Kinda cool to see his career trajectory as a coach. I dont know if he is going to get the job but still cool to see him getting interviews for essentially what is a promotion.

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The ACC has released its home and away pairings for the 2024-25 basketball season just a few minutes ago. The Bears will play Stanford, SMU and NC State home and away next season. Meanwhile, Boston College, Florida State, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest will all play at Cal.

The Bears will face Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh on the road only in their first ACC season.

A tough draw for Mark Madsen's squad.

What/When/Where: Cal football has formed a new donor community tailored to us major contributors. This exclusive program offers a diverse array of events and activities, both in-season and offseason. Home-game week events include:

• Lunches at the football stadium with players and coaches, every Wednesday before every home football game. 7 total.
• Scheduled tours of the stadium and facilities.
• Exclusive donor-only practices, followed by presentations from rotating position coaches, every Friday before every home football game. 7 total.
• Periodic happy hour mixers with coaches and football staff at the Claremont Resort, the team's pre-game headquarters.

Additional offseason activities are in the pipeline and will be announced soon.

These events complement existing major donor benefits, such as traveling with the team to away games, sideline passes for home games, spring coaches’ dinners, premium apparel, invitations to AD suite experiences, Napa coaches retreat, and more.

Why: College football is a battle of budgets. Demonstrated backing from our donor community is vital for Cal football's current success and future relevance. A robust donor network not only sustains the program but also attracts top coaching talent. By investing in our football program, we dispel the narrative that Cal and its alumni don’t care about football. As potential conference realignment looms once again, it's imperative to fortify our resources to ensure the program's resilience, including operational budgets and NIL funding. These donor events aim to increase both contributions and contributors as we transition into the ACC conference next season while offering donors true insider access and enjoyable experiences with the coaches and players. Join us for lunch with Jaydn Ott as his Heisman campaign launches. Sip on a cocktail while talking to Coach Bloesch about his offensive philosophy. Discuss away game travel plans with fellow diehard fans. Hear the latest recruiting news directly from Coach Wilcox.

Who: Invitations are extended to all contributors to the Championship Caliber Fund (which starts at $10k per year). https://www.calathleticsfund.com/cal-football-caliber Additionally, Cal football major donors, including NIL contributors, contributing $10k or more annually, are welcome to attend and learn about the Championship Caliber Fund. As for myself, I'm Steve Hart, a passionate Cal football supporter, donor to both Caliber and NIL, and a dedicated volunteer for the football program. Alongside Kevin Kennedy (California Legends Collective Founder), Adam Brooks (Assistant Athletics Director, Leadership Giving), Anthonia Edgren (Senior Assistant Athletics Director, Development Engagement & Strategy) and Andrew Mcgraw (Chief of Staff, Football), I've been deeply involved in crafting this initiative, drawing inspiration and collaborating with successful donor societies like Notre Dame's.

How: To learn more about the Championship Caliber Fund, reach out to Adam Brooks at 559-389-1853 or email atbrooks@berkeley.edu. For information on the California Legends Collective (NIL), visit https://calegends.com/.

Closing: Cal Athletics is reaffirming its dedication to our football program to ensure immediate success and establish ourselves as a premier program in anticipation of a future conference realignment. The emergence of this new donor community marks a significant stride forward. Within the program, I've witnessed barriers being removed and red tape being cut, paving the way for progress. With 135 distinct donors generously supporting both Caliber and our NIL collective (at $10k annually or above), I urge fellow Bears who have the means to contribute to seize this opportunity. The time for action is now. Let’s show the world who we are.

Donate today, and you'll receive an exclusive invitation to join us for a dinner and a program update by the football coaches on March 6th.

Cal is exactly three weeks away from opening spring practice and most of the top players are already on campus. @Maria Kholodova highlights the top transfers for the Bears through the first transfer window as the team prepares to hit the field once again for spring ball next month.

https://theathletic.com/5300364/202...-jaylon-tyson-cal/?source=user_shared_article

Is the Hornets’ defensive renaissance real? + scouting Cal’s Jaylon Tyson

Pretty cool to see Cal basketball featured in The Athletic! Couldn’t have imagined that a year ago (or really anytime since Jaylen Brown…)

Cal looks best but Arizona is right there:

of course Notre Dame has the ball in its court here

Cal (12-15, 8-8 Pac-12 | last game: 81-73 win vs. Oregon State) vs. Oregon (18-8, 10-5 | last game: 78-65 win at Stanford)

When: Saturday, Feb. 24 | 4 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (PxP), Don MacLean (Analyst) & Ashley Adamson (Reporter)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The final Pac-12 game at Haas Pavilion has arrived. The Bears will host Oregon this afternoon looking to complete a sweep of the Oregon schools for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Cal has won just one of its last 13 matchups against the Ducks with the last home win in the series coming back in that 2016 season.

Follow along for updates and join the conversation throughout the matchup today at Haas.

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Cal football announced some new additions to the coaching staff Saturday.

Among these is a familiar face, Mike Bruno, who returns to Cal as a defensive analyst, the same position he held with the program previously for four seasons starting in 2018. Bruno worked with defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon at Mississippi State and Louisville in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Bruno was most recently defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Minot State for the 2023 season, having previously also spent time at Dartmouth (secondary and special teams coach), and served as a defensive assistant at Louisville and graduate assistant at Mississippi State.

The Bears have also made an adjustment when it comes to special teams. Michael Frisina, a former Boise State kicker, comes to Cal in a quality control position for special teams — a unit that struggled considerably in the 2023 season. Frisina spent the last four seasons in the same role at as many programs: UNLV in 2020, UC Davis in 2021, his alma mater Boise State in 2022 and Oregon State last season. The hire comes after the former assistant for quality control for special teams Zach Tinker, "Coach Tink," returned to Oregon after spending one season in the position with the Bears.

The third addition, officially announced by the program today, is Winterhawk Leighton. Leighton had previously announced that he was joining the Bears' staff in a graduate assistant position on offense in December via X, formerly known as Twitter. Leighton played at Central Washington 2017-2019 and spent the next two years as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He has also served as a graduate assistant at Idaho in 2022 and Hawaii in 2023.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said throughout the season that he would eventually allow reporters to ask him questions about conference realignment and the Bears eventual move to the ACC once the team was wrapped up with its 2023 schedule. Tuesday, he spent close to an hour speaking with reporters about a variety of topics revolving around the biggest news of the summer to provide his thoughts on how it happened, how it could have been avoided and ultimately how the future looks for his team and the program.

You can read the takeaways from the session (we'll have a lot more soon) at the link above.

Cal (11-15, 7-8 Pac-12 | last game: 82-80 win vs. Washington) vs. Oregon State (11-15, 3-12 | last game: 60-58 loss vs. Oregon)

When: Thursday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (PxP) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

In the lone meeting between the two teams this season, Cal will hosts Oregon State tonight at Haas Pavilion. The Beavers have won 7 of the last 10 contests between the pair including the last two. The Bears are coming off a road win against Washington while OSU lost to its rival, Oregon, in a 2-point game last week.

Join the conversation and follow along for updates as the Bears square off with Oregon State.

Here's the starters:

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Thought you guys would enjoy this one.

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Jovani Ruff, once rated as high as No. 22 in the 2025 class, continues to finish out his junior season at Long Beach Poly. The 6-foot-5 prospect was great last week in leading Poly to a win in the CIF-SS Div. 2A semis against Newport Beach-Corona del Mar. He scored 27 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer to seal his team's spot in the championship game this weekend.

Ruff has slowed his recruitment down quite a bit during the season, but Cal has remained active in its pursuit of the four-star prospect. Ruff has only used on official visit on a trip to Cal, last September, and he still jumps on calls with the Bears weekly at this stage. Cal has made him feel like a priority and the Bears are among the teams standing out most right now.

Oregon and Kansas are the two schools most likely to get an official visit from him this spring while USC also remains heavily in the mix as well.

Still, Mark Madsen, Matt Scherbenske and the rest of the Cal coaches have made it clear to him how much he's wanted in Berkeley.

"I talk to them every week, probably like four times a week," Ruff said. "Coach Matt (Schebenske), coach Mad Dog is calling me checking in. It's all love."

Read the full update at the link above and you can see clips from last week's semifinal game in the video below. He guarded multiple positions Friday night and was as much a distributor as he was a scorer. There are certainly some Jaylon Tyson elements to his game.

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Cal (10-15, 6-8) at Washington (14-11, 6-8)

When | 5 p.m. PT Saturday
Where | Alaska Airlines Arena | Seattle
TV | Pac-12 Network

Cal looks to snap a two-game losing skid on the road against a Huskies team coming off back to back lopsided wins vs. Oregon State (67-55) and Stanford (85-65). Washington is led by Keion Brooks (21 PPG) and Sahvir Wheeler (15.3 PPG), but with Franck Kepnang out the second half of this season the Huskies have only one player averaging even 5.5 rebounds per game (Brooks at 6.9), so this could be a prime opportunity for Fardaws Aimaq to make his presence felt.

Washington has won the last seven meetings, including a narrow 77-75 win over Cal at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 18. Brooks had 21 points in that game while Aimaq had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylon Tyson and Jalen Cone each scored 17.

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Cal (10-14, 6-7 Pac-12 | last game: 61-60 loss vs. UCLA) at Washington State (18-6, 9-4 | last game: 62-56 win at Oregon)

When: Thursday Feb. 15 | 7 p.m. PST
Where: Beasley Coliseum | Pullman, Washington
TV: Pac-12 Network | Greg Heister (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)

Cal will look to bounce back from its 1-point loss to UCLA as it faces off against Washington State to open one last road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Cougars have been a surprise this season in the Pac-12 and currently sit in second place behind Arizona in the conference standings.

Kyle Smith's team is currently riding a five-game winning streak and has only lost once in its last nine games. That lone defeat came at the hands of the Bears, and a win for Mark Madsen's team would mark the first sweep of Wazzu since the 2019-20 season.

The Cougars are led by standout freshman Myles Rice, who was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third time in a row. He has now won the award six times this season.

He leads WSU with 15.6 points a game but is followed closely by veteran 6-foot-9 forward Isaac Jones, who is averaging 15.5 points.

In the first meeting, Jaylon Tyson shined as he tied a career high with 30 points to help Cal break an eight-game losing streak to the Cougars in the overtime victory.

All time, the Bears are 32-34 against the Cougars in Pullman.

We invite you to join the conversation and follow along for updates as the Bears square off with the Cougs.

Curious who do we all see as the next rival(s) for us in the ACC. Of course rivalries dont just exist out of nowhere. It’ll take time and events to occur before we become rivals with a team. That being said if we were to replace our historical in-conference rivalries with UCLA and $C with anyone, who do you all see as potentially filling that spot?

Personally I can see a potential rivalry between us and UNC develop.

UNC is the ACC version of Cal - top public school, deep rivalry with private school nearby (Duke). Very similar to UCLA. They were also very against us joining the ACC.

Other possibilities—

Duke is similar to $C insofar they are a powerhouse in one sport (basketball). Rich private school kids like Furd too.

UVA - similar top public school for a large state in the Atlantic Coast.

FSU - first ACC matchup. Was also against us joining the ACC. Likely top dog everyone hates similar to $C.

Seven-on-seven season is in full swing and over the next several weeks there will be camps added to the mix as well. The offseason means lots of new offers and March will bring a wave of visits across the country once the current dead period is over. Cal will host its first big offseason junior day in March as well, and there are already several recruits mapping out a trip to stop by Berkeley.

I have recently caught up with a bunch of Cal's targets in the upcoming classes to discuss their offers from the Bears and how the process is going so far as they get to know the staff.

You can read those updates at the link above.

Let’s get to poachin!

Money is heavy to the under which makes sense to me.

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Cal (10-13, 6-6 Pac-12 | last game: 83-77 OT win vs. USC) vs. UCLA (12-11, 7-5 | last game: 82-74 win at Stanford)

When: Saturday, Feb. 10 | 2:30 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: FOX | Brandon Gaudin (PxP) & Casey Jacobsen (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The Bears are riding some momentum after defeating USC in overtime Wednesday night to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans. Jaylon Tyson, Jalen Cone and Fardaws Aimaq all came up big for Cal in that matchup. Today, Mark Madsen's squad will be looking to sweep the LA schools in the final scheduled meeting with both teams as members of the Pac-12.

Cal has already defeated the Bruins in their previous meeting back in early January. UCLA is coming off a victory over Stanford earlier in the week, so both teams should be feeling good about where they stand entering the national TV matchup this afternoon.

As always, we invite you to join the conversation and follow along for updates throughout the matchup.

Who would have thunk it .....

Cal (9-13, 5-6 Pac-12 | last game: 81-66 win vs. Arizona State) vs. USC (9-13, 3-8 | last game: 82-54 win vs Oregon State)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 17 | 8 p.m. PST
Where: Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, California
TV: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Bill Walton (Analyst)
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)

The Bears are back in action and hosting LA schools for the last time as members of the same conference. Tonight, USC is up first this week as Cal will face the Trojans in front of a sold out crowd at Haas Pavilion. @Maria Kholodova has a preview of the two matchups at the link above.

Feel free to join in the conversation later tonight as the Bears open up their home stand.

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Brett Johnson announced Wednesday morning via Instagram that he is medically retiring from football.

“This was a difficult decision but with the multiple injuries I have sustained both on and off the field, I am unable to play football at the highest level and without seriously sacrificing my short and long-term health,” the statement reads.

Here's the full statement:

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Apparently sold out? Let’s go Mad Dog, get the W

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Justin Wilcox is speaking with the media this morning and he broke the news that Khamani Hudson has committed and signed with Cal today. Here's a story from Maria and I with the Houston-North Shore recruit discussing his choice of the Bears.

“I knew Cal was the spot for me when I got on campus and got to experience how the team bonded together on and off the field,” Hudson told Golden Bear Report. “Being in a great program such as Cal and also being around a brotherhood and coaching staff that thrives off the betterment of others around, definitely reminds me of home.”

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