Cal coach Justin Wilcox signs extension through 2027

Updated Jan. 20, 2022 5:40 p.m. ET

Associated Press

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California football coach Justin Wilcox has signed an extension through the 2027 season.

Wilcox was rewarded with the extension Thursday after leading the Golden Bears to two bowls in five seasons as coach. The contract also increases the salary pool for assistant coaches.

“Justin Wilcox is a football coach who shares our values and vision, and we want to ensure that he is the leader of our program for the long term,” athletic director Jim Knowlton said in a statement. “He is a great fit for Cal Athletics and our university, with a philosophy that places an emphasis on developing young men on the field, in the classroom and as people."

Wilcox has a 26-28 record and led the Bears to back-to-back winning seasons and bowl games in 2018 and 2019 for the first time in a decade. Cal went 5-7 this season but beat rivals Stanford and Southern California down the stretch.

The Bear have won two of the last three Big Games against Stanford after losing the previous nine matchups.

“I appreciate the opportunity to be the head football coach at Cal and am excited about the future of our program,” Wilcox said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute I have spent with the extraordinary young men who have been in our program."

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