It will be built immediately upon completion of the people's junkie park memorial housing tower.

The plan they have is almost prohibitively expensive. That plan is on hold, pending some huge donors stepping up.

I'd like to see them come up with some alternate, less expensive plans.

Compounding the challenge is that, in the short-to-medium term, money donated for NIL helps us win more.

cal's proposed basketball facility:

the biggest issue is that knowlton is 100% full of ****, he lied to coach madsen re: the basketball practice facility which resulted in mark making public comments early on that it wuz imminent

the reality is that doug goldman tole me in person on the floor of haas at the game i attended this season that it's not gonna happen anytime soon, doug has withdrawn his $10,000,000 lead donor pledge for this facility he made during the cal's monster class era as a result of a much shared lack of confidence in knowlton

2 football seasons ago knowlton directly tole me during his trot up the 50 yard line aisle at memorial stadium on gamedays during the intermission between the 1st & 2nd quarters that the facility had the funding & that ground breaking would be broken soon

of course he lied to me too

this is the same con artist who set the basketball program back a couple of years & wasted millions of dollars by extending mark fox another season even tho there wuz consensus that he would intensely disliked by the players & arguably the worst recruiting head coach in the nation with his frosty unlikeable personality & too old assistant coaches (a fact lost to general knowlton)

the only chance for the basketball practice facility to be built in our lifetimes is for final 3 candidate
richard lyons to be appointed this june by the board of regents as the next berkeley chancellor & for the sports minded haas biz ad grad to expediently terminate knowlton (who is covertly borrowing tens of millions of dollars that will never have future revenues for repayment rather than cutting sports programs & downsizing the # of worthless bureaucrats that don't bleed blue & gold) & replace him with andrew mcgraw who would be ready to roll on day 1 at 6:45 am with a football & basketball centric gameplan for balancing the budget & building the much needed basketball practice facility

but the biggest issue in the next 48 hours is for the obstinate markeisha & the clueless as **** admiral knowlton to offer free tickets for the bears final 2 home games of the season at haas pavilion

mark, you need to make this ur #1 priority by scheduling a monday morning meeting with the dynamic duo in person & even offering to pay for the tixs if necessary to show ur passion for creating as much energy as possible at the haas of pain...there is no pipeline now for future season tix buyers and/or mega donors, energized students becoming true fans is the key to making this happen

the cal athletic department gotta lotta really bad characters in knowlton, markeisha, evasive cfo tom lowry & the evil as **** enabler jennifer simon-o'neil but there's a chance to move forward with the appointment of richard lyons as the next chancellor (the other 2 candidates got no track record of any interest in college sports)

Building a good culture takes work. I enjoyed sitting down with @GuerrazStephane for Leaders in Flow and sharing what I've learned and how to effectively teach others.

Full episode here: https://t.co/yvrqeFDaSx#leadership #entrepreneurship pic.twitter.com/9NmYJwo6kh

— Rich Lyons (@richlyons) February 6, 2024

BeachedBear said:

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The other issue is that although a portion of the facility will be dedicated to basketball practice, the facility itself needs to serve multiple purposes and constituencies. I expect this to take many, many years.

Now, whether an interim solution is in the works???

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Beached, you raise a question I have had about the "necessary" multi-sport aspect of this new facility...

Why?

I totally get why, in 2024, the women's hoop team needs to be in on this, but why the other sports?

Basketball is considered a revenue sport and we need the facility for recruiting, because just about everyone else in major college basketball has some sort of dedicated facility. So it's more about our image than it is about having the facility itself (which doesn't make it any less necessary, as recruiting is the life's blood of college football and basketball).

The other sports already have somewhere to practice, otherwise we wouldn't be able to offer them. If those facilities aren't the greatest, so what? Don't get me wrong. I value all the sports and student-athletes at Cal, but we're talking about economic constraints here. Not to mention, if basketball had their own separate facility, that would free up some of the existing space for these other sports.

To sum up:

Facilities for non-revenue sports need to be at least "adequate" for the athletes and any spectators

Facilities for the revenue sports need to at least "measure up" to those of most of our competitors, as a recruiting tool

philbert said:

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Needs $$$$

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Hit up the guy on the Football Board that wants to donate $40k for a Joe Starkey statue at CMS.

I agree that Rich Lyons would be an excellent choice for Chancellor. I wonder how likely it is that we'll see a white male chosen. Its probably more likely than it would have been if it weren't for the fact that the outgoing Chancellor is female. My friends on the Stanford faculty assume that their next president will be their first president who is not a white male and they are praying it won't be Condoleezza Rice.

Big C said:

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BeachedBear said:

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The other issue is that although a portion of the facility will be dedicated to basketball practice, the facility itself needs to serve multiple purposes and constituencies. I expect this to take many, many years.

Now, whether an interim solution is in the works???

---

Beached, you raise a question I have had about the "necessary" multi-sport aspect of this new facility...

Why?

I totally get why, in 2024, the women's hoop team needs to be in on this, but why the other sports?

Basketball is considered a revenue sport and we need the facility for recruiting, because just about everyone else in major college basketball has some sort of dedicated facility. So it's more about our image than it is about having the facility itself (which doesn't make it any less necessary, as recruiting is the life's blood of college football and basketball).

The other sports already have somewhere to practice, otherwise we wouldn't be able to offer them. If those facilities aren't the greatest, so what? Don't get me wrong. I value all the sports and student-athletes at Cal, but we're talking about economic constraints here. Not to mention, if basketball had their own separate facility, that would free up some of the existing space for these other sports.

To sum up:

Facilities for non-revenue sports need to be at least "adequate" for the athletes and any spectators

Facilities for the revenue sports need to at least "measure up" to those of most of our competitors, as a recruiting tool

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We have an athletics financial crisis. We need to spend where there is a return and spending on lavish practice facilities for recruiting was the last war. It is the NIL era now, that is where the best return wil he. Practice facilities need to be "available." Moreover, spending on NIL is not funneled through Knowlton.

Where do the players practice now?

Without a new practice facility, and Mark Madsen starts winning, he will be gone. Maybe a new chancellor will make the difference and save the day. All about fund raising.

GoBears72 said:

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Without a new practice facility, and Mark Madsen starts winning, he will be gone. Maybe a new chancellor will make the difference and save the day. All about fund raising.

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No question NIL fund raising is #1 and #2 in importance. However Coach Madsen is all in (and pushing hard) for a new (and dedicated facility) to be built. He has clearly stated w/o a dedicated practice facility, the program is at a huge disadvantage recruiting. Cal is one of just 5 D1 programs to not have a dedicated facility. While its not mentioned - several times Haas has been booked/not available and RSF has been used. Even off site practices have been set up due to scheduling conflicts in the past.

^ listen to the most dialed in cal basketball fan, this program isn't going anywhere without a basketball practice facility and student energy via FREE tixs

knowlton has alienated everyone from jaylen brown, dennis gates, shareef abdur rahim, etc., absolutely nothing is gonna get done while he's commuting from colorado springs to berkeley to collect paychecks & sending the department towards an existential financial iceberg

GoBears72 said:

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Without a new practice facility, and Mark Madsen starts winning, he will be gone. Maybe a new chancellor will make the difference and save the day. All about fund raising.

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They can just practice at the RSF before the IM game between the Jedi Ballers vs Basketball Boyz and after the IM game between the Bricklayers and Hair Jordan. It will be fine.

89Bear said:

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4thGenCal said:

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GoBears72 said:

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Without a new practice facility, and Mark Madsen starts winning, he will be gone. Maybe a new chancellor will make the difference and save the day. All about fund raising.

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No question NIL fund raising is #1 and #2 in importance. However Coach Madsen is all in (and pushing hard) for a new (and dedicated facility) to be built. He has clearly stated w/o a dedicated practice facility, the program is at a huge disadvantage recruiting. Cal is one of just 5 D1 programs to not have a dedicated facility. While its not mentioned - several times Haas has been booked/not available and RSF has been used. Even off site practices have been set up due to scheduling conflicts in the past.

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I think you have been a leader in housing for players. Where does that stand currently?
Thanks!!

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Thanks for inquiring - its been a time consuming process (and hidden fees pop up) but nearing the finish line for 2 new additional units (ADU's) which will allow nearly the complete team to house together. The dept and university strongly resist freshman to live anywhere but the dorms(first year) and thus w/o a strong push by the coaches (and they only have so many arrows) the nearly full team will be together starting June 1. Its a really cool housing complex of 10 total units with the players there as well as NCAA required students as well. 6 minute walk to the Arena and very nice living situation in terms of quality, location, sufficient personal space, affordable cost etc.

Many thanks for your efforts, 4thGen. I'm sure the players and coaching staff appreciate it.

On a related topic, have your thoughts changed at all on whether or not Celestine will stay after this season?

That's amazing work 4thGen!!! Must help some in recruiting.
Thank you!!

It's basically Lyons' job if he wants it.

CNHTH said:

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GoCal80 said:

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My friends on the Stanford faculty

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Blasphemy!

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Ha ha! You'd be amazed at how many Cal alumni are on the Stanford faculty and vice versa. It's kind of like the coaches. Stanford Nobel Laureate Andy Fire was a Cal undergraduate, for example.

89Bear said:

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That's amazing work 4thGen!!! Must help some in recruiting.
Thank you!!

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Thank you as its been a labor of love, but worth it to see the team's appreciation. Coach Madsen and his staff regularly use the Housing as a recruiting tool now and the players like being around each other as well. Parents also are glad to see their Son's living conditions being upscale, clean and safe. The goal is to increase the housing for the Football team too. However its costly to purchase a quality house, renovate and outfit them fully with everything in place to move in. We have two football houses currently and over time want to get to four.

southseasbear said:

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... Alternatively, move RSF to People's Park and turn the current RSF to the dedicated facility for proximity to Haas.

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Excellent idea!

ClayK said:

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There's always a battle, in any budget, between short-term and long-term needs.

For Cal to land in the top tier of the new, undefined system, winning football and men's basketball games is pivotal. Thus NIL is No. 1.

But once at the table with the big boys, a practice facility is absolutely essential. It's one thing to compete with low-level P4 teams, but assuming the new alignment will include fewer schools, the competition for talent will be fiercer.

As has been mentioned, building a practice facility will be a long, complicated, expensive, long process. If the wheels started turning today, presumably one would be built by the time the new order (whatever it is) has been established. If Cal waits until then to start, the basketball programs will be behind the curve until that long process is complete.

There is no way to compete at the highest level without a dedicated basketball practice facility.

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I would like to see the AD show at least a tiny bit of focus on an interim solution. Show the world that Cal does not disdain their basketball program.

A practice facility DOES NOT need to have jumbotrons and stadium seating and concessions and all sorts of stuff. As the great philosopher once said (while Rome was burning):

Two Baskets and a Ball - Just Play!!

https://usfdons.com/news/2023/12/29/facilities-malloy-pavilion-officially-opens-doors.aspx

Just completed at USF. $15.4M

The $$ figures that were floated for Cal practice facility made it improbable from the onset.

southseasbear said:

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Part of the problem will be real estate. Too bad they don't build the practice facility at People's Park with student housing on upper floors. Alternatively, move RSF to People's Park and turn the current RSF to the dedicated facility for proximity to Haas.

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Site has been selected - its excellent. Will be connected to Haas Arena (outside the current small weight room the team uses (currently a parking lot). Campus approvals have been obtained (no small feat with many committee's weighing in).

^ knowlton got artist renderings he's been showing for years of the site on the north side of haas pavilion, that's not the issue, the problem is that there's almost nearly ZERO hard dollars raised (much less collected) for the facility

the con artist has alienated too many people, this project will not move forward until he's gone full time from berkeley but yeah he will continue to lie about the "progress"

carnicelat said:

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https://usfdons.com/news/2023/12/29/facilities-malloy-pavilion-officially-opens-doors.aspx

Just completed at USF. $15.4M

The $$ figures that were floated for Cal practice facility made it improbable from the onset.

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So, little ol' USF, facing the same expensive real estate and construction costs as Cal, and a much shorter list of donors, manages to pull off this facility. This is on top of (and probably as a result of) their previous two basketball coaches, Golden and Smith, advancing to major college jobs. Well, good for them and once again, Cal's athletic department comes up short in spite of having way more resources. Maybe Madsen needs to go around Knowlton and start lobbying directly with donors for an achievable practice facility. What's Knowlton going to do, fire him?