Kravitz Named Athletic Director at Cal High

Dave Kravitz, who recently joined the football coaching staff at California High, has been named the school's athletic director Principal Mark Corti announced Wednesday.

The job became available when Eileen Mantz stepped down last week after one year, citing the need to devote more time to her role as the school's leadership teacher.

Kravitz spent 12 years as an assistant athletic director at San Ramon Valley High under John Raynor, where he was a teacher for 18 years and the football coach for 17.

In addition to his responsibilities as the athletic director, Kravitz will teach two periods of social studies and serve an additional period as a teacher on special assignment.

"In the 12 years I was the assistant A.D. at San Ramon Valley, I loved doing the job and working with John Raynor," Kravitz said. "I was looking for a new challenge when the assistant coaching job came into play and when I discovered (Mantz) decided to step down it piqued my interest as well."

Kravitz and Corti have a relationship that dates back to when Corti was an assistant principal at San Ramon Valley before being named the principal at Cal in 1999.

"Having had two kids go to Cal, knowing (Corti) and knowing a lot about Cal really got me excited about pursing the posisition," Kravitz said. "I'll definitely miss SRV. I have a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends that are there, but I'm looking forward to meeting new people and establishing new relationships."

Corti was happy to make the announcement.

"He brings a tremendous amount of experience in a variety of roles," Corti said. "He's highly respected in our community. People know him not only as a coach, but as a parent who had kids go to school here."

In Mantz's lone year in the post, the athletic program was among the most successful in the North Coast Section with 21 of 24 teams qualifying for the postseason.

"I'm very proud of our athletic department and will miss working with the coaches on a regular basis," Mantz said. "I'll still be very supportive of all our teams, but will have more time to spend on leadership."

In 17 years as the head coach at San Ramon Valley, Kravitz compiled a 123-63-5 record, qualified for the North Coast Section playoffs 12 times and won NCS titles in 2004 and 2007. During his tenure, the Wolves had just one losing season and made the playoffs in each of his last nine seasons.

He said moving to Cal should be a seamless transition.

"It's a strong athletic program and a strong academic school," he said. "I'm very excited to be a part of the program and doing what I can to help keep it on track and in the right direction."

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