We reported a while ago ^[1] that there were some concerns regarding Cal’s atheletic funding, especially when considering the hubbub surrounding the budget. Because of this our Chancellor Birgeneau (or “Birgy,” as we wish we could call him) asked for a report on the state of Cal’s sports programs. Ladies and gents, the results are in ^[2].

And now that the report’s out, that means some changes for athletics. Nothing major, it looks like, although it really is too soon to tell.  Birgy just issued a statement (that’s how we in the press say “wrote a letter”) summarizing some of the report’s findings. Said findings tell us that the program is goodfor the community and the college (duh) but that we also need to trim the budget (duh duh). They think that the campus should allocate about $5 million a year for Intercollegiate Athletics, although nothing has been settled yet.

There’s also mention of the “human element” that’s so important like the student-athletes and their coaches and the alumni that all make up IA. So no worries, sports fans–it looks like the adaptation of athletics will not be devastating. We only wish that regular students had a cool title like “student-athlete.” Perhaps we bloggers could be “scholar-satirists?”

Image source: Monica’s Dad ^[3] under Creative Commons
Chancellor welcomes report on Cal athletics [UC Berkeley News ^[2]]