18 Facts About Jim Knowlton

Previously, Jim Knowlton served as the athletic director for the United States Air Force Academy and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Originally from Burlington, Massachusetts, Jim Knowlton graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1982, where he studied engineering and played on the Army Black Knights men's ice hockey team.

Jim Knowlton then served in the United States Army, rising to commander and later assistant director at the Army Corps of Engineers.

Jim Knowlton later was athletics director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2008 to 2015 and the US Air Force Academy from 2015 to 2018.

Jim Knowlton grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts, and graduated from Austin Preparatory School in 1978.

Jim Knowlton completed a bachelor's degree in engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1982.

In 1994, Jim Knowlton attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College, after which he returned to active Army duty as assistant division engineer and operations officer for the 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division.

Jim Knowlton followed that assignment with a stint as joint exercise branch chief for Air Force Space Command and deploying to Iraq.

From 2003 to 2006, Jim Knowlton was deputy athletic director for the Army Black Knights athletic programs of his alma mater United States Military Academy.

Jim Knowlton stepped down from that position in 2006 to direct the Center for Enhanced Performance on campus.

In 2008, Jim Knowlton became athletic director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an NCAA Division III school.

Jim Knowlton was named athletic director at the University of California, Berkeley on April 9,2018.

Jim Knowlton received the extension following his decision to give head football coach Justin Wilcox an extension through the 2023 season, his decision to hire Mark Fox as head men's basketball coach, and his decision to hire Charmin Smith as head women's basketball coach.

In May 2022, Jim Knowlton was cited as having been dismissive of complaints against Cal head women's swim coach Teri McKeever, who was accused by current and former Cal swimmers of bullying, verbal, and emotional abuse.

In June 2022, Jim Knowlton received more pushback for telling current Cal swimmers and their families that the investigation into McKeever could take six months.

Jim Knowlton responded to this pushback saying he shares the concerns of the swimmers and their families.

On March 29,2023, Jim Knowlton announced the hiring of Mark Madsen as the new head men's basketball coach at Cal.

Madsen replaced Mark Fox, whom Jim Knowlton hired four years earlier.