California Golden Bears

This article is about the University of California, Berkeley athletics department. For the animal, see California golden bear.

California Golden Bears
Logo
UniversityUniversity of California, Berkeley
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference (primary)
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (beach volleyball, men's gymnastics, water polo)
NCAADivision I (FBS)
Athletic directorJim Knowlton
LocationBerkeley, California
Varsity teams30 (14 men’s, 16 women’s)
Football stadiumCalifornia Memorial Stadium
Basketball arenaHaas Pavilion
Baseball stadiumEvans Diamond
Softball stadiumLevine-Fricke Field
Soccer stadiumEdwards Stadium
Other venuesClark Kerr Sand Courts
MascotOski the Bear
NicknameGolden Bears
Fight songFight for California
CheerOski Yell
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Websitecalbears.com

The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In 2014, Cal instituted a strict academic standard for an athlete's admission to the university. By the 2017 academic year 80 percent of incoming student athletes were required to comply with the University of California general student requirement of having a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average.[2]

California's nickname originated in 1895 during California's dominant track and field team's tour of Midwest and Eastern universities. A blue silk banner with the golden grizzly bear, the state symbol, was displayed by the team during that tour. Since then, Cal's athletic teams have been known as the Golden Bears.[3] Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 115 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries.

  1. ^ Cal Brand Guidelines (PDF). June 1, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Smith, Isaac. "Academic Senate releases new admissions criteria for student-athletes". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  3. ^ "ESPN.com – NCAA College Football – The 100". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2015.