California Golden Bears Athletics
Jenny & Jay's Journal: Energy Renewed
10/6/2026 10:56 AM | Cal Athletics Fund, Athletics News
Monthly Newsletter From Cal's Co-Directors Of Athletics
Cal Family –
The beginning of the academic year always brings renewed excitement and energy to our campus, and it was so gratifying to watch our student-athletes reassemble back in Berkeley last month.
We kicked off the 2026-27 year with our annual Welcome Back BBQ on Lisa & Douglas Goldman Plaza – which gives us a chance to bring all of our 900 Cal student-athletes, coaches and staff together to share community, reflect on accomplishments from the previous year, and look toward the future. We recognized our team and individual National Champions, our All-Americans and All-Conference selections from 2025-26, and the many student-athletes that garnered All-Academic recognition.
There have already been quite a few standout accomplishments this fall. Our men's water polo team is ranked No. 4 in the country and field hockey sits at No. 20 after an impressive road win over No. 8 Michigan. Our volleyball team went 10-1 during the nonconference season.
And the excitement has extended beyond our athletic successes. Last week, we announced a field naming rights partnership with Databricks, the largest sponsorship deal in Cal Athletics history. Not only does this new partnership give us another important source of revenue, it is also truly a Cal success story. Databricks is a prominent data and AI company that was founded by UC Berkeley alumni who started doing research for their firm while undergrads. Their founders deeply value their connection to our campus culture of innovation, and we could not be more excited to embark on this partnership with them.
We also held our bi-annual Cal Aquatics Gala on Saturday night, with over 300 current and former student-athletes, coaches, donors and administrators in attendance. It is always inspiring to watch the Cal Aquatics community come together and remind us how truly elite a tradition we have. Countless Olympians, national champions and All-Americans filled Pauley Ballroom, and we heard from eight-time Olympic medalist and men's swimming alumnus Nathan Adrian as well as women's water polo alumna Alicia Hansel, who was a four-time All-American in the 1990s. Including a silent and live auction, we saw incredible generosity from the aquatics community as we strive to produce world-class programs year in and year out.
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t was meaningful to open up our volleyball season with the dedication of Rich Feller Court. Rich led our program from 1999-2016 and is our all-time winningest coach with 329 career victories, including two Final Four appearances and a berth in the NCAA title match in 2010. Rich was also named National Coach of the Year on two occasions. Thanks to a gift from Jeremy Wagner and Wara Chanse, our new Taraflex volleyball court is now named after Rich, and we unveiled a banner from the Haas Pavilion rafters that commemorates his all-time win total.
We've been proud to see the renovated Cal Athletics Hall of Fame come to life. The redesigned space, located just outside of our Dialpad Club (formerly the Field Club) at CMS, which was made possible due to the generosity of Pat Newmark and the late Kent Newmark, Jerry Siebert and Harry Hathaway, features storytelling, memorabilia, digital content and graphics. Each of our programs has a dedicated pillar that highlights their history and accomplishments, and 106 gold bars hang from the ceiling representing each of our team national champions.
One of our priorities entering the 2026-27 year was to continue to activate our fan base, and we are excited about the fan experience elements you've seen through our first three home football games this season. A huge thanks to our Strawberry Creek Studios team which has enhanced our activations with the community and the in-game fan experience, including our new BearShare program, the Train performance following the Wagner game and the celebration of Fiat Lux with last week's crowd sync bracelets and drone show. These types of features will become the norm moving forward.
The national college sports landscape continues to evolve. As many of you know, the U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) on Monday, which is a positive step in restoring some stability to the tumultuous climate in intercollegiate athletics. Among other things, the bill allows universities to create a $22.5 million revenue sharing "retention pool" to better enable them to retain their student-athletes, and it provides student-athletes with just one opportunity to transfer without penalty. Moreover, the bill provides the NCAA with limited antitrust protection to be able to enforce its eligibility rules. The bill must pass the House before it becomes law. We ultimately feel the legislation is good for intercollegiate athletics as a whole, and a more stable national environment gives Cal a better chance to thrive.
As we move into the heart of the fall season, we continue our quest to build championship rosters, activate the Cal community and diversify our revenue streams. We are continually grateful for the generosity of our supporters -- you enable us to provide a transformational experience for Cal student-athletes.
Go Bears!
Jenny and Jay
