Berkeley, CA (Sports Network) - Former Stanford and Golden State Warriors head coach Mike Montgomery was introduced as the California Golden Bears' head men's basketball coach on Saturday.

Director of athletics Sandy Barbour announced the hiring with great excitement for the program's future.

"I'm excited that the University of California has secure someone with Mike's character, professional reputation and a proven track record of winning at the collegiate level," said Barbour.

Montgomery spent 18 seasons at Stanford, one of Cal's fiercest rivals, and guided the Cardinal to a 393-167 record, becoming the school's all-time winningest coach. A four-time Pac-10 coach of the year, Montgomery led the Cardinal to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and to the 1998 Final Four. Stanford won four regular-season Pac-10 titles, and one Pac-10 tournament under his watch.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for me," said Montgomery. "I started missing coaching. The TV stuff for me pointed out that I miss it more than I thought I did. It's what I do; it's what I do best."

Montgomery left Stanford in 2004 to coach the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, where he was fired after consecutive 34-48 finishes. He took a position as an assistant to the athletics director at Stanford last August.

"I'm excited," said Montgomery. "My family is excited. Everyone I've talked to that I consider to be good friends are really excited for me."

He replaces Ben Braun at Cal, who was fired last week after 12 seasons at the school. The Golden Bears went 219-154 under Braun, but only made five NCAA Tournament appearances in his 12 years, and only one in the last five seasons. Cal went 17-16 this season, only 6-12 in the Pac-10, and lost to Ohio State in the second round of the NIT.