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Golden Nuggets: Dykes working with players to restore academic success

Sonny Dykes wants the Golden Bears to win everything--including the battles in the classroom.

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

One of Sonny Dykes's objectives when he was chosen as our new head coach was to refocus the team on academics after it reached rock bottom under Jeff Tedford. This renewed emphasis on academics has been successful, resulting in football's highest single-semester GPA since Cal started recording these statistics, thanks to Dykes and a council of our own student athletes.

About a month ago, Dykes approached four of his most academically driven players with an idea: a council composed of students and campus faculty members that would draft the football program's academic mission statement.

Nick Forbes, Chris Adcock, Mark Brazinski and [Brennan] Scarlett are all upperclassmen who thrive academically, and they've championed the budding academic council.

The mission statement, known as "The Cal Way," encourages and challenges players to push beyond all expectations - including one's own. Every day is a commitment and a promise to try harder than one did the day before. Complacency is nonexistent.

We've got a lot of Cal news down below, in part because I forgot to include some in Sunday's Golden Nuggets. Oopsies!

Men's Basketball

Men's Tennis

Men's Soccer

Women's Basketball

  • Some preseason love for the Bears

Field Hockey

Football