Cal coach Mark Madsen has agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2029-30 season, athletics director Jim Knowlton announced Tuesday.
Madsen just completed his first year with the Golden Bears, improving his Pac-12 record from 2-18 in 2022-23 to 9-11 this season. They finished tied for sixth in the Pac-12, marking their best finish in the league since 2016-17.
After losing its first three games in the Pac-12, Cal won nine of its next 14 games, including wins over potential NCAA Tournament teams Colorado and Washington State.
“I am excited every day to be the head coach at Cal, and consider myself very fortunate to work alongside an outstanding group of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators who share the same relentless passion for success,” Madsen said in a statement. “I am grateful to Jim Knowlton and our administration for his continued confidence in what we are building in Berkeley.
“Our goal is to win championships and pursue greatness, and our entire basketball program will continue to execute that vision with the support of the Cal community. There are great things ahead in Bear Territory, and we are just getting started.”
The Golden Bears had success entering the transfer portal last spring, with the team's top four scorers in their first season in Berkeley. Jaylon Tyson (19.6 ppg) and Fardaws Aimaq (14.7 ppg, 11.0 rpg) were two of the most productive transfers in the Pac-12.
The Golden Bears face Stanford on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Cal's proactivity with Madsen's contract comes amid speculation about the status of Stanford coach Jerod Haase. Madsen played at Stanford from 1996-2000, earning All-America honors and leading the Cardinal to a Final Four in 1998, and also spent a season in Palo Alto as an assistant on Johnny Dawkins' staff in 2012-13.
He was considered the favorite to be the next coach at Stanford if Haase left last spring, but the job didn't open up and old rival Cal swooped in to hire Madsen.
Madsen had been the head coach at Utah Valley for four seasons before coming to Cal, leading the Wolverines to WAC regular season titles in 2021 and 2023.
