Mike Montgomery, one of college basketball’s all-time winningest coaches, has announced his retirement as head men’s basketball coach at the University of California, Berkeley. Montgomery, who directed the Golden Bears’ program to postseason appearances during each of his six seasons at the school, enjoyed a storied career that spanned more than four decades and also included head coaching stints at rival Stanford, Montana and with the Golden State Warriors.
Commenting on his decision to retire, Montgomery said, “I have enjoyed 45 years coaching the game I love while developing long-lasting friendships along the way. This is a decision that was not made lightly. This is the right time for me to move on to the next phase of my life. I want to thank my colleagues in the coaching profession and the student-athletes I’ve had the opportunity to coach and mentor. It has been an incredible journey and now I look forward to devoting more time to my family and visiting the countless friends I have met during my career.
“The six years I have spent at Cal have been some of the greatest in my career and I want to thank Sandy [Barbour, Director of Athletics] and the administration for their outstanding support,” he continued. “This is a great program and Cal Basketball is positioned for success for many years to come. The success I have enjoyed here would not be possible without the unconditional support from everyone I have been fortunate enough to work with throughout my coaching career.”
Under Montgomery’s tutelage, the Cal men’s basketball program enjoyed its winningest six-year stretch in school history with 130 victories during his tenure as head coach. He completed his career as the school’s third-winningest coach with a 130-73 record (.640) and in 2010, guided the Bears to their first conference regular-season championship in 50 years. Since Montgomery was hired, Cal is the only team to finish in the top-four of the conference standings each of the last six seasons and the team’s 69 league victories during this stretch make it the third-winningest program in the Pac-12 during this period. In addition, Montgomery led the Golden Bears to four NCAA Tournament berths and a pair of National Invitation Tournament appearances, becoming the only coach in school history to guide Cal to six consecutive postseason berths.
Commenting on Montgomery’s decision to retire, Barbour said, “Mike has been outstanding in his six years at the helm of our men’s basketball program. In addition to being one of the greatest to ever coach the game, he has been an amazing leader, educator and mentor to our student-athletes and all of the young men he has coached. Mike is a coaching icon and has made this one of the most competitive programs in the conference and in the country. We are thankful for all he has done to elevate this program during his tenure.”
UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks also spoke highly of the impact the veteran head coach made on campus.
“With a strong, consistent commitment to the success of his student athletes on and off the court, Mike was the quintessential Cal coach,” Dirks said. “We wish him the very best, and on behalf of the university I want to thank Mike for the contributions he made to Cal Athletics and the Berkeley campus as a whole.”
