California Golden Bears football

19th century University of California fielded its first American Football team in 1882. In 1899, coached by Princeton alumni Garrett Cochran, Cal played a home game against future legend Pop Warner and the emerging power of that period the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Warner took up Cochran's challenge that his undefeated team could beat any East Coast opponent. The game took place in San Francisco on Christmas Day of that year. Even though Carlisle dominated the majority of its season's opponents, it could only beat Cal 0–2, via a second-half safety. It was after that match that Cal became considered a worthy opponent to the East Coast teams. . The 1912 edition would be nicknamed the mud game In 1905, there were 18 deaths reported as being caused by the play on the field. The next year, numerous rule changes were agreed upon by the majority of American schools. Berkeley, Stanford, along with other West Coast institutions decided to go in another direction, switching their primary sport to rugby, a sport they considered to be less dangerous. During those years, California wielded dominant teams, however the Bears were able to beat Stanford only three times. In 1915, due to various causes, including students frustration with those results, the university along with other west coast teams decided to return to American football. From 1920 to 1925, The Wonder Teams went 50 straight games without defeat, made three trips to the Rose Bowl, and won four NCAA recognized national titles - 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923. In January 1926, Andy Smith died at 42 years old, dying from pneumonia. His death was unexpected and traumatic for the team and the whole university. His overall Cal record was 74–16–7. Both teams were undefeated, with the 1928 team being invited to the 1929 Rose Bowl to play against Georgia Tech. An event in this game has become considered one of the stand-out moments in Rose Bowl history. In its 11 wins, California scored 214 points and earned 7 shutouts, with its opponents could only score 33 points against it. The Thunder Team ended the season beating Alabama 13–0 in the Rose Bowl becoming that year's national champions. Known as "Pappy's Boys", the Cal teams of 1947-1950 won 33 consecutive regular-season games, earning three PCC championships and three Rose Bowl berths. Completely dedicated to his team and his university, he was known to push his teammates to perform beyond their limits and to fiercely intimidate his opponents. He led the team again in 1982 when he accepted the head coaching job at the university. The Bear Minimum still holds Cal's records for opponents' average gains per play – 3.60, as well as the fewest rushing touchdowns per season – 5 (same as the Thunder Team). Its average yards per rush was 2.51 which is still second only to the Thunder Team with 2.50 yards per rush. Rich Campbell was a highly touted recruit out of Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, California and was Cal's starting quarterback for his sophomore through senior seasons, 1978–1980. Campbell was the recipient of the highly valued Joe Roth Award in 1978, and Roth had actually helped to recruit Campbell to Cal. Campbell's success in the 1979 season as a junior led to his being featured on the cover of Street and Smith's Official Yearbook 1980 College Football Preview. Stats for 1979, Cal's only bowl appearance between 1958 and 1990, show Campbell was 3rd in the nation in passing yards, 2nd in completions, 2nd in completion %, and Cal was 3rd in Team Passing Offense. In 1980, during his senior year at the University of California, he set a then-NCAA record with 43 completed passes in 53 attempts in a losing effort against the Florida Gators. Campbell was also an All-American his senior season, completing an NCAA best 71% of his passes. During his college career at Cal, he passed for 7174 yards, a record at the time. He is still fourth all time in both passing yards and completions at Cal, as well as 12th in touchdown passes. Among the top quarterbacks ever at Cal, he was the most accurate passer in Cal history, as well as in the top five in both yards per attempt at 7.7 and passing efficiency rating (min. 300 attempts) at 132.7. pictured with the San Diego Chargers in 1981 set several Cal school records and finished as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1975 In the 1980s, the program returned to mediocrity, with Cal posting only one winning season in the entire decade, in 1982. The Play is considered to be one of the most memorable moments in college football history. After the game, Cal did not have a winning season until 1990. Because of salary negotiation problems with Cal's new athletic director, Snyder left Cal for the Arizona State Sun Devils right after the Citrus Bowl. 21st century California began a renaissance under Jeff Tedford who became head coach in 2002. Under him the Golden Bears posted eight consecutive winning seasons, a feat that had not been accomplished since the days of Pappy Waldorf. Led by future NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers, the 2004 Bears posted a 10–1 regular season record. Their only loss came against the eventual national champion USC. The team finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation. Likely due to the intensive media and coach polling lobbying conducted by Texas coach Mack Brown, Cal was not invited to the Rose Bowl. After that year, the Bears did not rank higher than 4th place under Telford. At the end of 2012, Sonny Dykes was announced as the new head coach. The hire of Dykes was intended to improve the program's low graduation rate under Tedford. He was expected to bring significant offensive improvements with his up-tempo, pass-oriented Air Raid offense. However, his first year will be most remembered for the team's defensive failure. He became the first head coach in Golden Bear history which did not win against a single Division I NCAA opponent. In 2017, Cal appointed Justin Wilcox, whose defensive-minded approach could be considered a polar opposite of Dykes, as the new coach. In 2017, the Bears had a losing season but managed to win against No. 8 Washington State 37–3. In 2018, the Bears went 7–6 with Wilcox's defense being ranked No. 15 in the nation in total yards allowed. The highlight of the season was defeating USC for the first time since 2003, when Wilcox was the Cal linebackers coach. In the 2019 season, the Bears improved to an 8–5 record that included a win at the Redbox Bowl. They achieved their highest ranking since 2009 when they were ranked No. 15 after a 4–0 start to the season and also beat Stanford in the Big Game for the first time since 2009. Since 2019, the Bears have struggled, failing to post a winning record in each season. Prior to the 2024 season, California moved from the Pac-12 Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference. On October 5 of that year, California hosted their first College GameDay in school history before a game against the Miami Hurricanes. The 2024 season was notable for its stretch of four consecutive losses by a combined nine points. However, Cal won four consecutive Big Games from 2021 to 2024. In 2025, alumnus Ron Rivera was announced as the first ever general manager of the California football program, with oversight over their budget and football staff. After losing the Big Game to Stanford in a resounding 31-10 fashion, Wilcox was fired by Rivera near the end of his first season as GM. Less than two weeks later, Tosh Lupoi, a former California defensive lineman and the Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator, was announced as Cal's new head coach by Rivera. ==Conference affiliations==

• Independent (1886–1905, 1915) • Pac-12 Conference (1916–2023) • Pacific Coast Conference (1916–1958) • Athletic Association of Western Universities (1959–1967) • Pacific-8 Conference (1968–1977) • Pacific-10 Conference (1978–2010) • Pac-12 Conference (2011–2023) • Atlantic Coast Conference (2024–present) == Memorial Stadium ==

California Memorial Stadium was built to honor Berkeley alumni, students, and other Californians who died in World War I and modeled after the Colosseum in Rome. It has been named one of the top college football stadiums by various publications, and it is also listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The stadium is located on the Hayward Fault, which passes directly under the playing field, nearly from goal post to goal post. A 1998 seismic safety study on the California campus gave the stadium a "poor" rating (meaning that the building represents an "appreciable life hazard" in an earthquake). The renovation began in the summer of 2010 and was completed by the beginning of the 2012 season. ==Championships==

National championships California has won five (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937) national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors. California claims all five of the national championships. The Golden Bears have never finished a season No. 1 in the final AP or Coaches' Poll. Conference championships California has won 16 conference championships since 1916. guided the Golden Bears to the 1958 PCC championship. Kapp is the only quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, and the Grey Cup. † Co-champions ==Rankings==

Cal football has finished Top 25 in the nation per the AP poll 14 times in school history. ==Rivalries==

vs. Stanford in 2010 Stanford California's main rival is Stanford. The two schools participate in the Big Game every year, with the winner taking home the Stanford Axe. Stanford leads the series record at 65–51–11 through the 2024 season. However, California has held the Axe for the last 4 seasons. UCLA California has an active rivalry with UCLA and the teams are scheduled to play each other for at least the next four seasons (2026–2029). The schools are the two largest public universities in the state of California and both were part of the same conference for 95 years. UCLA leads the series 57–35–1 but Cal won the most recent contest 33–7 at Pasadena in November 2023. USC Cal also has a rivalry with USC. While not as significant as the Stanford or UCLA rivalries, for either school, Cal and USC played an annual game, and met more than 100 times. The game was often called The Weekender, referring to the weekend trip to the Bay Area; although, this term also applied to the Stanford game, as each series (Cal/USC and Stanford/USC) would alternate home and away. For Cal, the USC or UCLA game was later known as the Joe Roth Game, depending on who the Golden Bears played in Berkeley, a tradition started in 1977 to honor the former Cal quarterback. As of the 2023 season, USC had played Cal more than any other opponent, with the 2023 game marking the 112th meeting, according to Cal, and the 108th meeting according to USC, In 2024, USC joined the Big Ten Conference while Cal joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. This put the rivalry between the Bears and Trojans on hiatus with no future meetings scheduled as of March 2025. Other rivals Other rivals of the Bears include; conference member SMU Mustangs and the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac 12 Conference. ==Head coaches==

† From 1906 to 1914, rugby was played instead of football. Cal's 13th coach was Oscar Taylor from 1906 to 1908. Cal's 14th coach, James Schaeffer, coached rugby from 1909 to 1914 and football in 1915. ==Bowl games==

banner California has participated in 27 bowl games, with a record of 12–14–1. ==Current NFL players==

As of December 15, 2025 ==Retired numbers==

Conference opponents On October 30, 2023, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced the future schedules for California from 2024 to 2030. The 17-team ACC will play an eight-game conference schedule with just one division, with four non-conference contests. All 17 teams will play each other at least twice in 7 years, once at home and once on the road. The new scheduling gives Cal two protected games to play each year with SMU and Stanford (rivalry). On September 22, 2025, the ACC announced that it was moving to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026. On December 16, 2025, league opponents were announced for 2026, in which 12 teams would play a nine-game schedule, and the other 5 teams would play an eight-game schedule. California will be playing a nine-game conference schedule. Non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of December 17, 2025. ==References==