History of the Golden Bears

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 Pac-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 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 110 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 its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.

Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 107 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 its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.

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.

College Sports Established
1915

Location
Berkeley, California

College Name
University of California, Berkeley

Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1915 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA

Conference History
2010 - Present / Big 12 Conference
1978 – 2010 / Pacific 10
1964 – 1978 / Pacific 8
1959 – 1964 / Athletic Association of Western Universities
1915 – 1959 / Pacific Coast Conference

Nickname
Golden Bears - A successful tour through the nation's Midwest and East by Cal's track & field team in 1895 is credited with the inspiration of the university's "Golden Bear" nickname. Since the grizzly bear is a symbol of the state of California, it was appropriate that the track team displayed a banner on their tour that featured a golden grizzly.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 2
1957, 1947

Men's Basketball 1
1959

Women's Basketball 0

Football 5
1937, 1923, 1922, 1921, 1920

Soccer 0