From GameDay to Kickoff, Cal Expecting Saturday To Be a Big Deal

Officials believe the Cal-Miami game at Memorial Stadium could draw 50,000 - biggest non-Big Game crowd in eight years

Memorial Stadium / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Through momentum that began to gain steam after ESPN announced its popular College GameDay program will come to Berkeley for the first time this Saturday morning, the Bears’ 7:30 p.m. kickoff against No. 8 Miami now is approaching sellout status.

“I think it has the potential to break 50 (thousand) on Saturday night,” said Jay Larson, Cal’s deputy athletic director, who oversees football.

Memorial Stadium’s current capacity is 52,428 and the Bears have not attracted a crowd of at least 50,000 for a non-Big Game since Texas visited on Sept. 17, 2016. A crowd of 50,448 watched that day as the Bears beat the Longhorns 50-43.

“We’d be thrilled to have 50-plus in that building Saturday night,” Larson said.

The football game will be the culmination of a long and unprecedented day, at least in recent Cal football history. Everyone from new Chancellor Rich Lyons on down is actively involved in making Saturday an experience that can have an impactful effect on the football program and the campus.

GameDay’s live program runs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and students and fans will begin to line up outside the Memorial Glade, located in front of the Doe Library, as early as midnight to get one of 400 close-up spots to view the program.

#Calgorithm 🐻🔥🐻 @CollegeGameDay @ReceDavis @PatMcAfeeShow @KirkHerbstreit @DesmondHoward pic.twitter.com/KhFzKz7QiP

— Marcus “MG” Griffin (@RealMG96) October 2, 2024

GameDay host Rece Davis challenged Cal fans on social media to pack the place, and Larson says everything suggests that will happen. He believes a crowd of several thousand will gather, spilling over the entire area

“We expect people to be there,” Larson said. “The gates will open to what they call The Pit at 3:30. They’ll start doing live shots from the set at 4:30 and we expect Memorial Glade to be filled with Cal fans and the signs and the energy.”

Former football player Ahmad Anderson, who authored the Bear Territory chant, will be there to lead the crowd. And Lyons will be on site to help hand out donuts, coffee and breakfast burritos for early risers.

“With GameDay being here, it’s the biggest show in college football and maybe the biggest show in all of sports.” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s great to have them on our campus and I know the student body is excited for that early Saturday morning wakeup call.”

Wilcox likely will make a guest appearance on the program, but Cal’s players will be focused on readying themselves for the game. Even so, they’re animated in their excitement for the whole experience.

“Never had something like this happen ever since I’ve been here,” said safety Craig Woodson, in his sixth year with the Bears. “I think it’ll be great for the community as well.”

“Man, I think it’s going to be cool,” sophomore linebacker Cade Uluave said. “College GameDay is sweet with all the bells and whistles they’ll bring. For us, it’s just another game. But the exposure that Cal’s getting and the attention nationwide is awesome.”

That big-picture benefit is what the university hopes to maximize. 

“The chancellor recognizes the effect athletics can have on the entire campus. He called it the principal engagement mechanism for our community, especially our alumni community,” Larson said. “He sees what a great opportunity this is to bring our community together. It’s a celebration and a way to showcase our campus.”

For East Coast fans, just getting to know Cal as a first-year member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, exposure the campus gets during the 180-minute pregame show is invaluable advertising.

“This is an amazing place. This is a storied football program, the brand-named pros that have come out of here, it’s really incredible,” Larson said. “It’s a chance to really show the country, for one, where we are. 

“I don’t think people around the country have a full appreciation that Cal is UC Berkeley. It’s the same institution in this amazing location. California Memorial Stadium is what I would call the best view in college football. I don’t think the country knows that and it’s a great opportunity to put all that on display this weekend.”

Uluave hopes fans across the country will see Cal as they’ve never seen it before.

“A lot of people know Cal is good academically, but they don’t really know the rich culture behind it and the traditions,” he said. “They’re going to learn what Tightwad Hill is, they’re going to learn about Oski.”

The Bears are expected to wear special helmets (above) and uniforms Saturday night.

The exposure also can be a boost to football recruiting. Marshall Cherrington, who heads Cal recruiting as the program’s director of player personnel, told Jon Wilner of the Mercury News that his department reached out immediately to more than 350 recruits Saturday night after the GameDay announcement was made.

He said as many as 700 potential recruits and high school coaches are expected to attend the game between the Bears (3-1) and Hurricanes (5-0).

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips will make an appearance on the GameDay program, drive across the Bay to take in the Stanford-Virginia Tech game at 12:30 p.m., then return to Berkeley for the Bears and Canes. Presumably, with a nap squeezed in somewhere.

Former Cal All-America linebacker Ron Rivera will be at the game, and Larson said other celebrity football alumni are being courted to attend. Halftime will include a drone show and the introduction of Cal’s 59 Paris Olympians.

Social media has fueled enthusiasm for Cal’s first-ever ACC home game. Calgorithm, with its AI-generated memes, has fed a steady stream of information and promotion on X (formerly Twitter).

“The social media hype is real. The Calgorithm, I think, is part of the reason GameDay is here,” Larson said. “It’s gotten the attention of the country. This weekend certainly has the potential to be a great spark to continue to propel the program in the right direction.”

Larson said Cal enjoyed one of its best ticket sales Sundays ever in the wake of the GameDay announcement the night before and he anticipate possibly a record game-night student turnout.

Wilcox, whose attention is always 100 percent on his team, acknowledged he doesn’t partake in social media. “But I love it,” he said of the enthusiastic online response to all of Saturday. “We want fans to be fanatical — that’s what (fan) is short for.”

His message to students at the game?

“Have a great time and make a lot of noise when their team has the ball.”