hall/#about-stanley-hall




72-73 we went 11-15 (4-10) #54
73-74 we went 9-17 (3-11). #103
74-75 we went 17-9 (7-7) #58

22-23 we are currently 3-18 (2-8) #193

This is far worse. 6 years of Cal basketball that each have been worse than any year from any other period in Cal history.
If I recall correctly, Stanley almost as deep as it is tall.
Fire Knowlton!
Fire Fox!
Put Wilcox in a hot seat!
LessMilesMoreTedford
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Simple fact is Cal has deprioritized hoops because it barely breaks even revenue wise when we're good. Cal LOST money on hoops the year Cuonzo went undefeated at home.

So until we have outside support beside the few backers that are left, they will call the shots. Fans like us who chip in a few hundred for season tickets barely count.
BeachedBear
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LessMilesMoreTedford said:

Simple fact is Cal has deprioritized hoops because it barely breaks even revenue wise when we're good. Cal LOST money on hoops the year Cuonzo went undefeated at home.

So until we have outside support beside the few backers that are left, they will call the shots. Fans like us who chip in a few hundred for season tickets barely count.
We count, but as a NEGATIVE. Our few hundred in revenue doesn't cover the cost of our complaining!
stu
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BeachedBear said:

LessMilesMoreTedford said:

Simple fact is Cal has deprioritized hoops because it barely breaks even revenue wise when we're good. Cal LOST money on hoops the year Cuonzo went undefeated at home.

So until we have outside support beside the few backers that are left, they will call the shots. Fans like us who chip in a few hundred for season tickets barely count.
We count, but as a NEGATIVE. Our few hundred in revenue doesn't cover the cost of our complaining!
I wouldn't mind being paid for my complaints.
Ursine
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stu said:

BeachedBear said:

LessMilesMoreTedford said:

Simple fact is Cal has deprioritized hoops because it barely breaks even revenue wise when we're good. Cal LOST money on hoops the year Cuonzo went undefeated at home.

So until we have outside support beside the few backers that are left, they will call the shots. Fans like us who chip in a few hundred for season tickets barely count.
We count, but as a NEGATIVE. Our few hundred in revenue doesn't cover the cost of our complaining!
I wouldn't mind being paid for my complaints.
I'd be rich
familysection
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This thread should be forwarded to Chancelor Chryst
 
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