BERKELEY – California rugby has reached a major milestone to endow the program, entirely thanks to the unwavering and enthusiastic support of the Golden Bear community over the last 40 years. Rugby becomes the third Intercollegiate Athletics program to be acknowledged with the endowment status.
Cal rugby has raised north of $40 million from several thousand donors over the years to become endowed, which solidifies its place on Berkeley's campus. These supporters give generously towards the rugby-specific endowments, donate hundreds of thousands annually for the team's operating budget and make significant gifts towards capital projects, like the construction of Witter Rugby Field and the Doc Hudson Fieldhouse nestled in beautiful Strawberry Canyon and the Bud and Mary Lyons Rugby Locker Room at the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance, among others.
"This remarkable accomplishment wonderfully advances our strategy to get as many of our Olympic sports as possible endowed," Chancellor Rich Lyons said. "We began this academic year without a single endowed team. Rugby brings us to three! The generosity, dedication, and devotion of Cal Rugby's many supporters is a big reason why rugby's performance over the decades is unmatched. Thanks, Cal Rugby, for helping us launch a whole new era of excellence for Cal Athletics."
Founded in 1882, Cal rugby, a non-scholarship sport, is the oldest and winningest IA program on campus, amassing 34 national championships– 29 collegiate XVs titles since they began in 1980 and five national sevens crowns. Under the closely held stewardship of only six head coaches throughout its existence, Cal rugby has developed many of the finest players the sport has to offer and men who have achieved remarkable success at the tops of their respective professional fields.
"We are incredibly grateful for the thousands of supporters who have helped us reach this milestone," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "Cal Rugby, with the leadership of Jack Clark, serves as a model program in so many ways, and its endowment will allow the team to continue to thrive for decades to come."
The phrase "it takes a village" has never been truer for Golden Bear rugby. The team has always been entirely financially supported by families, friends and alumni of the program. Old stories of Cal rugby paint a picture of former head coach Miles "Doc" Hudson using word-of-mouth to raise funds from his fellow alumni and passing a hat to collect donations around his squad to scrape together enough money to send the players on international tours in 1965 and 1971. This grassroots campaign to fund the program was the advent of what would eventually turn into one of the most successful donor-backed athletic programs on UC Berkeley's campus.
"Rugby has always paid its own way, based on the example that Doc, and even the coaches before Doc, set," current head coach Jack Clark said. "Fundraising has been a significant aspect of the head coaching responsibilities over my time here. It has always been clear to us that it was our job to ensure the permanence of Cal rugby. We've never had a sense of entitlement."
With this weight of responsibility in mind, talks about long-term funding for Cal rugby turned serious in 1985 when Bear alumnus Tom Witter approached Clark with the idea of creating an endowment. It is impossible to recount the history of giving to Cal rugby without mentioning the Witter family. Fourteen Witters – fathers, sons, grandchildren, uncles and cousins – have all played rugby for the Bears, and Tom Witter was the first to lead the family's philanthropic efforts.
Tom Witter established The Witter Rugby Endowment, which is the largest of Cal's 29 rugby-specific endowments by far. While playing rugby at Cal is a right of passage for Witters, the endowment itself is also a family affair, with Tom Witter eventually passing the baton to his cousin Bob Witter, who then passed down the leadership to his son, Robert Witter Jr.
Bob Witter drove the growth of the Witter Rugby Endowment for decades and served as chairman of the California Rugby Advisory Board (CRAB) beginning in the early 1990's – but that only scratches the surface of his involvement in the program's operation. He mentored players on their post-graduate professional aspirations and even served as an assistant team manager, driving vans and washing grass-stained competition jerseys. No job was too small for Bob Witter, and his steadfast devotion to Cal rugby was an integral part of the success of the program right up until his passing in 2008.
After his father's passing, Robert Witter Jr. took over leadership responsibilities and remains the head of his family's philanthropy to this day. Robert Witter, in addition to personally gifting a tremendous amount to the program, has continued the rich legacy of the Witter Rugby Endowment and grown it exponentially, helping it become undoubtedly the most impactful rugby-specific endowment at Cal.
In addition to the Witter Rugby Endowment, 28 other endowments have been established for rugby's use by various alumni of the program. It has been a collective effort of the Golden Bear rugby community through these gifts and the three different major fundraising campaigns over the years – Cal Rugby Forever, Every Man Pledges and The Next 100 Years – which have continuously ensured that Cal rugby has a permanent home on UC Berkeley's campus.
"Campus development and the Cal Athletics Fund have been great partners in our goal to permanently fund Cal rugby," Clark said. "However, the ultimate credit and gratitude must go to our former players, who continue to pay it forward, assuring that future generations of Cal rugby have the same opportunities and experiences they were granted."
Next on the horizon for Cal rugby is fundraising for the renovation and construction of the new and improved Witter Rugby Field. In collaboration with campus and outside architects, the project is currently in the planning and design phases to build new grandstands for spectators and office and hospitality buildings, among other features.
"The upgrades to Witter Rugby Field are a unique opportunity to honor past, present and future members of the Cal Rugby community," CRAB chairman Steve Ellis said. "We plan to fully fund this project through the continued support of former players, their families and friends of Cal Rugby."
Ellis took over as head of CRAB in 2023 for longtime Chairman of the Board Bud Lyons, who played a significant role in the development of rugby's endowment over his tenure.
"Thanks to exceptional alumni like Bud Lyons and the Witter family, we have the capacity to continue our support for a program that has meant so much to so many," Ellis said.
"This recognition is an important campus status for rugby. We are proud to achieve this level through the generosity of thousands of donors," Clark said. "We know we need to continue to raise funds for the upgrades to Witter Rugby Field and for whatever hurdles that may come along over the next 100 years, but today we celebrate."
