Octagon Speakers

Coach Jeff Tedford has been slated as the reason the California Gold Bears’ football program has been so successful. Tedford was a player in the Canadian Football League for six years, and then later became a coach for his alma mater, Fresno State. Tedford’s coaching skills were admired quickly and he was given the head coaching job at UC Berkeley in 2002.  The previous year, in 2001, the Golden Bears posted a 1-10 record.  In his first outing in the head coaching role, Tedford lead his squad to a 7-5 mark, their first winning record since 1993.  The Golden Bears were named the biggest turnaround team of the year and Tedford was chosen as the Pac-10 coach of the year.  The Bears finished the 2004 season as the No. 9 team in the country after posting a 10-2 record and have been ranked in the top 25 ever since.

"Coach Tedford wasn't just a coach, I think of him as more like a father figure. He teaches us lessons about life. He teaches us to have integrity, to have character. He prepares us to be men."
All-Pac-10 linebacker Desmond Bishop