Report: Cal to extend coach Mark Madsen's contract by two years

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•03/12/24
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California has agreed to extend new coach Mark Madsen‘s contract for an additional two years, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello.

Madsen’s deal will now run through the 2029-30 season.

The 48-year-old head coach is in his first season with the Bears after taking over following a four-year stint at Utah Valley from 2019-23. He has helped lead a pretty remarkable turnaround for the Golden Bears.

Prior to his arrival, California went just 2-18 in Pac-12 play during the 2022-23 season. But in his first year, Madsen coached California to a 9-11 mark in the conference.

Madsen was widely considered one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the profession prior to his hire by the Golden Bears.

He helped lead Utah Valley to the semifinals of the 2023 NIT. During that campaign he was named the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the year. Utah Valley won two conference titles under his watch.

Mark Madsen also finished as a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award, presented annually to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball.

While at Utah Valley, Madsen put together a 70-51 (.578) overall record, with a 39-25 (.609) mark in conference play. The program put together back-to-back 20-win seasons in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns.

The success included a school record 28 wins in 2022-23, with an impressive 15-3 mark in WAC play.

Madsen’s college experience is actually fairly minimal, though, as he got his coaching start at the NBA level. He spent 2013-19 with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he helped coach NBA superstars LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Madsen also spent his first playing seasons with the Lakers, wearing the Los Angeles jersey from 2000-03.

He then spent six years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing there from 2003-09.

He is a two-time NBA champion, winning titles in 2001 and 2002 in Los Angeles. He was also a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection in 1999 and 2000 while playing at Stanford.

Mark Madsen has previous coaching stints with the Utah Flash, the Stanford Cardinal and the Los Angeles D-Fenders.