Dec. 6, 2004

BERKELEY, CA - In recognition of an historic season and the remarkable turnaround of the school's football program, the University of California has reached a new five-year agreement with Head Coach Jeff Tedford through the 2009 season, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour announced today.

Tedford, recently voted the Pac-10 Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Bears to a No. 4 national ranking and the school's best record (10-1) in 55 years, agreed to the new contract this morning. The agreement, which replaces his existing five-year contract that had three years remaining, includes an enhanced compensation package for his assistant coaching staff.

"This is a great day for Cal athletics," said Barbour. "Jeff has made so many remarkable contributions to our program, to our community and to our entire university. He is much more than an outstanding coaching talent. We have heard from so many parents, alumni, professors and others about what a difference he's made in these young men's lives. We very much appreciate Jeff's loyalty and dedication to the University of California. We view this commitment as an important step in reaching our current and future goals for the football program, as well as for the athletic department as a whole."

Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau also issued a statement regarding today's announcement: "I came to Cal to lead the world's pre-eminent public university. Re-signing Coach Tedford signals my commitment to achieving the kind of excellence in athletics that UC Berkeley already exhibits in academics."

"First, I want to express my appreciation to Chancellor Birgeneau, Associate Chancellor (John) Cummins and Sandy Barbour, as well as all my players and coaches, for making this opportunity possible," said Tedford, who yesterday was named one of six finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the annual national coach of the year honor voted by members of the Football Writers Association of America.

"It has been my intention all along to build a program here at Cal. I'm very excited to know that in the future, I'm going to be here for our players, both academically and athletically, and that I can help them continue to strive to reach high standards in both areas. I also want to thank the fans and administration for all their support. I pledge to everyone that I will work my hardest to do my best in accomplishing our goals."

While one of the goals--a trip to the Rose Bowl after 46 years--was dashed yesterday by the final BCS rankings, Tedford and his 2004 Bears enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in California history. With its only blemish a 23-17 road loss to nationally No. 1 ranked USC, Cal posted the school's first 10-win regular season since Pappy Waldorf's club registered a 10-0 mark in 1949. Tedford's Bears, who finished the season with a flourish by winning their final seven games, have accepted an invitation to play Texas Tech in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in San Diego Dec. 30.

Further illustrating Cal's extraordinary season, the Bears landed 18 players on the 2004 All-Pac-10 Team, including more first team selections (eight) than any other conference school. In addition, Cal placed 16 players on the 2004 Pac-10 All-Academic Team for their scholastic achievements.

Tedford, who has won more games (25) in his first three seasons than any Cal head coach in 55 years, inherited a 1-10 team in 2001 and has directed the Bears to a stunning turnaround. Scrolling a 25-12 record during his Berkeley tenure, he has engineered three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 52 years and has achieved back-to-back bowl appearances at the school for the first time since 1990-91. Named the 2004 Pac-10 Coach of the Year in a vote by his peers, Tedford has now won the coveted honor twice in his three seasons at Cal.

This year's Bears were the only team in NCAA Division I-A to rank among the nation's Top 6 in both scoring offense (6th, 37.3 points per game) and scoring defense (4th, 13.4 points per game).

In his first season at the helm, Tedford won Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors for guiding Cal to its first winning football season (7-5) in nine years and the nation's biggest one-year turnaround of 2002.

And then in 2003, he may have even exceeded his first-year performance. That `03 club, which tied with Florida and South Carolina for the fewest returning starters (nine) in NCAA Division I-A football, had been picked to finish eighth in the Pac-10 Conference preseason media poll. Tedford, instead, steered his Bears to a 5-3, third-place showing in the Pac-10 that included victories over then nationally No. 3 ranked USC, Arizona State and Washington--schools which were predicted as the top three conference finishers in that same preseason survey. The 5-3 mark was the best conference record by a Cal team in 12 years, while the Golden Bears' 8-6 overall mark produced the most victories by the school since 1993. California capped the 2003 season by posting the Bears' first bowl win in 10 years, a 52-49 thriller in the Insight Bowl over a Virginia Tech team that had been ranked No. 3 nationally at midseason.

Yet, Tedford's accomplishments during his first two years in Berkeley pale in comparison to this season. In guiding his Cal troops to the school's highest national ranking (No. 4) since 1952, he fielded a team that outscored its opponents by a margin of more than three touchdowns per game (23.9 points per game) and outgained its foes by almost two full lengths of a football field per outing (198.8 yards per game).

As one of college football's offensive masterminds, Tedford has rapidly transformed the Golden Bears into a scoring juggernaut. His 2002, 2003 and 2004 teams have scored a combined 1,475 points, which is more than the previous five Cal squads had scored collectively (1,105). What's more, the 2003 Bears set school single-season records for total offense (6,061 yards), passing yards (3,705), pass completions (278) and first downs (321). His 2004 offense posted the highest scoring average (37.3) in school history, while this year's defense allowed the fewest points per game (13.4) by a Cal team since 1968.

While Tedford's three-year ledger at Cal is impressive, those in the know realize his record could be even better. Five of the Bears' 12 losses the past three years have been decided by a combined 13 points.

Prior to his arrival in Berkeley, Tedford was a highly regarded offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Oregon, where the Ducks finished ranked No. 2 nationally in 2001. At 43 years of age, the Cal head coach has earned a national reputation as one of the best developers of quarterbacks in college football today.

During his 17-year coaching career at California, Oregon (1998-2001), Fresno State (1992-97) and the CFL's Calgary Stampeders (1989-91), Tedford has devised record-setting offenses at every stop. Under his tutelage, such quarterbacks as Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, David Carr and Kyle Boller have blossomed into high first-round NFL draft picks. His latest pupil is junior quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the Pac-10 in passing efficiency this year in completing 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,320 yards and 23 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

A proponent of a balanced attack, Tedford also has been involved in developing running backs that have produced 1,000-yard seasons seven times in the past seven years at Cal and Oregon. The most recent to hit the milestone has been J.J. Arrington, who this season broke Chuck Muncie's school single-season record with 1,845 yards, which ranked first in the Pac-10 and second in the NCAA.

Tedford led his first Cal team to a brief No. 23 national ranking (Associated Press) after the Bears' 46-22 upset win at No. 15 ranked Michigan State in Week 3 of the season. It marked the first time Cal had earned a Top 25 ranking in six years.

The Cal coach played an integral role on Mike Bellotti's staff at Oregon during his four-year tenure in Eugene--a period in which the Ducks posted the Pac-10's best record of 38-10 in finishing progressively better each year (8-4 in '98, 9-3 in '99, 10-2 in '00 and 11-1 in '01).

After receiving a B.S. degree in physical education from Fresno State in 1983, he played pro football in the Canadian Football League for six seasons with Hamilton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. He completed 54 percent of his passes during his career, appearing in the league's championship game with Hamilton in 1984.

Tedford's coaching career began as a volunteer assistant at Fresno State in 1987, spending two years there before joining Calgary in the CFL in 1989. He served as an offensive assistant with the Stampeders for three seasons, including the 1991 team that advanced to the Grey Cup title game.

Born Nov. 2, 1961 in Lynwood, Calif., Tedford grew up in Downey, Calif. He attended Warren High School in Downey, Calif., and Cerritos College. He and his wife, Donna, have two sons, Taylor (17) and Quinn (15). They live in Danville, Calif.

Jeff Tedford's COACHING CHRONOLOGY
School	Year	Position	Record	Highlights
California2004	Head Coach	10-1	Holiday Bowl participant
				Ranked No. 4 nationally
California2003	Head Coach	8-6	Insight Bowl champions
California2002	Head Coach	7-5	Pac-10 Coach of the Year
Oregon	2001	Offensive Coord	11-1	Pac-10 champions
				Ranked No. 2 nationally
				Fiesta Bowl champions
Oregon	2000	Offensive Coord	10-2	Pac-10 co-champions
				Ranked No. 7 nationally
				Holiday Bowl champions
Oregon	1999	Offensive Coord	9-3	Sun Bowl champions
Oregon	1998	Offensive Coord	8-4	Aloha Bowl participant
Fresno St.1997	Offensive Coord	6-6
Fresno St.1996	Offensive Coord	4-7
Fresno St.1995	Offensive Coord	5-7
Fresno St.1994	Offensive Coord	5-7-1
Fresno St.1993	Offensive Coord	8-4	WAC tri-champions
				No. 3 scoring offense nationally
				Aloha Bowl participant
Fresno St.1992	QB Coach	9-4	WAC tri-champions
				No. 1 scoring offense nationally
				Freedom Bowl champions
Calgary (CFL)1991 Offensive Assistant 11-7	Grey Cup runner-up
Calgary (CFL)1990 Offensive Assistant 11-6-1	Western Division champions
Calgary (CFL)1989 Offensive Assistant 10-8