Calimony Money to Burn

For those worried about the budget squeeze, you'll be glad to know there is money to burn for certain activities:

From the Mercury News: Cal’s football expenses are soaring following general manager Ron Rivera’s decision to fire coach Justin Wilcox with two years remaining on his contract. In addition to the dead money, the Bears must hire a replacement — Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, a former Cal player, is the heavy favorite — and pay for new assistants and support personnel. All told, the changes likely will cost the Bears in excess of $35 million.

Good thing they will have the cash to cover the transition, courtesy of the University of California.

The so-called Calimony subsidy payments headed to Berkeley from UCLA — to the tune of $30 million over three years — aren’t the half of it. Literally. The Bears will receive an additional $45 million in “bridge” financing from the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) in three annual installments of $15 million, according to a document obtained by the Hotline through a public records request and supplemental information provided by UCOP.

The additional funding was not approved by the UC regents, although they were made aware of it, and had not been widely disclosed. All told, $75 million is bound to Berkeley in three installments of $25 million that began in 2024-25 and will continue through the 2026-27 academic year. The cash isn’t specifically for football and will be used to support the overall athletic department budget, according to Cal. In response to a request for comment on the additional $45 million from UCOP, a university spokesperson provided the following statement:

“The Berkeley campus appreciates the commitment of the University of California system to preserve and build upon Cal Athletics’ tradition of educating student-athletes while enabling them to compete at the highest level of national competition.”

The Bears have plenty of uses for the influx, over and above the coaching change.

Wilcox’s buyout is approximately $11 million, and the Bears likely will spend at least $20 million on a new coach  — a five-year deal at $4 million annually seems like the minimum outlay — and another $5 million (minimum) to dismiss current assistants and hire new ones.

Also, the athletic department reported a budget shortfall in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with $120 million in revenue and $149 million in expenses, according to financial statements reported to the NCAA. Notably, the revenue figure included approximately $35 million in support from central campus...

Full story at https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/12/03/cal-has-more-cash-coming-than-just-ucla-subsidy-for-football-hire-and-everything-else/.