| California Golden Bears | |
| University | University of California, Berkeley |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Pacific-12 Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Sandy Barbour |
| Location | Berkeley, CA |
| Varsity teams | 27 |
| Football stadium | California Memorial Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Haas Pavilion |
| Baseball stadium | Evans Diamond |
| Mascot | Oski the Bear |
| Nickname | Golden Bears |
| Fight song | Fight for California |
| Colors | Yale Blue and California Gold
|
| Homepage | CalBears.com |
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university competes in the NCAA's Division I primarily as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 19 different sports and 82 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. Notable facilities used by the Bears include California Memorial Stadium (football) and Haas Pavilion (basketball and other indoor sports). Cal finished the 2010–11 athletic season with 1,219.50 points, earning third place in the Director's Cup standings, the Golden Bears' highest finish ever. Cal did not receive any points for their national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA.[1]
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Men's Programs
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Women's Programs
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In all, the California Golden Bears have 82 team national championships (32 in sports governed by the NCAA), 147 individual national championships, 14 Tennis Doubles National Championships, 35 Relay National Championships, and 47 National Championship Boats.
The California football team began play in 1882 and plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium (since 1923); however, the team will play at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium is being renovated. The team also has produced two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels' fumble recovery and run toward the Cal goal line in the 1929 Rose Bowl, and The Play in the 1982 Big Game with the winning kickoff return after five laterals. The program is nationally renowned despite not participating in a BCS Bowl since 1959 and has been consistently ranked nationally during the past decade. The program has also produced many current NFL stars including, but not limited to: Aaron Rodgers (2011 Super Bowl MVP), Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Longwell, Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson, Desmond Bishop, and Jahvid Best. The current head coach is Jeff Tedford, who began his tenure in 2002.
| National Championships Claimed (5) | 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1937 |
| Conference Titles (14) * indicates shared title. |
1918 • 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1935* • 1937 1938* • 1948* • 1949 • 1950 • 1958 • 1975* • 2006* |
In 2002, the Cal softball team won its first National Championship against Arizona. Some notable players include Candace Harper, third baseman, and Jocelyn Forest, pitcher, both of whom were team captains. The Women's College World Series took place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
California Golden Bears men's college basketball home court is Haas Pavilion, which was built on top of the old Harmon Gymnasium using money donated in part by the owners of Levi-Strauss.[2] The current head coach of California men's basketball is Mike Montgomery, and the current head coach of California women's basketball is Lindsay Gottlieb.
The first season of women's basketball at Cal was played from 1972–1973, right after Title IX went into effect. The longest tenured coach in Cal history was Gooch Foster, who captained the team from 1979 to 1996. Cal was quite successful during this period; it won the conference twice in a row, and had 11 winning seasons. Since the early 1990s and through the early 2000s, however, success has been hard to come by, as the Bears have had only three winning seasons, including the recently completed 2005–2006 season. Lindsay Gottlieb is the head coach, hired in 2011 from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In 2006–2007, Cal women's basketball began a resurgence, with its first 20 win season since 1992, a second straight trip to the NCAA Women's Tournament, beating Stanford and ending their 50 game Pac-10 winning streak at Maples Pavilion, a No. 25 ranking in the final USA Today–ESPN women's basketball poll, and Boyle and Devannei Hampton receiving Pac-10 Coach and Player of the Year trophies, respectively.
In 2007–08, Cal tied the 1983–84 Bears for the most wins in school history (24-4, with one game remaining in the regular season). The Bears have been ranked as high as 8th in the national polls and set a Pac-10 record attendance in women's basketball with 10,525 witnessing Cal's 60-58 loss to Stanford at Haas Pavilion.
2008-09 was the best season for Cal women, as the team led by seniors Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton completed a successful 15-3 conference record. They had reeled off 11 straight wins to open the season, including a home win over rival Stanford (their first home win against the Cardinal in over 20 years), but fell to the Cardinal in the rematch on the road, and later suffered back to back losses towards the end of the season that took them out of the running for the conference title. Despite a heartbreaking early exit from the Pac-10 tournament at the hands of Southern California, the Bears completed a successful tournament run as the Bears saw their first Sweet 16 in school history. They went up against the undefeated UConn Huskies and even had a nice lead in the opening minutes but ultimately fell to the eventual national champions.
In 2009-10 the Bears brought in a top 10 recruiting class to make up for the losses of Walker and Hampton. The young Bears (the starting lineup during conference play featured four freshmen along with star senior Alexis Gray-Lawson) had an up and down year, going 6-5 in non-conference play including a home loss to nearby San Jose State. After an 0-3 conference start that left them two games under .500, the Bears started to find their form, going 12-5 the rest of the way including the Pac-10 tournament. However, the second half success was not enough for an NCAA tournament bid and Cal wound up settling for the WNIT. Although Alexis Gray-Lawson had to sit out the NIT opener because of an injury suffered in the Pac-10 tournament, the Bears edged UC Davis in overtime. Gray-Lawson returned for round 2, and the Bears romped through the remaining games against Utah, Oregon, BYU, Illinois State and finally Miami (FL) in the championship game at home to win the tournament. (It was the first ever championship game held at Haas Pavilion.) Gray-Lawson ended her career as the all-time Cal leader in three points made and games played.[3]
The Cal baseball team plays at Evans Diamond, located between Haas Pavilion, the Recreational Sports Facility, and Edward's Track Stadium. Cal has appeared in the post-season a total of nine times, including five times in the College World Series; Cal won the title in 1947 and 1957. Perhaps the most famous Cal player was second baseman Jeff Kent, who led the Golden Bears to the 1988 World Series, and would go on to be named the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Shortstop Geoff Blum of Cal's 1992 College World Series team hit the game-winning home run in the 14th inning of a 2005 World Series game for the Chicago White Sox.
In September 2010, the university announced that baseball would be one of five sports cut as a cost-cutting measure.[4] However, in April 2011, after receiving more than $9 million in pledges from supporters of the program, the program was reinstated.[5]
Cal Rugby's home is at 5000-seat Witter Rugby Field, located near California Memorial Stadium in Strawberry Canyon. The Golden Bears have won 26 total championships, including 19 of the last 21.
| Cal rugby | |
| National Championships (26) | 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1985 • 1986 • 1988 • 1991 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 2010 • 2011 |
Rugby union began play at Cal in 1882 and continued until 1886, when it was ditched in favor of American Football. Rugby would make a return in 1906 after football was deemed too dangerous to play. From 1906 to 1914, Cal rugby garnered a respectable 78-21-10 record. 1914, however, saw the return of football and Cal would not field a rugby team for almost 20 years. In 1931, rugby returned under alumnus Ed Graff. It was during this time that Cal began to compete for the World Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the annual series between Cal and the University of British Columbia, though UBC is not Canada's strongest university side (University of Victoria).
1938 began the era of Miles "Doc" Hudson, who guided the Bears for 37 years and an incredible record of 339-84-23. His successor would be Ned Anderson, an alumnus and former rugger for the Bears.
National collegiate championships for rugby union began in 1980 and Cal has been utterly dominant, winning 26 titles (runners-up once) out of a possible 32. Under Anderson, Cal reeled off four consecutive titles from 1980 to 1983. Current head coach and Cal alumnus Jack Clark took over the team in 1984, and has achieved even more prolonged success, leading the Bears to 22 national titles including a string of twelve consecutive championships from 1991 to 2002 and five more from 2004 to 2008.
In September 2010, the university announced that rugby would be one of five varsity sports cut as a cost-cutting measure, though the team would have continued to represent the university as a "varsity club sport," which was to be defined by the university administration. A large group of rugby supporters organized and dispute the relegation (www.savecalrugby.com)[4] On February 11, 2011, the administration reversed its decision on rugby and two other sports, meaning that rugby will continue as a varsity sport.[6]
Founded in the same year as the university in 1868, crew was the very first sport at the University of California. Since then it has become one of the most consistently successful Cal varsity programs. Women's crew began in 1974 and it has also become a perennial contender.
Unlike most other sports at Cal where Stanford is considered their chief rival, the Crew's traditional rival is the University of Washington, also consistently one of the best crews in the country.
| Cal crew | |
| Olympic Games Gold Medals (3) | 1928 • 1932 • 1948 |
| Men's National Championships (16) | 1928 • 1932 • 1934 • 1935 • 1939 • 1949 • 1960 1961 • 1964 • 1976 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 |
| Women's National Championships (3) | 1980 • 2005 • 2006 |
The first significant coach in Cal men's crew was Carroll "Ky" Ebright, who guided the Bears for 36 years from 1924 to 1959. During his tenure, Cal crew became known for success not only on the collegiate level, but also on the international level. In 1928, Cal fielded one of the most dominant crews in history, as the Bears went undefeated in the United States to win the national championship, earned the right to compete as the United States entry in the Amsterdam Olympics, and subsequently won the gold medal. Cal would represent the United States two more times at the 1932 and 1948 Summer Games, coming away with the gold on both occasions. Ebright ultimately led the Bears to nine conference championships and six Intercollegiate Rowing Association championships, with the 1939 squad being arguably the best by setting the still-standing (as of 2006) four mile course record at the IRA.
Cal maintained its success during the 1960s under coach Jim Lemmon, who in seven years, led the Bears to three more conference and national championships. In the early 1970s, Cal's lightweight men formed their own club team, California Lightweight Crew, while still rowing out of the same boathouse. The earlier success of Cal men's crew faded a little in the 1970s and 1980s, but the Bears did win another national title and three more conference titles.
Steve Gladstone's second stint as coach (his first was from 1973–1980) began in 1997 when he and then-freshman coach Craig Amerkhanian resurrected the men's crew program. The Bears have won seven conference titles five straight conference championships from 1998-2002 along with 2005 and 2006. They have also won six Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles, four in a row in 1999–2002, again in 2006, and most recently in 2010.
Women's crew began at Cal with a bang, as the Bears won four straight conference titles under Daig O'Connell followed with a national championship in 1980 under Pat Sweeney. However, Cal could not keep up its early success and saw average success for almost the next 20 years.
Cal's second renaissance began in the fall of 1998, when current coach Dave O'Neill took over the program. Under O'Neill Cal has been invited to the NCAA Rowing Championship every year and has placed among the top four teams nine times, including back to back NCAA titles in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 Cal also took the Varsity 8 race, the premier event at the championship. Since 2004 the Cal women have won seven Pac-10 Championships, including the Varsity 8 race six times.
Cal's 2010 team will be remembered for the courage and determination of Jill Costello, who coxed the V8 to victory at the Pac-10 Championship while battling lung cancer. Two weeks later Costello and the Cal women narrowly missed winning the NCAA Championship and finished second. Less than a month after NCAA's, Costello lost her battle against lung cancer and died at the age of twenty-two. Costello is remembered each year during Cal's annual dual race against Stanford, the Big Row.
While Cal has not won many NCAA team championships (they won in 1922 and in 1970 in men's competition), the program has had an illustrious history. [1] Brutus Hamilton, perhaps Cal's most successful coach, presided during the long supremacy of Southern California's track and field program [2] that precluded winning team titles. Hamilton coached from 1933 to 1965 (with a three year break during World War II). His predecessor, Walter Christie, coached for 32 years, starting in 1901.
The Bears have had numerous notable performers, including:
Other notable alumni include:
Cal track and field athletes have won 12 medals in the Olympics, including six golds. Hamilton was the head Olympic coach in 1948, and Erv Hunt the head coach in 1996.
Edwards Stadium, located in the lower southwestern corner of the main campus, is the largest track and field-only stadium in the U.S., able to seat in excess of 22,000. Edwards Stadium has hosted eight NCAA championship meets, a National AAU Championship, and the 1971 and '78 USA vs. USSR dual-meets, amongst others. There have been 12 world records (including records by Dutch Warmerdam (pole vault), Jim Ryun (one mile) and Henry Rono (5000 meters)), 26 American records and 24 collegiate records set at Edwards.
California Ice Hockey Team plays at the ACHA Division II club level as a member of the Pacific 8 Intercollegiate Hockey Conference.[7] The team is coached by Cyril Allen, who took over as head coach in 2001.[8]
The Big Freeze is a bi-annual bay area rival between California and Stanford University. It is the fourth most attended event at Cal behind only to its football and men's and women's basketball programs.
California Ice Hockey currently plays at Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, Ca. Berkeley Iceland is currently being repurchased through the community with efforts being led by Cal's Coach, Cyril Allen.[9]
Cal volleyball is coached by Rich Feller. In 2010, he was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year as Cal finished as NCAA runners-up.
Cal completed its most successful season in 2010, as they won the Pac-10 title for the first time in school history and advanced to the 2010 NCAA Championship final, where they fell to Penn State. Senior setter Carli Lloyd was named the 2010 AVCA National Player of the Year and Feller was named the National Coach of the Year.
In 2007, Cal reached the final four for the first time in school history before falling to eventual national champion Penn State in the semifinals. Not only did they reach the final four, in their run they were able to defeat defending champion and #2 seed Nebraska, who were the favorites to repeat as champions, in the regional final round, in a sweep (3-0).
In 2007, Senior outside hitter Angie Pressey, the daughter of NBA player Paul Pressey, garnered AVCA First Team All-American honors, and was the only Cal player in history to be named to the Pac-10 All-Conference team all four years. Hana Cutura was named the 2007 regional MVP for her helping Cal reach the final four.
The men's water polo team has won 13 national championships, including the back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007. On February 28, 2010, the women's team played the longest match in NCAA women’s water polo history, losing 7–6 to UCLA at the UC Irvine Invitational.[10]
Since 1906, Cal students and alumni have participated in the Olympics in a variety of different sports and have represented a diverse group of nations, despite the fact that the university is located in the United States. In the first half of the 20th century, Cal's Olympics presence was felt mainly in the sports of rugby union and crew. The gold medal winning American rugby teams of the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics were made up of many Cal players who were displaced following the school's decision to support American football, rather than rugby [3]. In men's crew, Cal's team won gold for the United States three times – at the 1928, 1932, and 1948 Summer Olympics. To date, this is more than any other college or university in the world. [4]
From the second half of the 20th century and through to the 21st Century, Cal has been a huge presence in the water sports of swimming, diving, and water Polo. Cal swimmers have represented an eclectic group of nations, including Thailand, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Switzerland, and Sweden. Two of the most well-known Cal Olympic swimmers in the past 20 years are Matt Biondi and Natalie Coughlin. Matt Biondi began his Olympic career with a gold as a member of the 400 free relay team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, but became an outright star four years later when he garnered an amazing seven medals (five gold, one silver, and one bronze) at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He would follow up that effort with four medals (2 gold, one silver, and one bronze) at the 1992 games for a career total of 11 medals, 8 of them gold.
Over a decade later, Coughlin would become another Olympic swimming icon with Cal heritage after an impressive performance at the 2004 Athens Games. Individually and in relays, she won five medals (2 gold, 2 silver, one bronze) as a United States representative. Furthermore, Duje Draganja won silver in 50 meters freestyle at the same Olympics, representing Croatia.[11] The Bears would capture 17 medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, paced by six more medals from Coughlin. The 17 medals set a school record.[12]
In aquatic collegiate competition, Cal has an emerging powerhouse program in team swimming and diving. Recently, both genders in swimming and diving have won the 2011 NCAA national championships. Including the championships won in 1979 and 1980, the men have won three. The women have won two, including the 2009 championship.[13]
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