Former Cal Offensive Lineman Became Key Member Of Cal Administration
BERKELEY – Mark Stephens [Chi Psi, Delta Delta Chapter], an offensive lineman for the California football team from 1981-85, is the recipient of the 2024 Glenn Seaborg Award and will be honored during the Golden Bears’ football game against Miami on Oct. 5 at California Memorial Stadium.
Named in honor of the Nobel Laureate and former UC Berkeley chancellor, the Seaborg Award is presented annually to a former Cal football player for his career accomplishments and who represents the honored Cal principles and traditions of excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and attitude.
Not only did Stephens have an extremely successful career on the field as a left guard and tackle on the Bears’ football team, he went on to have a major impact during his tenure within the Cal Athletics administration.
It didn’t take long for Stephens to make an impression as a player – he got his first start as a redshirt freshman in 1982. By his senior year he was voted by his teammates as one of three captains on the team, earned Second Team All-Pac-10 honors and was the recipient of the Pac-10 Medal, given annually to each conference member institution’s outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.
“I am humbled and honored to join a list of football Bears for whom I have so much respect,” Stephens said. “Being a part of the Cal football family has marked my life in an incredibly positive way. Thus, since the day I graduated in 1985, it has been my goal to find any way I can to support Cal football.”
Stephens played in many games during his career, but there are two games that he will remember forever.
“Being part of the 1982 team which culminated with winning the Big Game with ‘The Play’ is something none of us will ever forget,” Stephens said. “As an L.A. kid, I also cherish beating USC as a senior captain at Memorial Stadium in 1985, the first time we had beaten them since 1977.”
After finishing his career with the Bears, Stephens was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1986 but had to leave the sport a year later due to a neck injury. After that, he spent a few years on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs before beginning his second chapter with Cal.
Steve Gladstone was the athletic director at Cal and was looking to bring someone on with a financial and business background that could help run operations within the department. Knowing his accomplishments as a Cal athlete as well as within the business world, Gladstone reached out to Stephens and brought him on board.
Stephens held multiple positions within Cal Athletics, most notably as Executive Associate Athletic Director/Chief Operating Officer from 2001-2005. Stephens was also one of the founding board members of the Cameron Institute – a one-of-a-kind student-athlete development center on campus that aims to helps student-athletes perform to their full potential while at Cal.
While he accomplished a lot during his tenure within the Cal Athletics administration, he is most proud of the effect he had on the school’s football program.
“I believe our most substantial accomplishment was to debunk the myth that you couldn’t win at Cal,” Stephens said. “Football was a good example. We won one game in 2001. Six months into our tenure, we hired Jeff Tedford as our new football coach. In the following five years, Cal football won 7, 8, 10, 8 and 10 games.”
After leaving Cal in 2005, Stephens became the Executive Director at the law firm of Gordon & Rees – founded by one of Cal’s biggest supporters, Stu Gordon, where he still works. He credits his time at Cal with his success at the law firm.
“While athletics and the law seem quite different, the core principles of how you run a successful organization are basically identical,” he said.
