Cal To Honor Al Grigsby With Pete Newell Award

BERKELEY – Al Grigsby, a former California men’s basketball standout who helped the Golden Bears to their two most recent NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances, is the 2025 recipient of the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award. Grigsby will be honored with the award in person during Cal’s home game against Wake Forest on Saturday.

The accolade honors the legacy of Cal's Hall of Fame basketball coach and the contributions Newell made to the program. The career achievement award is presented annually to a Cal men's basketball alumnus who has distinguished himself in his career accomplishments, upholding the highest ideals of Newell and the University of California.

Grigsby, a Houston native, arrived at Cal as a forward in 1991-92 and spent six seasons with the Bears, notably battling through a list of injuries that sidelined him for 73 of 175 possible games. Cal retired Grigsby’s No. 4 jersey in tribute to his toughness and perseverance. Grigsby, who graduated from Cal with an undergraduate degree in American Studies, was a key factor in the Bears’ Sweet 16 runs in 1992 and 1997, averaging 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in six postseason games played.

“To be selected for the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award is very humbling, and something I do not take lightly,” Grigsby said. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate the great men I played with at Cal and the team bonds that we carry through today; I did not get to this point by myself. Pete Newell made an impact on everyone he encountered, and he’s someone I’ll always refer to when working with young athletes myself. The values he carried and taught to young people have had a great impact on countless lives, including my own.”

Grigsby, who currently serves as the assistant athletic director for development at Seattle U, played five years of professional basketball in Japan from 1997-2002 after finishing his collegiate career. His student experience at Cal had a defining impact on his ability to interact with different types of people as his professional career progressed.

“Cal opened up the world for me,” Grigsby said. “I’m very blessed to have had a familiarity with international lifestyles from being a student in Berkeley. My time in Japan was a true joy, in many ways because it wasn’t all that foreign of a feeling – Cal did that for me.”

Grigsby’s coaching experience included stints at Mission College (2004-05) and Gavilan College (2006-07), as well as West Valley Basketball Club from 2002-2020, where he, in addition to coaching, helped develop fundraising programs to support underprivileged youth. Prior to arriving at Seattle U in September 2021 as the Assistant To The Head Coach for the men’s basketball program, Grigsby had spent the majority of the previous two decades as a sales and business development executive for a pharmaceutical firm.

“All of my professional experiences and relationships lead back to my time at Cal,” Grigsby said. “It was a tough decision not to coach any more, but after 20 years of doing something, you get to the point where you want to tap into other interests. The relationships, the community – those are what make sports, and my journey with basketball, so important.”

The on-court presentation of the Newell Award will occur during the first half under-12 media timeout of Saturday’s game. Tipoff between the Bears and Demon Deacons is at 2 p.m. PT in Haas Pavilion.

ABOUT PETE NEWELL

Pete Newell served as Cal's basketball coach from 1954-60, guiding the Bears to the 1959 NCAA championship and a national runner-up finish in 1960, the same season he was voted the national coach of the year. Cal also reached the NCAA regional final in 1957 and '58 under his leadership. Overall, he led the Bears to four consecutive conference titles (1957-60) while compiling a 119-44 record. Newell coached the 1960 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics and later served as Cal's Director of Athletics from 1960-68.

Newell was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a year later. The entire 1960 Olympic team, which included former Golden Bear Darrall Imhoff in addition to Newell as head coach, was enshrined into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010. Newell also earned entry into the FIBA International Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Newell, who was born on Aug. 31, 1915, passed away on Nov. 17, 2008.

PETE NEWELL CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

2010-11 – Al Buch

2011-12 – Earl Robinson

2012-13 – Andy Wolfe

2013-14 – Earl Shultz

2014-15 – Russ Critchfield

2015-16 – Michael Pitts

2016-17 – Stan Morrison

2017-18 – Ned Averbuck

2018-19 – John Ricksen

2019-20 – Shareef Abdur-Rahim

2020-21 – No Recipient (COVID-19)

2021-22 – No Recipient (COVID-19)

2022-23 – Mark McNamara

2023-24 – Bill McClintock

2024-25 – Al Grigsby

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.