Cal Rowing: Rogers Family Pledges $10 Million, Including $5 Million Matching Challenge

With financial uncertainty looming for many of Cal’s Olympic sports in the wake of the impending move from the Pac-12 Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference, men’s rowing received a donation worth up to $10 million that should provide a critical lifeline to the program.

The T. Gary and Kathleen Rogers Family Foundation and the Friends of Cal Crew announced the 10-year pledge that involves a $5 million matching challenge which provides a 1:1 match for every new gift to the endowment supporting Cal men’s crew.

Cal said it’s the third-largest gift in the 10-year history of its “Campaign for Cal Athletics Excellence.”

The donation comes after Cal won its second consecutive national championship in men’s rowing last June and its 19th overall, second-most of any school. The Bears swept all four boat classes at the nationals for the first time in history.

Cal coach Scott Frandsen told the Bay Area News Group the program was not in imminent financial peril. He said that’s the result of donations from alumni, none more than the Rogers family.

“They’ve always led the way to provide us with everything that we need to have an elite program and have always encouraged the other alums to step up as well,” Frandsen said. “That’s the philosophy behind this matching gift.

"They’re in for a very large amount of money but are also encouraging others to get involved as well.”

Frandsen told the newspaper the annual budget for the Bears men’s rowing program is between $1.7 and $1.8 million. Most of that money comes from fundraising efforts and an endowment that’s handled by the university.

Reaching full endowment status would mean raising between $40-$45 million, Frandsen said.

"Having a matching pledge like this takes a significant step toward getting the program fully endowed,” Frandsen told Cal’s official athletic website. “The goal has always been to ensure that this student-athlete experience, this life-changing experience, is possible for generations to come"

The T. Gary and Kathleen Rogers Family Foundation was started in 2003 by Gary Rogers, a rower at Cal who competed in the 1964 Olympic Trials. Gary Rogers and a partner purchased Dreyer’s Ice Cream in 1977 and he was the company’s chairman and CEO for 30 years. Rogers, who died in 2017 at the age of 74, also served as chairman of Safeway Inc., the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and Levi Strauss & Co.

The Friends of Cal Crew was created in 1978 and involves alumni, friends and families of the program. The goal of the organization is to work toward "Cal Crew Forever," the idea of fully endowing men's rowing at Cal.

"We want Cal Crew to stick around forever,” said Andy Rogers, Gary and Kathleen’s son. “The value of a team sport like crew is in the life lessons learned beyond the races and the classroom. This is why my dad loved rowing so much. I rowed at Cal as well and value the lifelong friendships and lessons I learned during my time there."

This is the latest in a series of generous donations to Cal crew from the Rogers family. Beginning in 1986, Gary Rogers started an annual pledge to match the total dollars raised by the Friends of Cal Crew.

In 2004, he made a significant contribution that went toward the relocation and new construction renovation of the T. Gary Rogers Rowing Center, located on the Oakland Estuary. The facility includes office space for the coaches, a storage facility for boats and equipment and an event space for the program.

Cover photo of Steve Dettlinger, president of Friends of Cal Crew, Andy Rogers and Cal men's rowing coach Scott Frandsen courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo