Report: Utah Valley’s Mark Madsen Leading Candidate For Pac-12 Job
Mar 26, 2023, 5:16 PM | Updated: 5:33 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Valley men’s basketball head coach Mark Madsen “has emerged” as one of the leading candidates to become the next head coach of the Pac-12 Conference’s California Bears, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
The college basketball insider reported the news on Sunday, March 26.
“Sources: Utah Valley’s Mark Madsen has emerged as a leading candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Cal,” Rothstein tweeted. “Madsen has won a combined 48 games in the past two seasons at Utah Valley.”
Madsen has served as the Wolverines’ head coach since 2019.
Earlier in March, Cal fired Mark Fox after four seasons as the Bears’ head coach. The Bears posted a 3-29 record for the 2022-23 season.
Sources: Utah Valley's Mark Madsen has emerged as a leading candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Cal.
Madsen has won a combined 48 games in the past two seasons at Utah Valley.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2023
Madsen, 47, is a native of Walnut Creek, California. He attended San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California, and played college basketball in Northern California at Stanford.
The University of California, Berkeley is about a 24-minute drive from Walnut Creek.
Following Madsen’s college career with the Cardinal, the forward was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. Madsen played for the Lakers until 2003. During his time in Los Angeles, Madsen helped the Lakers win a pair of NBA titles. In 2003, the forward joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. Madsen played in Minnesota until 2009. Following his time with the T-Wolves, Madsen entered the coaching world.
Madsen’s first job came with the NBA D-League’s Utah Flash. Before taking the Utah Valley job, Madsen coached at Stanford and with the Lakers. He was head coach of the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders in 2013.
Under Madsen, the Utah Valley has won two Western Athletic Conference regular season titles (2021 & 2023).
This season, Madsen has led UVU to a 28-8 record and a spot in the NIT semifinals. Madsen was recently named the WAC Coach of the Year. During his four seasons at UVU, Madsen has a 70-50 overall recording, including 39-25 in league play.
RELATED: Utah Valley Men’s Basketball Advances To NIT Final Four
Utah Valley’s semifinal game is against the UAB Blazers on Tuesday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. (MDT). The game will be televised on ESPN2.
