Steve Desimone Position: Head Coach Experience: 33rd Season at Cal Alma Mater: California '70

Head coach Steve Desimone is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Cal men's golf team in 2010-11 and has led his Golden Bears back to the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season and seventh time in school history.

The rejuvenation of the program that began a few years ago displayed solid results in 2009-10 with a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Championship and has qualified again in 2010-11. The Bears tied for third place at the NCAA San Diego Regional in 2009-10 and finished alone in third at the NCAA Tucson Regional in 2010-11. Cal has made five consecutive NCAA Regional appearances from 2007-11 as the program rebuilds steam.

The Bears have had a strong 2010-11 season to this point, reaching as high as No. 13 in the national polls and equaling a school record with three regular-season tournament wins (The Prestige at PGA WEST, Alister MacKenzie Invitational, John A. Burns Intercollegiate) in their 11 regular-season events, before moving up a spot from the previous season to take fifth at the Pac-10 Championship. All told, Cal has eight top-five team finishes over its 13 events in 2010-11, adding third-place finishes at the NCAA Arizona Regional, Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters and Windon Memorial Classic, and tying for fifth at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.

The 2010-11 season has featured all five regulars in the Bears' lineup posting stroke averages under 73.0 heading into the NCAA Championship. Four of the five have had significant individual accomplishments. Stephen Hale leads the squad with a 71.6 stroke average and five top-10 finishes as well as his best showing at both the Pac-10 Championship and NCAA Regional. Max Homa has the second-lowest stroke average at 72.1 and was an individual medalist for the first time in his collegiate career at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate before falling in a playoff. Eric Mina is third on the squad at 72.4 and became the first Cal player to ever have back-to-back top-10 showings at the Pac-10 Championship, tying for sixth after his victory in 2009-10. Ben An is fourth at 72.6 and has a team-high six top-10 showings, including tying for fourth in his post-season debut at the Arizona Regional. Michael Weaver is fifth at 72.9.

The 2010 calendar year was a banner year for Desimone that was capped when he was one of seven members of the class of 2010 inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame during the Reception and Awards Banquet at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on December 6.

Desimone's 2009-10 Cal squad was his best since the Golden Bears won the 2004 NCAA title as Cal returned to the NCAA Championship for the first time since winning the crown for the only time in school history six seasons earlier.

Several individuals also had great accomplishments in 2009-10, highlighted by the Pac-10 individual medalist honors won by Eric Mina as he is one of only two Cal men's golfer to win the event in its 52-year history. Mina also won at the Spartan Golf Classic, while Stephen Hale captured the Alister MacKenzie Invitational. Michael Weaver became the first Cal player to finish in the top 10 at both the Pac-10 Championship and NCAA Regionals, tying for sixth and taking eighth, respectively.

The team's momentum continued into 2010 summer amateur events and then into the 2010-11 campaign. The six Bears - An, Jamie Coré, Homa, John Murphy, Ben Mangum and Mina - that qualified for the U.S. Amateur last August were a Cal record and more than any other school in the country. An, who had become the event's youngest winner ever at the age of 17 in 2009, reached the 2010 semifinals while attempting to defend his title. Homa made the quarterfinals before falling to eventual teammate An.

Desimone and his 2004 team came away with the ultimate prize of the NCAA men's golf championship in 2004. The season was magical for Desimone as the veteran coach was able to orchestrate one of the greatest stories in the history of NCAA golf. Cal came from eight strokes behind UCLA on the final day of competition to win the national title by six strokes over the Bruins. It was the culmination of a season in which the Bears had to overcome several injuries but were able to play their best golf when it counted the most. As a result of his team's impressive accomplishment, Desimone was named Golfweek's Collegiate Coach of the Year, and was honored as 2004 Grand Master of the Year by the Northern California Golf Association.

The Bears' program has made tremendous strides since Desimone became the head coach in the spring of 1980, going from a club sport to one of the elite collegiate golf programs in the country with over 35 tournament titles under Desimone's leadership. In addition to winning the NCAA crown in 2004, Cal has competed in 16 NCAA Regionals (1990, '93, '95, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '07, '08, '09, '10 , '11) and qualified for seven NCAA Championships (1995, `98, `99, 2000, '04, `10, '11).

Desimone graduated from Cal in 1970 after playing for the men's basketball team for the Bears as an undergraduate. He then served in the United States military before returning to Cal to complete a double major in history and physical education, while also earning his master's degree in Physical Education. After graduating from Cal, Desimone left Berkeley to become the Director of Athletics at the College Preparatory School in Oakland where he remained until 1988. Desimone returned to Cal in 1980 as the men's golf head coach, and shared responsibilities with both jobs until 1988, when he joined Cal on a full-time basis.

When Desimone came aboard as head coach in the fall of 1979 he was taking over a program which had lost its varsity status following the previous season. But he was intent returning the program to varsity status and taking the program to a higher level. Among the first steps was the formation of the Cal Golf Committee in 1980, the primary support group for the golf team, which helped return the program to varsity status in 1982. Soon after, Desimone began crafting Cal into the nationally respected golf program it has become today. In addition to developing a winning program, eight All-Americans (Dan Arroyo, Ben Furth, Jeff Hood, Garrett Larson, Han Lee, Eric Mina, Peter Tomasulo, Charlie Wi) have earned nine All-American honors, with Tomasulo picking up the honor twice. Ten All-America Scholars (Bill Albers, Dan Coyle, Walter Chun, Scott Carlyle, Furth, George Gandranata, Stephen Hale, John Murphy, Tomasulo, Michael Wilson) have picked up 15 awards, with the repeat selections Chun, Carlyle, Furth, Tomasulo and Wilson. Carlyle was also selected a first-team Academic All-American in 2004.

By 1986-87, Desimone had Cal ranked among the top-25 teams in the nation for the first time in the history of the program. One outstanding performance that season was a dramatic comeback at San Diego State's Frank Scott Memorial Tournament. Trailing fourth-ranked Fresno State by 17 shots going into the final round, the Bears rallied to win their first major championship in 17 years. Cal's success that season helped Desimone win Pac-10 Conference Co-Coach of the Year.

During the outstanding 1989-90 season, Desimone brought the Bears golf program to an unprecedented level. The team earned its first berth in the NCAA Championship in 26 seasons. Cal competed in the 1964 NCAA Championship, but didn't earn its first actual berth until 1990, two years after the NCAA switched to a selection/qualifying format. Cal played in 13 tournaments that year, placing among the top 10 in all but two, including three team titles and a tie for third place at the Pac-10 Championship. In addition, the Bears were ranked among the top-25 teams in the nation throughout the season. Furth, the school's first All-American in men's golf and a member of the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, was a major contributor to the Bears' success that year.

The following season came to a disappointing conclusion for Desimone and the Bears. A career-ending back injury to Furth brought to an end the hope that 1990-91 would surpass Cal's great season the preceding year. Off the course, however, another important step in the rebuilding of Cal Golf was undertaken. With the generous support of the Cal Golf Committee, a minimal amount of financial aid was offered to incoming student-athletes for the first time in 15 years. This was a critical step because it finally demonstrated the Bears were committed to competing nationally in all respects.

The 1994-95 season stands as the second best in the history of Cal golf. The Bears finished second to Arizona State at the Pac-10 Championship, being selected for their third NCAA Regional berth in six years. Cal came up with a sixth-place showing at an NCAA Regional hosted by New Mexico in Albuquerque to qualify for the NCAA Championship and then was sixth again at the national event hosted by Ohio State in Columbus. Wi led the way as Cal's first Pac-10 individual champion and a first-team All-American.

Wi is currently in his sixth year on the PGA Tour in 2011, while Tomasulo is in his second.

Desimone is the former Manager of the University of California Golf Club, a 130-member Associate Club of the Northern California Golf Association, and a former member of the Ping Advisory Committee for college golf. He has served twice on the NCAA Pacific Region Selection Committee for the NCAA Western Regional (1991-93, 2002-04) and also served on the campus-wide NCAA Self-Certification Committee in the mid-90s.

Desimone lives in Orinda with his wife, Linda. They couple has two children. Kim graduated in 2006 from Cal Poly and is now working in special events for the Reno Aces, the AAA affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Robert, a 2008 graduate of Northern Michigan, is the promotions director for Academy Sports + Outdoors in Houston.

NCAA Championships
1995 - 6th
1998 - 15th
1999 - 16th
2000 - 17th
2004 - National Champions
2010 - 23rd
2011 - Qualified

NCAA Regionals
1990
1993
1995
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011

LAST UPDATED: May 23, 2011