After Mike Williams, the athletic director at Cal, hired Justin Wilcox as the new head football coach, he said of his new hire, "He's one of us."
As one who lives in the Bay Area, I immediately knew what he meant. Cal is a special place. Other schools may mouth clichés about academic excellence, but Cal is one of the leading academic institutions in the country. No Louisville or North Carolina scandal would be tolerated here. In fact, Williams himself was on the Chancellor's Task Force for Academics and Athletics. How to succeed both in the classroom and at athletic competition is a huge issue for Cal, especially since it's in the shadow of Stanford, which makes it work.
More, Cal is rooted in the Bay Area, the home of the Free Speech Movement and Harry Edwards, capitol of Queer Culture, site of several sanctuary cities and home to the most diverse ethnic and religious groups in the country. Once, a few years ago, when my nephews were young, I took them to a neighborhood swimming pool in Portland. And my very first reactions was, "Where are the black kids? Where are the Chinese kids? Where are the Hispanic kids?" You become so used to seeing them, and interacting with them, that not to see them is a shock. What may be Berzerkeley to many others, is home to those of us who live here. If you're even 10% for Rush Limbaugh, you're not going to be happy in the Bay Area.
But before Wilcox, Cal went outside its own culture for its major sports hires. For football it picked Sonny Dykes, from Lousiana Tech; for basketball, Cuonzo Martin, from Tennessee. Both had big flashy reputations, Dykes for his wide-open "air raid" offense in football, and Martin for his incredible recruiting talent. Result? Dykes was fired after four years, and while Martin left of his own accord, it can't be said that Cal was happy with him. He made the NCAA tournament once, only to be eliminated in the opening game, and this year suffered a humiliating loss to Cal Bakersfield, an eight seed in the NIT tournament, while Cal playing at home, was a one seed. Neither coach exactly fit the Berkeley culture.
Now, it's apparent that in their hiring mode, Cal is looking more inward, for "one of us." That was true of football, and it appears that is their approach to this hire. And this is why Travis looms so large, in my opinion. If ever there were "one of us in the Bay Area" that coach would be our own Mike Montgomery, legendary at both Stanford and Cal, and the one who highly recommended Travis as his successor when he retired three years ago. Travis knows the program, knows the culture, and while he hasn't won the big games at Montana, anybody even casually aware of our program knows the excitement that he has built in three years here.
More, there may be a racial element here. You would hope not, but Mike Williams is black, and he cannot be unaware of the clamor everywhere for more black coaches in college athletics. (Me being part of that clamor.) His football hire was for a white guy, but he may well figure it's time to even out the racial balance by hiring a black coach for basketball. The most obvious choice down here is Randy Bennett, who's had such success at St. Mary's, and nobody could argue with that choice. But Bennett is white, and most of his talent comes from Australia; in fact, down here, St. Mary's is often called "The University of Australia at Moraga." Bennett may not be the face that Cal wants to put on its basketball program.
Travis may not get this job; I still would rate him a long shot. But he has to be a very serious candidate, in my opinion. I have an attorney friend who is very close to the Cal program, and he promises to let me know if he hears anything. Of course, I'll pass it on.
As one who lives in the Bay Area, I immediately knew what he meant. Cal is a special place. Other schools may mouth clichés about academic excellence, but Cal is one of the leading academic institutions in the country. No Louisville or North Carolina scandal would be tolerated here. In fact, Williams himself was on the Chancellor's Task Force for Academics and Athletics. How to succeed both in the classroom and at athletic competition is a huge issue for Cal, especially since it's in the shadow of Stanford, which makes it work.
More, Cal is rooted in the Bay Area, the home of the Free Speech Movement and Harry Edwards, capitol of Queer Culture, site of several sanctuary cities and home to the most diverse ethnic and religious groups in the country. Once, a few years ago, when my nephews were young, I took them to a neighborhood swimming pool in Portland. And my very first reactions was, "Where are the black kids? Where are the Chinese kids? Where are the Hispanic kids?" You become so used to seeing them, and interacting with them, that not to see them is a shock. What may be Berzerkeley to many others, is home to those of us who live here. If you're even 10% for Rush Limbaugh, you're not going to be happy in the Bay Area.
But before Wilcox, Cal went outside its own culture for its major sports hires. For football it picked Sonny Dykes, from Lousiana Tech; for basketball, Cuonzo Martin, from Tennessee. Both had big flashy reputations, Dykes for his wide-open "air raid" offense in football, and Martin for his incredible recruiting talent. Result? Dykes was fired after four years, and while Martin left of his own accord, it can't be said that Cal was happy with him. He made the NCAA tournament once, only to be eliminated in the opening game, and this year suffered a humiliating loss to Cal Bakersfield, an eight seed in the NIT tournament, while Cal playing at home, was a one seed. Neither coach exactly fit the Berkeley culture.
Now, it's apparent that in their hiring mode, Cal is looking more inward, for "one of us." That was true of football, and it appears that is their approach to this hire. And this is why Travis looms so large, in my opinion. If ever there were "one of us in the Bay Area" that coach would be our own Mike Montgomery, legendary at both Stanford and Cal, and the one who highly recommended Travis as his successor when he retired three years ago. Travis knows the program, knows the culture, and while he hasn't won the big games at Montana, anybody even casually aware of our program knows the excitement that he has built in three years here.
More, there may be a racial element here. You would hope not, but Mike Williams is black, and he cannot be unaware of the clamor everywhere for more black coaches in college athletics. (Me being part of that clamor.) His football hire was for a white guy, but he may well figure it's time to even out the racial balance by hiring a black coach for basketball. The most obvious choice down here is Randy Bennett, who's had such success at St. Mary's, and nobody could argue with that choice. But Bennett is white, and most of his talent comes from Australia; in fact, down here, St. Mary's is often called "The University of Australia at Moraga." Bennett may not be the face that Cal wants to put on its basketball program.
Travis may not get this job; I still would rate him a long shot. But he has to be a very serious candidate, in my opinion. I have an attorney friend who is very close to the Cal program, and he promises to let me know if he hears anything. Of course, I'll pass it on.
