University of California Release—California rugby has reached a major milestone to endow the program, entirely thanks to the unwavering and enthusiastic support of the Golden Bear community over the last 40 years.
Rugby becomes the third Intercollegiate Athletics program to be acknowledged with the endowment status.
Cal rugby has raised north of $40 million from several thousand donors over the years to become endowed, which solidifies its place on Berkeley's campus. These supporters give generously towards the rugby-specific endowments, donate hundreds of thousands annually for the team's operating budget and make significant gifts towards capital projects, like the construction of Witter Rugby Field and the Doc Hudson Fieldhouse , and the Bud and Mary Lyons Rugby Locker Room at the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance, among others.
"This remarkable accomplishment wonderfully advances our strategy to get as many of our Olympic sports as possible endowed," Chancellor Rich Lyons said. "We began this academic year without a single endowed team. Rugby brings us to three! The generosity, dedication, and devotion of Cal Rugby's many supporters is a big reason why rugby's performance over the decades is unmatched. Thanks, Cal Rugby, for helping us launch a whole new era of excellence for Cal Athletics."
Founded in 1882, Cal rugby, a non-scholarship sport, is the oldest and winningest IA program on campus, amassing 34 national-level championships– 29 collegiate XVs titles since they began in 1980 and five national sevens crowns. Under the closely held stewardship of only six head coaches throughout its existence, Cal rugby has developed many of the finest players the sport has to offer and men who have achieved remarkable success at the tops of their respective professional fields.
"We are incredibly grateful for the thousands of supporters who have helped us reach this milestone," Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "Cal Rugby, with the leadership of Jack Clark, serves as a model program in so many ways, and its endowment will allow the team to continue to thrive for decades to come."
The phrase "it takes a village" has never been truer for Golden Bear rugby. The team has always been entirely financially supported by families, friends and alumni of the program. Old stories of Cal rugby paint a picture of former head coach Miles "Doc" Hudson using word-of-mouth to raise funds from his fellow alumni and passing a hat to collect donations around his squad to scrape together enough money to send the players on international tours in 1965 and 1971. This grassroots campaign to fund the program was the advent of what would eventually turn into one of the most successful donor-backed athletic programs on UC Berkeley's campus.
"Rugby has always paid its own way, based on the example that Doc, and even the coaches before Doc, set," current head coach Jack Clark said. "Fundraising has been a significant aspect of the head coaching responsibilities over my time here. It has always been clear to us that it was our job to ensure the permanence of Cal rugby. We've never had a sense of entitlement."
With this weight of responsibility in mind, talks about long-term funding for Cal rugby turned serious in 1985 when Bear alumnus Tom Witter approached Clark with the idea of creating an endowment. It is impossible to recount the history of giving to Cal rugby without mentioning the Witter family. Fourteen Witters – fathers, sons, grandchildren, uncles and cousins – have all played rugby for the Bears, and Tom Witter was the first to lead the family's philanthropic efforts.
Tom Witter established The Witter Rugby Endowment, which is the largest of Cal's 29 rugby-specific endowments by far. While playing rugby at Cal is a right of passage for Witters, the endowment itself is also a family affair, with Tom Witter eventually passing the baton to his cousin Bob Witter, who then passed down the leadership to his son, Robert Witter Jr.
