Details Sparse on Cal's Long-Term Plan for Athletic Director

Cal Chancellor Rich Lyons announced Monday that current deputy athletic directors Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O’Neill will be new co-directors of the department in the wake of Jim Knowlton’s retirement.

The athletic department’s news release said Lyons “will use this period of transition to put in place a new leadership structure.”

Details are sparse, but it's been clear for some time that Lyons will put his imprint on this and that he is expecting results.

There is no immediate word on whether Larson and Simon-O’Neill will serve permanently as co-directors or merely as interim ADs.

We don't know how they will share duties, whether one will oversee men’s sports and other women’s programs or exactly how their assignments will be structured.

Given the emphasis on improving football success, will someone be dedicated primarily to that goal?

More details on how the AD position functions will be announced later this summer, a department spokesperson said.

Larson and Simon-O’Neill are veterans of the Cal athletic department.

Here’s what we know about each: 

Larson has worked at Cal since 2015 and currently “provides oversight for all aspects of the Athletics Department and leads the Department’s Executive Team and Director’s Cabinet,” according to his Call biography.

He has been the sport administrator for football since 2018.

Larson also was a key figure in helping to secure a $12.5 million gift to the department and has worked closely on key issues in the changing college sports landscape, including transfer portal, Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) legislation, and the House Settlement. He also developed the department’s model for revenue sharing with student-athletes, which goes into effect next fall.  

 

During his time at Cal, the Bears have won 17 national championships and their graduation success rate (GSR) has improved from 78 percent to 93 percent.

Larson graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he also played basketball. He earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was a managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review. Larson is a member of the Minnesota State Bar.  

His previous athletic administration experience includes stops at San Diego State and Minnesota. Here is Larson’s full Cal bio. 

Simon-O’Neill came aboard at Cal in 2008 and served through 2012 as director of Olympics sports operation. In 2014 she was named Senior Women’s Administrator and in 2019 added Chief of Staff duties. Simon-O’Neill became Deputy Athletics Director in 2024.

Most recently, she has worked as sports administrator for men’s basketball, women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s rowing. She has directly overseen 17 of Cal’s 30 sports since arriving on campus.

A native of Berkeley, Simon-O’Neill is the daughter of a former long-time Cal faculty member. She graduated in 2002 from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she was a rower. She later earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Click here for Simon-O’Neill’s full bio.

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