Our Crowdfunding Groups
Six months ago, our athletic department was ROLLING. The Axe returned to Berkeley, our basketball teams showed incredible progress, our swimming & diving programs were in their final stages of training for their NCAA Championships, and our gymnastics teams were set to start strong postseason campaigns. And after agreeing to a six-year budget with the Chancellor, we delivered on year one, with a surplus.
Now, because of the pandemic, we are facing a revenue shortfall of $35M - $55M, and we need your help to ensure our 850 student-athletes can ROLL ON through these difficult times. Make a gift now to show your support.
What are we doing?
In response to the revenue shortfall Cal Athletics has taken the following steps:
Department-wide hiring freeze
A freeze in merit increases
Salary reductions for top earners
Significant budget reductions across each sport and the department
We are also exploring a loan from the Pac12 and drawing down from our FF
Call To Action
While we have taken unprecedented steps to mitigate most of that shortfall, we need support from our Golden Bear Community to ensure the Cal experience continues. During a given year, we raise about $10M in annual gifts that support exceptional student-athletes experiences. During the 2020-21 year, we are asking our most loyal stakeholders to help us raise an additional $5M so that we can continue to Roll On through this pandemic.
Impact
These additional resources will allow us to effectively respond to the pandemic by focusing on people, programs, and prevention.
People
Continue our core mission to provide exceptional experiences for our 850 student-athletes in a safe and secure environment.
Keep our workforce intact and not cut any current personnel.
Provide additional scholarships to student-athletes who had their competition seasons cut short and are returning for an additional season.
Retain our exceptional coaches and staff.
Programs
While cutting programs has become a common occurrence in college athletics, we are committed to keeping all 30 sports at Cal.
Prevention
Provide a safe experience for our student-athletes as we return to competition.
We are projecting it will cost as much as $75,000 a week in prevention measures as we return to play. This includes testing, sanitizing, and additional resources and staff to ensure all health-related measures are followed.
Questions?
If you have any questions about Cal Athletics or the Roll On Campaign, email the Cal Athletics Fund at calathleticsfund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
