Cal Athletics Announces Creation Of Strawberry Creek Studios

BERKELEY - California Athletics announced Wednesday the creation of a new unit within the department, Strawberry Creek Studios - a groundbreaking and innovative approach to external relations strategy designed to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative builds on the alignment of the department's external relations unit last fall, led by Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Beth Tafolla-Voetsch. 

Strawberry Creek Studios will unite the department's marketing, creative and communications units into a cutting-edge collaboration built to deliver on two primary objectives - revenue generation and authentic storytelling. The current backdrop of college athletics requires a new approach to external engagement, and Strawberry Creek Studios will execute that vision by providing a fully integrated studio model that will redefine how Cal Athletics engages fans, attracts strategic partners and generates revenue.

"Strawberry Creek Studios is not a rebrand - it's a complete redefinition of how we operate," Co-Directors of Athletics Jenny Simon-O'Neill and Jay Larson said. "In this rapidly evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics, it's clear we need to prioritize revenue generation and brand advancement. This new integrated model will allow us to compete and lead with a united, modern hub of external operations."

Like Strawberry Creek flowing through the heart of campus, the mission is to create a continuous stream of authentic storytelling that connects communities and student-athletes, and transforms engagement into meaningful revenue for Cal Athletics and UC Berkeley.

"This new model of external operations will position us to thrive in the modern era of college athletics," Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said. "By redirecting our resources in a strategic and intentional way, we will be better equipped to execute the vision of our football program and entire athletic department."

Strawberry Creek Studios will be built around four key pillars:

Student-athlete recruitment and retention

Brand and revenue partnerships

Donor, season-ticket holder, fan and alumni engagement

Elevating the Cal and UC Berkeley brand

It will infuse more modern and innovative storytelling techniques while focusing on enhancing strategic partnerships with brands and alumni. Strawberry Creek Studios will also concentrate on ensuring the gameday and fan experience not only celebrates Cal's teams, but its valued community of stakeholders.

Strawberry Creek Studios is the result of a strategic staff restructuring within Cal Athletics. While several positions were eliminated, a comparable number of new roles have been created with reimagined responsibilities aligned to this new model, including the areas of digital ecosystems, strategic and creative communications, content creation and gameday entertainment. The studio will be staffed entirely by Cal Athletics personnel, with affected employees encouraged to apply for these newly defined opportunities.