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Jim Knowlton to Retire as Cal Athletics Director, Deputies Named Co-Leaders

Lyons has appointed two deputies to guide Cal Athletics through its worst budget shortfall under evolving NCAA revenue-sharing policies.

University of California-Berkeley Athletics Director Jim Knowlton poses with women's basketball head coach Charmin Smith during her introduction as a new hire at a news conference June 25, 2019, in Berkeley, Calif.
A detailed view of one of the helmets worn by the California Golden Bears against the Stanford Cardinal at California Memorial Stadium on Nov. 23, 2024, in Berkeley, Calif.
Jim Knowlton speaks after being introduced by Chancellor Carol Christ as the new Athletic Director at UC Berkeley at a press conference in the California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)
Jim Knowlton

Overview

  • Jim Knowlton will step down as California’s athletic director on July 1 after a seven-year tenure marked by ten national championships and high-profile controversies.
  • Chancellor Rich Lyons elevated deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O’Neill to co-directors, establishing a dual-leadership structure for Cal Athletics.
  • Last month’s hiring of Ron Rivera as football general manager shifted oversight of the football program away from Knowlton and directly to Lyons.
  • The department reported a $29.7 million deficit in the 2023-24 fiscal year and faces mounting pressure to boost fundraising and adapt to new NCAA revenue-sharing obligations.
  • Under its new leadership, Cal Athletics must navigate ACC membership challenges, transfer portal dynamics and name, image and likeness regulations.