3,000+
Transfer Portal Chaos
Players enter the portal annually, leaving programs scrambling and careers interrupted. Retention now depends on relationships, not just recruiting budgets.
01 / Volatility
Teddy's Bears was built by 400+ players from the Coach Jeff Tedford era to help support past, present and future Cal football players for life beyond the game.
The game has shifted under our feet. A new era demands a new kind of support system, one built by players, for players.
Players enter the portal annually, leaving programs scrambling and careers interrupted. Retention now depends on relationships, not just recruiting budgets.
Players are navigating contracts, brand deals, and financial decisions at 19, often without experienced mentors who have stood where they stand.
For nearly every player, football ends on a college field. Their next 50 years deserve the same preparation as their next play.
A comprehensive support system led by 400+ Tedford-era alumni, across three pillars that meet a player at every stage of the journey.
400+ former players across every industry imaginable; finance, medicine, media, tech, law, construction, coaching. A ready-made professional family, one introduction away to support one another, the University, and Cal football.
A structured program that walks alongside players from freshman year through transition, Rookie Symposium, dedicated mentorship, career services, and professional-skills training.
Recruiting and retention through relationships. The Cal brotherhood is activated during recruiting and extends well beyond when a player's time at Cal ends. This is the network effect in action.
The relationships you build here, from hard work and dedication with one another, will last a lifetime.
A four-year development journey, and a lifetime of network access.
Rookie Symposium. Mentors matched across career tracks of interest.
Summer internships and career exploration inside the alumni network.
Leadership development and professional skills, résumés, interviews, finance.
Job placement and transition support, whether the NFL or a new career.
Lifetime network access, the family doesn't graduate.
Three ways to build the network. All three start the same way, with a step forward.
Your name on the charter. Lifetime benefits. The people who put this on the map.
Steady support for the ongoing program. Renew each year, stay in the fold.
Volunteer your time and your expertise. The most valuable currency we have is each other.
My mentor walked me through every step of signing my first contract, things my family couldn't have known. That's the kind of backstop every Cal player deserves.
Somebody did this for me when I was 19. Mentoring the next wave isn't charity, it's how you say thank you. Once a Bear, always a Bear.
The mentor network gave me a playbook for life after football: first interview prep, first apartment lease, first real investment. It wasn't charity, it was family.
Former players who lived the Tedford system, and are building what comes next.
Join 400+ Tedford-era alumni building the network and support system that prepares players for life beyond the game.