In April 2011, Gottlieb's mentor, Joanne Boyle, left the University of California for the head coach job at the University of Virginia.
On April 25, 2011, Gottlieb returned to Berkeley as the head coach of the Golden Bears.
 Gottlieb inherited a very talented, but young team, which had ended the 2010–11 season losing seven of their last eight games.

Gottlieb's first team at California had no seniors, and started freshmen at point guard and forward.
The Bears played a schedule filled with ranked teams, and they suffered tough losses by three points or less to #12 Ohio State, #16 Rutgers, and #24 Texas.
They also took #4 Stanford to overtime on the road, before falling 74-71.
 They did pull off a 59-50 upset of #22 Virginia and their former coach Joanne Boyle.
But Gottlieb's team came back after every tough loss to win.
Their play was marked by dominance in rebounding, particularly on the offensive boards.
The Bears ended the 2011–12 season with a record of 25-10.
Their 13-5 record in conference play put them in second place in the Pac-12 Conference.
California was invited the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009, as an 8 seed.
In the first round the Bears beat 9-seed Iowa, 84-74.
In the second round they faced 1 seed Notre Dame on the Irish home floor.
The Bears played Notre Dame to a 31-31 tie at the half, but the Irish pulled away in the second half, winning 73-62.

With almost the entire team returning for the 2012–13 season, expectations were high, and the Bears were ranked #13 in the AP pre-season poll, their highest ranking since 2009.
The Bears more than lived up to the expectations, compiling a 32-4 season record, and ending the regular season with a #6 ranking.
The highlight of the regular season was a 67-55 road victory over arch-rival and perennial women's basketball power #4 ranked Stanford.
Cal's victory broke an 81-game conference winning streak for the Cardinal.
Gottlieb led the Bears to a 17-1 conference record, making them Pac-12 Conference co-Champions—the first conference championship in California Women's Basketball history.
The Bears earned a second seed in the NCAA tournament, the Bears' highest tournament seed ever.
They defeated Fresno State 90-76 in the first round, and downed South Florida in overtime to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for only the second time in school history.
The Bears beat LSU to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time, and then earned their first trip to the Final Four trip with a thrilling 65-62 overtime victory over Andy Landers' Georgia Bulldogs at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA.
 A tough loss to Louisville in the national semifinal game concluded the team's extraordinary season.
 "What I said to our team in the locker room is that we can be disappointed about a half a basketball that we wish we had back.
We could be disappointed to not be playing on Tuesday night," Gottlieb said. "
But I'm going to think about that for two minutes, and for the next 10,000 minutes I'm going to think about what this group did for the University of California."

In addition to their outstanding success on the court, Gottlieb's 2012–13 California team became nationally known as a team that had fun, while also keeping focus.
Senior leader Layshia Clarendon cut her hair into what became a trademark mohawk, and the team wrote, produced, and starred in their own music video, "Started from the Bottom."
Coach Gottlieb explained: "My philosophy in general is that college athletics should be an enjoyable experience for the people involved in it.
I think you have to embrace this team's nature of being fun-loving.
You have to empower them to enjoy the experience.
I can do that because I'm so confident in their focus.
They're creative, and they're smart kids.
If anything, I think that when they're happier and enjoying it, they're more likely to play hard and play well."

Gottlieb's tenure at California has also been notable for her embrace of the internet and social media as tools for reaching out to athletes, fans, and the media.
Gottlieb and her coaching staff are very active on Twitter.
An
In April 2011, Gottlieb's mentor, Joanne Boyle, left the University of California for the head coach job at the University of Virginia. On April 25, 2011, Gottlieb returned to Berkeley as the head coach of the Golden Bears.  Gottlieb inherited a very talented, but young team, which had ended the 2010–11 season losing seven of their last eight games.
Gottlieb's first team at California had no seniors, and started freshmen at point guard and forward. The Bears played a schedule filled with ranked teams, and they suffered tough losses by three points or less to #12 Ohio State, #16 Rutgers, and #24 Texas. They also took #4 Stanford to overtime on the road, before falling 74-71.  They did pull off a 59-50 upset of #22 Virginia and their former coach Joanne Boyle. But Gottlieb's team came back after every tough loss to win. Their play was marked by dominance in rebounding, particularly on the offensive boards. The Bears ended the 2011–12 season with a record of 25-10. Their 13-5 record in conference play put them in second place in the Pac-12 Conference. California was invited the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009, as an 8 seed. In the first round the Bears beat 9-seed Iowa, 84-74. In the second round they faced 1 seed Notre Dame on the Irish home floor. The Bears played Notre Dame to a 31-31 tie at the half, but the Irish pulled away in the second half, winning 73-62.
With almost the entire team returning for the 2012–13 season, expectations were high, and the Bears were ranked #13 in the AP pre-season poll, their highest ranking since 2009. The Bears more than lived up to the expectations, compiling a 32-4 season record, and ending the regular season with a #6 ranking. The highlight of the regular season was a 67-55 road victory over arch-rival and perennial women's basketball power #4 ranked Stanford. Cal's victory broke an 81-game conference winning streak for the Cardinal. Gottlieb led the Bears to a 17-1 conference record, making them Pac-12 Conference co-Champions—the first conference championship in California Women's Basketball history. The Bears earned a second seed in the NCAA tournament, the Bears' highest tournament seed ever. They defeated Fresno State 90-76 in the first round, and downed South Florida in overtime to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for only the second time in school history. The Bears beat LSU to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time, and then earned their first trip to the Final Four trip with a thrilling 65-62 overtime victory over Andy Landers' Georgia Bulldogs at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA.  A tough loss to Louisville in the national semifinal game concluded the team's extraordinary season.  "What I said to our team in the locker room is that we can be disappointed about a half a basketball that we wish we had back. We could be disappointed to not be playing on Tuesday night," Gottlieb said. "But I'm going to think about that for two minutes, and for the next 10,000 minutes I'm going to think about what this group did for the University of California."
In addition to their outstanding success on the court, Gottlieb's 2012–13 California team became nationally known as a team that had fun, while also keeping focus. Senior leader Layshia Clarendon cut her hair into what became a trademark mohawk, and the team wrote, produced, and starred in their own music video, "Started from the Bottom." Coach Gottlieb explained: "My philosophy in general is that college athletics should be an enjoyable experience for the people involved in it. I think you have to embrace this team's nature of being fun-loving. You have to empower them to enjoy the experience. I can do that because I'm so confident in their focus. They're creative, and they're smart kids. If anything, I think that when they're happier and enjoying it, they're more likely to play hard and play well."
Gottlieb's tenure at California has also been notable for her embrace of the internet and social media as tools for reaching out to athletes, fans, and the media. Gottlieb and her coaching staff are very active on Twitter. An
Lindsay Gottlieb