California Golden Bears Athletics
Photo by: Cal Athletics
Ron's Rundown
9/4/2026 7:18 PM | Football
Cal Football General Manager/Athletic Director Ron Rivera Shares His Thoughts On The Eve Of The 2026 Season
Cal Family –
I'm excited to present the first edition of "Ron's Rundown." My goal with this newsletter is to provide you with updates on our football program and give you behind-the-scenes insights from where I sit as the general manager and athletic director of the team.
The 2026 season is finally upon us, and you can feel the energy around our building, the campus and the greater community. Much of that starts with Tosh Lupoi - our new – Travers Family Head Football Coach. Tosh's energy profoundly impacts our players and everyone associated with the program. That has really helped sell the culture he set to establish from Day One, and everyone has bought in.
I know our guys can't wait to take the field tomorrow night. UCLA is a great opponent for us for so many reasons, and I am looking forward to seeing the electric atmosphere I know our Cal Family will create at California Memorial Stadium. Make sure you are in your seats before kickoff at 7:30 p.m. so we can truly give the team the elite home field advantage we need from the opening kick.
So many good things have happened since the end of last season. It started when we targeted Tosh to lead our program. We understood who he is and his reputation, and that really led to so much excitement – not only for our program but for the athletic department and the university. We were very fortunate to retain quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for his sophomore season, and we put together a very good portal class and a solid high school recruiting class.
From the start of winter conditioning, you could feel a difference right off the bat. It's a different energy level from the past, and a lot of that has to do with the alignment between Chancellor Lyons, myself and Tosh. We were all Cal undergrads and know what it takes to be here at Cal.
We have really been the benefactors of the tremendous engagement we've had since last year as we've built toward 2026. I really appreciate what our alums and donors have done for us to put us in position to be competitive. We feel really strongly about this roster. You can see the difference from last season.
When it comes to the roster, the two primary objectives are acquisition and retention. Tosh's philosophy is to bring in more high school players and get them established in the classroom and incorporated into our football culture - and he has done that. Once you get the players here, you have to keep them. For Tosh, the core is the guys who start here and the guys who stay here. With that, we need the support of our alumni and donor community, as well as the business community. The more involvement and the more resources we have, the easier it is for us to be able to acquire and retain talent for our roster. I am so appreciative of the overwhelming support of our Cal Family.
The support our program has from our administration and staff across the entire athletic department has been incredible. We are really excited about the formation of Strawberry Creek Studios and what it will do for us in terms of generating revenue and telling our stories. We are trying to find more ways to generate revenue, and the content we can produce will play a big role in those efforts.
We are also expanding our reach in the television and streaming space with a new postgame show on NBC Sports Bay Area, a Spanish live stream of all our home games and a new podcast featuring our Voice of the Bears Justin Allegri and new Cal Athletics digital reporter Greg Silver.
We are also excited about some of the new fan experience features we have in place for 2026. We have opened a new Cal Team Store off Lisa and Douglas Goldman Plaza, so you can gear up on gameday. The store will also be open Monday through Friday for you to visit whenever you are on campus. Our Hall of Fame has also been renovated and upgraded with a new, modernized and slick look, and we have a new beverage cart on the plaza that is open seven days a week with premium food and drink options.
We are so grateful for our new jersey patch deal with Dialpad. It really is a perfect partnership with a company owned by Cal alum Craig Walker that allows us to generate added revenue while also using Dialpad's artificial intelligence to enhance our engagement with our fans. We have also renamed the Field Club the "Dialpad Club" as part of our partnership.
In addition, our University Club is now known as the "Anchises Club" and we now also have the "Modelo South Endzone Terrace." So much credit goes to our sales and marketing team, and the things Learfield has helped do for us as well. These are all things that will help us create the momentum that we need moving forward. Both Dialpad and Anchises are run by Cal alums - when you have that kind of synergy between them and the university, it helps create the relationships we are looking for where we can all benefit.
In closing, just a reminder that the metrics for how we are being judged has not changed. The importance of your support – by you being here in the stadium on gameday – will speak volumes. And if you can't be here, watch us on television. Even if you come to the game, leave your TV on at home. If you're hosting a watch party, tell your friends that are coming to leave on their TVs. Attendance and viewership are paramount for us as we look to position ourselves for the future.
Go Bears!
Ron
I'm excited to present the first edition of "Ron's Rundown." My goal with this newsletter is to provide you with updates on our football program and give you behind-the-scenes insights from where I sit as the general manager and athletic director of the team.
The 2026 season is finally upon us, and you can feel the energy around our building, the campus and the greater community. Much of that starts with Tosh Lupoi - our new – Travers Family Head Football Coach. Tosh's energy profoundly impacts our players and everyone associated with the program. That has really helped sell the culture he set to establish from Day One, and everyone has bought in.
I know our guys can't wait to take the field tomorrow night. UCLA is a great opponent for us for so many reasons, and I am looking forward to seeing the electric atmosphere I know our Cal Family will create at California Memorial Stadium. Make sure you are in your seats before kickoff at 7:30 p.m. so we can truly give the team the elite home field advantage we need from the opening kick.
So many good things have happened since the end of last season. It started when we targeted Tosh to lead our program. We understood who he is and his reputation, and that really led to so much excitement – not only for our program but for the athletic department and the university. We were very fortunate to retain quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for his sophomore season, and we put together a very good portal class and a solid high school recruiting class.
From the start of winter conditioning, you could feel a difference right off the bat. It's a different energy level from the past, and a lot of that has to do with the alignment between Chancellor Lyons, myself and Tosh. We were all Cal undergrads and know what it takes to be here at Cal.
We have really been the benefactors of the tremendous engagement we've had since last year as we've built toward 2026. I really appreciate what our alums and donors have done for us to put us in position to be competitive. We feel really strongly about this roster. You can see the difference from last season.
When it comes to the roster, the two primary objectives are acquisition and retention. Tosh's philosophy is to bring in more high school players and get them established in the classroom and incorporated into our football culture - and he has done that. Once you get the players here, you have to keep them. For Tosh, the core is the guys who start here and the guys who stay here. With that, we need the support of our alumni and donor community, as well as the business community. The more involvement and the more resources we have, the easier it is for us to be able to acquire and retain talent for our roster. I am so appreciative of the overwhelming support of our Cal Family.
The support our program has from our administration and staff across the entire athletic department has been incredible. We are really excited about the formation of Strawberry Creek Studios and what it will do for us in terms of generating revenue and telling our stories. We are trying to find more ways to generate revenue, and the content we can produce will play a big role in those efforts.
We are also expanding our reach in the television and streaming space with a new postgame show on NBC Sports Bay Area, a Spanish live stream of all our home games and a new podcast featuring our Voice of the Bears Justin Allegri and new Cal Athletics digital reporter Greg Silver.
We are also excited about some of the new fan experience features we have in place for 2026. We have opened a new Cal Team Store off Lisa and Douglas Goldman Plaza, so you can gear up on gameday. The store will also be open Monday through Friday for you to visit whenever you are on campus. Our Hall of Fame has also been renovated and upgraded with a new, modernized and slick look, and we have a new beverage cart on the plaza that is open seven days a week with premium food and drink options. We are so grateful for our new jersey patch deal with Dialpad. It really is a perfect partnership with a company owned by Cal alum Craig Walker that allows us to generate added revenue while also using Dialpad's artificial intelligence to enhance our engagement with our fans. We have also renamed the Field Club the "Dialpad Club" as part of our partnership.
In addition, our University Club is now known as the "Anchises Club" and we now also have the "Modelo South Endzone Terrace." So much credit goes to our sales and marketing team, and the things Learfield has helped do for us as well. These are all things that will help us create the momentum that we need moving forward. Both Dialpad and Anchises are run by Cal alums - when you have that kind of synergy between them and the university, it helps create the relationships we are looking for where we can all benefit.In closing, just a reminder that the metrics for how we are being judged has not changed. The importance of your support – by you being here in the stadium on gameday – will speak volumes. And if you can't be here, watch us on television. Even if you come to the game, leave your TV on at home. If you're hosting a watch party, tell your friends that are coming to leave on their TVs. Attendance and viewership are paramount for us as we look to position ourselves for the future.
Go Bears!
Ron
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