Ron & Stephanie Rivera Donate $500 K to Cal Athletics

Ron & Stephanie Rivera believe in a lot of the right things. That is evident in their philosophy and their actions. Now we have more proof.

Ron and Stephanie Rivera and are a Cal Golden Bears family to the bone. 

It's where the heart is for the Rivera family, nearly four decades after Ron played and starred at Cal in football and where Stephanie played basketball. 

A $500,000 gift shows that in many ways. 

A generous gift indeed from the Rivera family to help promote college athletics and gender equity in general. 

"The biggest thing is we saw a need," said Stephanie Rivera.  "We always try to support Cal athletes.”

The project is in the developmental stage right now but when completed the Rivera family name will adorn Cal's new softball field. 

An anonymous matching gift of $500,000 also has been pledged to the project, the university said. 

According to SI.com "Cal Sports Report" colleague Jeff Faraudo, there's a further connection to this donation. 

Faraudo mentioned that the Rivera family  have a long friendship with new Cal softball coach Chelsea Spencer, who played for the Bears from 2002-05 and was part of the program’s 2002 national championship team.

"Every time I go back on campus, I get chills," the Washington Football Team head coach said. "I love going back there. I get butterflies in my stomach thinking about that.”

Chris Russell is the Publisher of this site, a part of SI.com. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Washington Football Team" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621