Dec. 6, 2012

Sonny Dykes Introduction Coverage Press Conference: Complete | Highlights | Transcript | Player Quotes Welcome | Dykes Interview | Players Interviews | Photo Gallery Cal Football 2013 Season Ticket Renewals | Merchandise | Latest News Twitter @CalFootball Connect With Cal Facebook | Twitter | YouTube Media Coverage • New Cal football coach Sonny Dykes talks Rose Bowl goal - Bay Area News Group • Sonny Dykes vows to rebuild Cal - Associated Press • Cal introduces head coach Sonny Dykes - San Francisco Chronicle • Dykes' arrival marks new chapter in Cal football history - Daily Cal • Dykes has 'Rose Bowl Goal' for Cal football - CSN Bay Area • Dykes Brings Explosive Offense to Berkeley - CSN Bay Area • Dykes, Cal off to a promising start - Pac-12.com • Cal Welcomes New Coach - Pac-12.com • Cal's New football coach brings element of surprise on all four downs - Pac-12.com • Sandy Barbour speaks to media on Sonny Dykes hire - Pac-12.com • Dykes talks defense, among other topics - ESPN.com Pac-12 Blog • Cal hires Sonny Dykes from La. Tech - ESPN • Poole: California Golden Bears A.D. Sandy Barbour takes risk by hiring Sonny Dykes as new football coach - Bay Area News Group • News in Photos - Bay Area News Group • With Sonny Dykes, Cal Football Dares to be Bold - Pacific Takes • What Sonny Dykes' Twitter account says about new Cal football coach - San Francisco Business Times • Sonny Dykes Says His Chief Task is to 'Hire The Best Defensive Coordinator I Can Find' - California Golden Blogs • CSN Bay Area - Dykes has 'Rose Bowl Goal' for Cal football • Dykes should be good fit for Cal - Rivals.com Football Recruiting • Dykes Sees Opportunity to Sign 'One of the Better' Recruiting Classes Cal Has Had - Rivals.com

BERKELEY - Sonny Dykes was introduced as the Cal head football coach during a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Memorial Stadium Field Club.

"I just want to start by saying, first of all, I can't really begin to say how special it is to be standing here today as the head coach at Cal," Dykes said in his opening statement to a gathering that included media and a wide range of people from the campus community. "I'm truly blown away. I've been in this profession a long time. I've seen a lot of these jobs that have come open, things have happened. There were a lot of great jobs open this year, and this is the one that I was interested in from day one because of the great traditions at Cal, the great challenges that Cal has, but the great resources that Cal has as well."

Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour and Vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance John Wilton also spoke at the event.

"He is committed to student athletes and their success in all facets of their lives, what their lives can be and will become," Barbour said of Cal's new head football coach. "He embraces and has sought out the challenges of an academically rigorous institution and all that comes with it. He had several opportunities to skirt that challenge, but he persisted in his pursuit of the Cal job with all the determination and resilience that I know he will apply to his leadership role with Cal football."

"I couldn't be more thrilled and happy to kick this press conference off and welcome our new football coach, Sonny Dykes," Wilton offered. "I wanted to say that both myself and the chancellor were directly involved in the selection process, in advising Sandy, in making this choice. We were really privileged to have an absolutely wonderful roster of potential candidates. We were lucky to be able to get our first choice in that pool of candidates."

Dykes, 43, brings 18 years of collegiate coaching experience to Berkeley. He spent the past three seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech, where he compiled a 22-15 record and won 16 of 17 regular season games during one stretch over the 2011 and '12 seasons. This past year, Dykes guided Louisiana Tech to a 9-3 mark and reached as high as No. 18 in the USA Today Poll and No. 19 in the AP Top 25 after jumping out to a 9-1 start.

During his years at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La., Dykes engineered a turnaround for the program that improved all three seasons under his leadership. The Bulldogs were 4-8 the year before he arrived in 2009, then proceeded to finish 5-7, 8-5 and 9-3 in successive campaigns. In 2011, Louisiana Tech started just 1-4, and then won seven consecutive games to clinch the Western Athletic Conference title - the team's first conference championship in a decade - and a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl. Dykes was named the WAC Coach of the Year for the effort.

Dykes, the son of former longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, boasts a resume that includes additional stops in the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC where he served under such head coaches as Mike Stoops (Arizona), Mike Leach (Texas Tech) and Hal Mumme (Kentucky).

Born in Big Spring, Texas, and a 1993 graduate of Texas Tech with a degree in history, Dykes lettered in three years for the Red Raider baseball team. He is married to the former Kate Golding and they have two daughters, Alta (Ally) and Charlotte (Charlie).

Details on a contract with the University are still being finalized and are not available at this time. As part of normal policy, the contract will be released once it is approved by the UC Board of Regents.