University of California at Berkeley Athletics Program

Introduction:become quite a challenge yet the number one
Since the year 2000, the University of Californiagoal.
at Berkeley Athletics program has transferredEnter new athletic director, Ms. Sandy Barbour
from being a secondary thought of the institutionwho's three years at Berkeley have brought
to going hand in hand with the colleges overallabout unprecedented success both on and off the
academic excellence. With the help of coach Jefffield. Student-athletes have been generating huge
Tedford who has put the California football teamamounts of buzz with each year bringing about
back on the map, to coach Ben Braun'smore and more individual titles and impressive
unwavering consistently, and the California Rugby'sgraduating rates as well as all time highs in
teams unbelievable run of excellence (a ridiculousathletes grade point averages. Possibly most
fifteen national championships in sixteen years!).important being the only tangible measure of the
As a result, Berkeley has gone from an institutionoverall success of the athletic department,
that's celebrated purely for academic reasons toBarbour has managed to bring Berkeley into the
one that is sought after by the nations topforefront of the Director's Cup competition with
recruits in various sports. The importance of thean impressive four top 10 finishes in the past five
California Athletic Department has become everyears. The Director's cup measures a college's
prevalent with so much riding on various sportsefficiency with regards to every sport (giving
these days that our group thought it would bemore emphasis to more prominent sports, with
best to analyze how such an organizationlesser value given to individual sports), and his
functions and some of the obstacles it faces.highly sought after by the nations most
History:prestigious of programs.
Back in 1991, the department was dividedWith not a lot of history of success on the
between women's collegiate sports, mens division,athletic field, the athletic department is really
and the intramural division, but since that year theentering new territory. There has never been so
men and women's sectors have fused togethermuch emphasis on ensuring healthy relationships
and intramural sports remained a separate division.with the multitude of stakeholders that the
With over eight hundred student-athletes andorganization encounters. Due to the vastly
twenty seven varsity sports and corporatechanging landscape of athletics and no experience
sponsors riding on every contest as well as theof success to fall back upon, each day presents a
security of coaches, its imperative for obviousnew challenge for the University of California at
reasons that catering to the student athlete hasBerkeley Athletic Department.