Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton announces his retirement
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California athletic director Jim Knowlton is retiring after seven years on the job.
Knowlton announced on Monday that he will step down officially on July 1.
Knowlton was in charge during a tumultuous time, dealing with COVID, the emergence of NIL and conference expansion that forced the Golden Bears to join the ACC after their longtime home in the Pac-12 fell apart.
Knowlton was named Cal's athletic director on May 21, 2018, and the Bears captured 10 national championships during his tenure and had more than 100 athletes compete at the two Summer Olympics during his tenure.
'It has been an incredible honor to serve at the University of California, Berkeley, the No. 1 public university in the country,' Knowlton said in a statement. 'The expectation of holistic excellence helps to drive everyone associated with the university, and our department is no exception. The combination of a world-class education, athletic excellence, an inclusive community, an awe-inspiring location and, most importantly, truly special people, make Cal a magnificent place to serve.'
The Bears didn't have as much success in the high-profile sports. The football program qualified for four bowl games in his seven seasons but hasn't had a winning record since 2019.
Knowlton hired two men's basketball coaches and neither one has had a winning season. He hired Mark Fox in 2019 and fired him after four seasons with a 38-87 record.
The program has shown some signs of improvement under Mark Madsen but has only a 27-38 record to show for it.
He also hired Charmin Smith to coach the women's basketball program in 2019. She had a losing record in each of her first four seasons before making progress the past two. The Bears went 19-15 in 2023-24 and then made the NCAA Tournament this past season, going 25-9 after losing in the first round.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons named current deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O'Neill as the new co-directors of the program.
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
10 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Neto, Fernández each score to lead Chelsea over LAFC 2-0 in Club World Cup
ATLANTA (AP) — Pedro Neto scored in the first half and Enzo Fernández in the 79th minute to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in Group D's Club World Cup opener on Monday. Chelsea put pressure on LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris early into the match. Neto found the breakthrough in the 34th minute, picking up a pass from Nicolas Jackson and cutting onto his left foot for a near-post finish. There were 22,137 fans in attendance at the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium, many of them backing LAFC. The Black and Gold had positive sparks of energy and possession throughout the first half, but struggled to find any real opportunities in front of goal. LAFC almost got one back just before the 60-minute mark, but Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez came up with an important save to keep Denis Bouanga off the scoresheet. The Black and Gold aimed to get some more experience onto the pitch at the half, bringing on former Chelsea man Olivier Giroud, to no avail. Coming in off the bench, Fernández made no mistake finishing Liam Delap's cross, adding another tally to the scoresheet for The Blues. Key moment Chelsea's day was made even more positive by the debut of Delap, a promising 22-year-old English striker signed from Ipswich Town. Takeaways While Chelsea is the favorite to top Group D, LAFC's next two matches become essential to moving on to the knock-out rounds. LAFC vs. Flamengo will prove to be an entertaining game, with the two sides most likely battling it out for the group's second spot. ___ AP soccer:
Fox Sports
22 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Skinner or Pickard? Oilers' Knoblauch still not naming starting goalie for Stanley Cup Final Game 6
Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — It's anyone's guess who starts in goal for the Edmonton Oilers when they face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Coach Kris Knoblauch did not say Monday whether it would be Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard. 'It's who we feel can win us a game,' Knoblauch said after practice. "That's how it's gone in other games, and we'll make that decision.' Skinner was Edmonton's starting goaltender to begin the playoffs, lost the first two games and was replaced by Pickard, who went 6-0 before getting injured. Skinner also started the first four in the final, got pulled twice and for Pickard, who won Game 4 and lost Game 5. 'A strength of our team is that we can go with both guys,' winger Connor Brown said. "They're up for the challenge. I mean, they're both absolute pros. Both have given this their best every time they come in there, and they both work hard, so we're in it as a group.' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did not practice Monday, though Knoblauch expects the Oilers' longest-tenured player to be in the lineup Tuesday night in Sunrise. That is a constant, even if Nugent-Hopkins is not 100% healthy, though there could be other changes coming. Either Jeff Skinner or Vasily Podkolzin may be ticketed for the press box as a healthy scratch up front, while John Klingberg is a candidate to return on defense. Status quo Panthers Florida will be making no such changes, barring something unforeseen, in the first chance to clinch back-to-back championships. The same 12 forwards and six defensemen who have been in place since A.J. Greer returned from injury in Game 3 figure to be in the lineup again. 'It's all health based,' coach Paul Maurice said. 'We're a pretty healthy team, fortunately, at this point, and we've got good players." That includes Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the remainder of the regular season after getting injured at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. After some ups and downs and uncertainty, he's 'feeling the best' he has during this run. 'I thought there was maybe a 50% chance I wouldn't be playing as close to about a week or five days before the playoffs started,' Tkachuk said. 'Very lucky and fortunate that I've got great trainers and doctors, and they all somehow got me healthy enough to play.' Florida Olympians The Panthers have five players already bound for the 2026 Olympics in Milan: Tkachuk for the U.S., Sam Reinhart for Canada, Aleksander Barkov for Finland, Nico Sturm for Germany and Uvis Balinskis for Latvia. The 12 teams participating unveiled their preliminary six-man rosters Monday. Sturm and Balinskis have not played in the final, but the Olympic announcements put them in the spotlight. 'Being an Olympian is something that not a lot of athletes can say about their careers," Sturm said. 'It's the best athletes in the world from every sport, and it's definitely something that I've marked on my calendar, something that I want to achieve in my career. It'd be a huge accomplish to be able to play there and, once your career's done, to say you participated in the Olympics, I think that's a huge accomplishment not to be understated.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and recommended
Fox Sports
22 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Neto, Fernández each score to lead Chelsea over LAFC 2-0 in Club World Cup
Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Pedro Neto scored in the first half and Enzo Fernandez in the 79th minute to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in Group D's Club World Cup opener on Monday. Chelsea put pressure on LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris early into the match. Neto found the breakthrough in the 34th minute, picking up a pass from Nicolas Jackson and cutting onto his left foot for a near-post finish. There were 22,137 fans in attendance at the 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium, many of them backing LAFC. The Black and Gold had positive sparks of energy and possession throughout the first half, but struggled to find any real opportunities in front of goal. LAFC almost got one back just before the 60-minute mark, but Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez came up with an important save to keep Denis Bouanga off the scoresheet. The Black and Gold aimed to get some more experience onto the pitch at the half, bringing on former Chelsea man Olivier Giroud, to no avail. Coming in off the bench, Fernández made no mistake finishing Liam Delap's cross, adding another tally to the scoresheet for The Blues. Key moment Chelsea's day was made even more positive by the debut of Delap, a promising 22-year-old English striker signed from Ipswich Town. Takeaways While Chelsea is the favorite to top Group D, LAFC's next two matches become essential to moving on to the knock-out rounds. LAFC vs. Flamengo will prove to be an entertaining game, with the two sides most likely battling it out for the group's second spot. ___ AP soccer: recommended
