In news initially broken by the Oregonian's John Canzano, Cal will announce the hiring of Jim Knowlton as Athletic Director. A press conference is scheduled for 12:30 this afternoon to announce the hiring. Former athletic director Mike Williams announced last August he would be stepping down at the end of his contract.
Knowlton comes to Berkeley after three years at the Air Force Academy, overseeing 27 intercollegiate programs, along with intramurals, physical education, and evaluatory testing.
From Cal's release on Knowlton
"By virtue of his experience, values and personal attributes, Jim stood out in what was a large and deeply talented pool of applicants," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ. "He is an excellent communicator who thrives on challenges, and shares my commitment to excellence, integrity and diversity. I am certain he will be the thought partner I sought, and the leader our campus needs at this pivotal time so that we can, together, usher in a new era of excellence for Cal Athletics."
"I am thrilled to join the University of California, Berkeley family!" Knowlton said. "I am thankful for the trust and confidence of Chancellor Christ, and am extremely impressed with her vision along with the passion, commitment and dedication of the entire search committee. I look forward to connecting with our exceptional student-athletes, faculty, coaches and staff on campus, along with our alumni, supporters and the Berkeley community.
"Cal has all the ingredients to be incredible on and off the field and I'm excited for the challenge to have our athletic teams and student-athletes win the right way at the highest levels. We will excel in the classroom, on our campus and in our community, and incorporate dignity and respect in all we do."
Knowlton will official begin his tenure as Cal's director of athletics on May 21.
Two of the biggest areas of Knowlton's experience at the Academy were in fundraising and boosting sagging attendance for football, two areas of need for Cal. Knowlton helped to raise $22 million in donations for athletic renovations in 2016, allowing for work to be done on Air Force's Falcon Stadium.
Before his time in Colorado Springs, Knowlton worked as the athletic director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Division III school, and as the deputy director of athletics, interim AD, and director of the Center for Enhanced Performance at West Point, his alma mater.
Currently, Cal sits with 30 varsity sports, an athletic department that's dealing with the debt of renovating Memorial Stadium, and a need to find a way forward. Chancellor Carol Christ has taken steps to balance the athletics budget, by having the campus take on the debt from the seismic retrofitting (roughly half), and commissioning a review of the Athletic Department.
As he comes into Berkeley, Knowlton will work with Christ on some of the goals outlined in that review, moving Cal Athletics from prong 3 of Title IX compliance (adding sports based on student interest) to prong 1 (to the demographics of sports representing the student population, which is 54% female), cutting through intra-campus administrative fees to save the AD money (for example, paying in-state tuition for scholarships instead of out-of-state, saving a good chunk), and raising the money to balance the budget by 2020.
