There is “in principle,” and then there is whatever the California Golden Bears are doing with Tosh Lupoi. The ACC program hired him on Dec. 4, 2025, bringing the former Cal DL and Oregon DC back to Berkeley as the program’s new head coach. Nearly 10 months later, though, the paperwork still hasn’t crossed the finish line.
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That detail came to light Friday morning when Matt Brown, founder of Extra Points, reported that Cal informed him the school and Tosh Lupoi “STILL have not yet finalized a contract or term sheet.”
“I know the UC system moves slowly on everything, but STILL,” he added. “That’s weird!”
That slow pace is not just random bad luck. In the University of California system, high-paying sports contracts cannot be signed off by just the athletic department. Big-money deals have to go through system-wide legal reviews, campus compliance officers, and often the UC Office of the President or Board of Regents for final approval.
When a school hires a coach, the basic sports terms get agreed upon quickly, but the actual administrative machinery takes months to clear every legal hurdle. Cal is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in ACC play heading into Friday night’s home game against Clemson.
When Cal announced Tosh Lupoi, reports said the sides had agreed in principle to a five-year deal. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported at the time that the head coach had agreed to the five-year arrangement, while the school officially announced him as the 35th head coach in program history on Dec. 4. The contract, however, is still pending.
There is some history here, which makes Tosh Lupoi’s situation less shocking than it first sounds. Cal went through a similar process with GM Ron Rivera. He was hired in March 2025 and spent roughly 15 months working under an interim arrangement before his three-year contract was finally signed in June 2026.
That agreement was retroactive to March 2025 and runs through March 2028. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, Ron Rivera receives $800,000 annually, $250,000 in base salary and a $550,000 talent fee. There’s also the possibility of another $800,000 in performance bonuses tied to Cal’s win total. In other words, Cal has already demonstrated that “we’ll get the paperwork done eventually” is not a theoretical concept.
That makes Tosh Lupoi’s situation easier to understand, even if it remains bizarre. Then there is the money side of the story. Cal Athletics reported an operating deficit of over $24 million for the 2024-25 year, even with extra financial help from UCLA and the UC system. That massive debt does not mean Cal cannot pay Lupoi, but it changes how the legal paperwork gets handled.
When a department is losing tens of millions of dollars, every long-term financial commitment gets pushed through extra budget audits and administrative reviews. The deficit is not stopping the deal, but it forces university lawyers to move twice as slowly before putting official ink on paper.
Tosh Lupoi has a football team to run while the paperwork waits
Tosh Lupoi returned to Berkeley after four seasons running Oregon’s defense and brought plenty of history with him. He played DL for Cal from 2000 to 2005 and later coached the Bears’ DL from 2008 to 2011. He also spent time at Washington, Alabama, and in the NFL before returning to his alma mater. Now he has his alma mater moving in the right direction early in 2026.
Cal opened with a 45-24 loss to UCLA, bounced back with a 21-18 ACC win at Syracuse, and then hammered Wagner 49-7. That Week 3 game was particularly loud. The Golden Bears piled up 626 yards, scored 29 points in the first quarter, and did not punt once. QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 27 of 33 passes for a career-high 413 yards and three touchdowns.
That gives Tosh Lupoi a 2-1 record heading into a much different test. Clemson arrives Friday night with the same 2-1 overall and 1-0 ACC record. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT at California Memorial Stadium and will air on ESPN.
In modern college football, head coaches usually do not step onto the field without every single legal detail stamped and secured. Cal seems content to run its athletic department on trust and delayed paperwork. For now, Lupoi keeps winning games and building his program. But as long as the contract stays unsigned, it remains one of the most unusual administrative stories in the ACC.