Knowlton boosted football attendance and raised $22M for facility upgrades at Air ForceCAL
Cal named Air Force AD Jim Knowlton to the same position, and he is "tasked with balancing a debt-riddled budget, moving the program into complete Title IX compliance" and leading the school toward a "viable future," according to Rusty Simmons of the S.F. CHRONICLE. While juggling 29 sports at Air Force, Knowlton "oversaw a program that won more conference titles than in any other three-year span, saw decidedly improved attendance at football games, and raised" about $22M for athletic-facility renovations. Knowlton’s ability to relate to both the academic and athletic sides in Berkeley "should help align many with his strategic plan for Cal’s athletic department." He is "not scheduled to start until May 21." His contract will be "for at least five years, but the financials haven't been completed." After about five or six months, he "believes he’ll be able to build a plan that blends with what the institution is doing on campus and start solving the athletic department’s biggest challenges." Knowlton echoed Cal Chancellor Carol Christ’s "repeated declarations that cutting any of the school’s 30 sports is a last resort" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/10).
WHAT'S NEXT FOR AIR FORCE? Air Force Dir of Public Affairs Lt. Col. Allen Harritage said that an interim AD "will be named in the upcoming days." In Colorado Springs, Brent Briggeman in a front-page piece notes there is "no timetable to hire a permanent replacement" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 4/10). Knowlton's primary goal at Air Force "was to expand the footprint and visibility" of the academy's athletic programs. In three years he "achieved much to further that goal" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 4/10). However, in Colorado Springs, David Ramsey writes there is an "attendance crisis that drains Air Force athletics." Knowlton "failed to sell Colorado Springs" on D-I athletes who compete, "usually in lonely conditions, on the edge of our city." Air Force's new AD "must combat the sinking crowds." The new AD "must find a way -- and it won’t be easy -- to start a fire of interest in a population that finds something else to do on game days" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 4/10).
TWITTER REAX: Portland Oregonian's John Canzano tweeted Knowlton is an "academy guy who knows how to navigate government and big systems. Fresh start. He inherits promising FB and WBB coach. Horrible MBB situation." Bay Area News Group's Jon Wilner: "Knowlton has experience running FBS dept but no large public school bckgrnd. Interesting hire." 247Sports.com's Ryan Gorcey: "Interesting choice. An Army grad, a soldier, a former Army interim AD, and an Air Force AD: How does that mesh with the Berkeley culture and the faculty with whom he'll have to interface?" Wisconsin State Journal's Todd Milewski: "With his strong hockey background, we should probably keep an eye open for @collegehockey in Berkeley." S.F. Chronicle's Henry Schulman: "Congratulations new AD Jim Knowlton, but remember, it's Cal. You're doomed. You'll be elsewhere in three years."
