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California Golden Bears
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The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 27 varsity athletic programs 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-10 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Over the course of the school's history, California has won national titles in 16 different sports and 66 team titles overall.
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Encyclopedia
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 27 varsity athletic programs 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-10 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Over the course of the school's history, California has won national titles in 16 different sports and 66 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 and Haas Pavilion. Cal finished the 2005-2006 athletic season with 865.5 points, earning seventh 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.
Current Sports Programs
*Baseball (2 College World Series Championships)
- Basketball (Men - 1 NCAA Championship and Women)
- Crew (Men - 15 team championships and Women - 3 team championships)
- Cross Country (Men and Women)
- Football 2 NCAA Championships
- American-Canadian Curling team 3 Time Aurther Jamison Champions
- Field Hockey (Women)
- Golf (Men - 1 team championship and Women)
- Gymnastics (Men - 4 team Championships and Women)
- Lacrosse (Women)
- Rugby union (24 USA Rugby Championships)
- Soccer (Men and Women)
- Softball (1 NCAA Championship)
- Swimming (Men - 2 team championships and Women) and Diving (Men and Women)
- Track and field (Men - 1 team championship and Women)
- Tennis (Men - 1 team championship and Women)
- Volleyball (Women)
- Water Polo (Men - 13 team championships and Women)
Football
- For the current football team, see 2008 California Golden Bears football team
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| National Championships (2) | 1920 • 1937 | Conference Titles (14)
* indicates shared title | 1918 • 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1935* • 1937
1938* • 1948* • 1949 • 1950 • 1958 • 1975* • 2006* |
Softball
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.
Basketball
Cal basketball's 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. The current head coach of California men's basketball is Mike Montgomery, and the current head coach of California women's basketball is Joanne Boyle.
| Cal basketball | | NCAA Championships (1) | 1959 | | NIT Championships (1) | 1999 | | Conference Titles (13) *indicates shared title | 1916* • 1921* • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 19291932 • 1944* • 1946 • 1957 • 1958* • 1959 • 1960 | NCAA TournamentAppearances *Final Four appearance
^vacated by NCAA | 1946* • 1957 • 1958 • 1959* • 1960* • 1990 • 19931994 • 1996^ • 1997 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2006 | | Women's Conference Titles (2) | 1981 • 1982 | |
Men's basketball history
The Golden Bears first played basketball intercollegiately in 1907 and began full conference play in 1915. The 1920s was the dominant decade for Cal basketball, as the Bears won 6 conference titles under coaches E.H. Wright and Nibs Price.
Nibs Price would coach Cal with great success for 30 years from 1924 to 1954, earning a 449-294 total record, many single season winning records, and an additional 3 conference titles in the 1930s and 1940s.
Cal reached the pinnacle of the sport during the tenure of Pete Newell, who was head coach from 1955 to 1960. The Golden Bears earned the conference title four out of his five years and in 1959, won the NCAA title. In his last year, Cal came close to another NCAA title, but lost to Ohio State in the final.
The fortunes of Cal men's basketball would never be the same after Pete Newell; as of 2007 Cal has not won a conference title since 1960. The 1970s and 1980s were for the most part down years for the program, despite having players such as Kevin Johnson. The highlight of this era was a 75–67 victory over UCLA in 1986 that ended a 25-year, 52 game losing streak to the Bruins.
Cal achieved much better success in the 1990s, qualifying for the NCAA tournament five times with future NBA players Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray in the early '90s and Sean Lampley and Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the late '90s. Cal also won the 1999 National Invitation Tournament, with a thrilling 61-60 victory over Clemson in the title game.
In 2006, the Golden Bears reached their first Pacific Life Pac-10 Men's Basketball Tournament championship game. Power forward Leon Powe grabbed a tournament-record 20 rebounds against USC in the first round and then scored a tournament-record 41 points in a double-overtime victory versus Oregon in the semi-finals. Despite California's 71-52 loss to UCLA in the final game, Powe was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament.
From 1996–2008, under Ben Braun, Cal qualified for the NCAA tournament three straight times in the 2000s and six times overall. However, after finishing near the bottom of the Pac-10 for the second straight year, Braun was dismissed in late March 2008. The former coach of rival Stanford, Mike Montgomery, succeeded Braun.
Women's basketball history
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, however, success has been hard to come by, as the Bears have had only three winning seasons, including the recently completed 2005–2006 season. Joanne Boyle is the head coach, hired in 2005 after a stint at the University of Richmond.
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.
Baseball
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.
Rugby Union
Cal Rugby's home is at 5000-seat Witter Rugby Field, located near California Memorial Stadium in Strawberry Canyon. The Golden Bears are the reigning collegiate national champion, which (as Cal's 24 total championships can attest to) is a situation that has become very familiar in Berkeley.
| Cal rugby | | National Championships (24) | 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1985 • 1986 • 1988 • 19911992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 19992000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007• 2008 | |
History
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.
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 24 titles out of a possible 29. 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 20 national titles including a string of twelve consecutive championships from 1991 to 2002 and five more from 2004 to 2008.
Crew
Founded in the same year as the university in 1868, crew was the very first sport at UC Berkeley. 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 Huskies which year in and year out fields some of the best crews in the country.
| Cal crew | | Olympic Games Gold Medals (3) | 1928 • 1932 • 1948 | | Men's National Championships (14) | 1928 • 1932 • 1934 • 1935 • 1939 • 1949 • 19601961 • 1964 • 1976 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2006 | | Women's National Championships (3) | 1980 • 2005 • 2006 |
Men's Crew History
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. Cal's success 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 and he has 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 and five Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles, four in a row in 1999–2002, and again in 2006.
Women's Crew History
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 late 1990s, when current coach Dave O'Neill took over the program. Under O'Neill Cal has been invited to the NCAA Rowing Championship the last eight years and won back to back national championships in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 Cal also took the Varsity 8 race, the premier event at the championship.
Track and Field
While Cal has not won many NCAA team championships, the program has had an illustrious history. Brutus Hamilton, perhaps Cal's most successful coach, presided during the long supremacy of USC's track and field program 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:
- Archie Williams, Olympic Gold medalist (400 meters in 1936)
- Grover Klemmer, world record holder over 440 yards (46.6 in 1941);
- Lon Spurrier, world record holder over 880 yards (1:47.5 in 1955);
- Don Bowden, first American to break four minutes for the mile in 1957;
- Eddie Hart, co-World Record holder over 100 meters (9.9) and 4x100 meter Olympic Gold medalist (1972);
- James Robinson, seven-time US champion over 800 meters;
- Shelia Hudson, 11-time US champion in the triple jump.
Other notable alumni include:
- Dave Maggard, Olympic shot putter (1968), Cal track & field coach, athletic director at Cal and Miami
- Brian Maxwell, Canadian Olympic marathoner (1980), founder of PowerBar.
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.
Volleyball
Cal volleyball is coached by Rich Feller. In 2007, Feller was named Volleyball Magazine's Coach of the Year.
In 2007, Cal finished off their best season in school history by reaching the final four for the first time 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 favorite to some to repeat as champions, in the regional final round, in a sweep (3-0). In the tournament, Cal was the #10 seed and was the lowest seed in the final four (the others were #1, #3 and #5)
In 2007, Senior outside hitter Angie Pressey, the daughter of NBA player Paul Pressey, garnered AVCA First Team All-American honors for her good senior year at Cal, 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 future for Cal looks positive, as they signed the #2 nationally ranked high school recruit, Tarah Murrey, to begin in the 2008 season.
Olympics
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. 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.
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. 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.
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