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August 2009 Bear Backer E-Newsletter
Dear Loyal Bear Backer, The nation is noticing all the great things that are happening around Cal Athletics! In 2008-09 Cal student athletes and teams captured Pac 10 titles, National Championships (13!), Player of the Year honors, the Draddy Award, the Honda Award and finished in the NACDA Director's Cup top 10 for the fourth consecutive year. It is indeed a great time to be a Bear! These successes in our competition venues and classrooms are a direct result of your generosity and passionate commitment to our pursuit of comprehensive excellence. Your gifts allow us to create conditions for success for the 900 student athletes who proudly wear "California" on their uniform. These successes yield highly visible results that are a great source of pride for the entire Cal community. Thank you again for your passionate support of this remarkable institution and its intercollegiate athletic pursuits. Each and every one of our student athletes, coaches and staff members is truly proud to wear the blue and gold! Go Bears!
If you have recently changed your email address to a new provider, please let us know so we may have your most up-to-date contact information on file. Send your new email address along with full name and customer number to CalEmails@berkeley.edu Back to top 2009 Football Entrance and Exit Plan Cal Athletics Develops Memorial Stadium Plan Due to construction of the Student-Athlete High Performance Center adjacent to Memorial Stadium, the University of California Athletic Department has instituted several changes to assist fans with access in and around the facility during football games this fall.
Excavation for the SAHPC, a 142,000-square-foot building that will house offices, locker rooms and other training facilities for 13 intercollegiate sports at Cal, was completed in early August. As a result, several of the gates used by patrons, especially on the west side, have been moved and expanded, while others have been eliminated. In addition, two engineered elevated walkways have been built to help fans enter and exit Memorial Stadium above the construction site.
Because of these modifications, fans are encouraged to arrive early to ensure they are able to be seated prior to the start of games. Gates will open two hours before kickoff.
A three-color diagram of Memorial Stadium has been created to make it easier for fans to find their correct gate. Patrons are requested to enter and exit through the gates that correspond with their section color.
Entering Memorial Stadium
Fans with tickets in Sections A-G and W-XX (light blue) should enter from the north side through Gates 1 and 2 near Maxwell Family Field, site of the FunZone pregame tailgate party and the gameday ticket booths. Fans in Sections GG-N (dark blue) should enter on the south end at Gates 5, 6 or 7. The easiest entry for those in Sections NN-V (yellow) is via Gates 8, 9 and 10 on the east side of the stadium. Exiting Memorial Stadium
In most cases, fans should exit through the same gate they entered. Patrons in the yellow sections will be redirected to leave the stadium through all available East Rim gates and exit along Stadium Rimway in lieu of using the outer stairwells. In addition, fans located in the lower rows on the west side of the stadium are requested to walk onto the field once the teams have entered their respective locker rooms and exit through the north or south tunnels. To help ease pedestrian congestion outside Memorial Stadium, the east side of Piedmont Avenue in front of the stadium will be closed to all vehicle traffic before games, as will Bancroft Way above Piedmont to allow easier access to and from Gate 5. Limited traffic will be allowed on the west side of Piedmont to allow fans with parking permits to access their lots.
New signs outlining the entry and exit plan will be posted around Memorial Stadium, and handouts will be provided to further help facilitate the plan. Athletic Department volunteers will also be stationed around campus to give directions and answer any questions. Anyone concerned about these changes and how they will impact their gameday experience should contact the Athletic Ticket Office at (800) GO BEARS. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as the Athletic Department works to enhance its facilities for fans and student-athletes. Click Here to View the Full Maps and Story Back to top
Calling all Bears! Join fellow Cal Football fans at 10:00 AM on Saturday September 26 for the Bear Backer Pre-Game Bash at Mallard Park adjacent to Autzen Stadium. Cal fans from across the nation are invited to attend this event and food and beverages will be provided. Cost is $25 for current Bear Backers and $40 for non Bear Backers. Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour will be our guest speaker at this event! Register online: CLICK HERE Bear Backer Pre-Game Bash For non-Bear Backers your registration will automatically enroll you as an active Bear Backer member for the 09-10 athletics season. For More Information Click Here For Travel Information, Click Here
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Help to Support Cal Athletics and the 900 plus student athletes by referring a friend to become a Bear Backer. Click here to send us their information, and help us achieve 10,000 members by 2010.
I wanted to welcome you to the much anticipated start of the 2009-10 season. The expectations for our 27 teams have never been higher and the buzz around campus has been palpitating. To briefly wrap up last year's campaign, we raised over 10 million dollars for a second consecutive year, which we believe was remarkable in these challenging economic times. This achievement was only made possible because of the thousands of individuals such as yourselves, who continue to stay committed to supporting the Bears and our mission of becoming the preeminent athletic program in the country. There is some sad news that I wanted to share with all of you. Margot Chmel, a long time Bear Backer who played such a vital role in the growth of the Bear Backer program, passed away on August 4th in her home in Hawaii. Margot was a true blue and she will be deeply missed by all who lives she touched. Her warm greetings at the Hall of Fame Room on Saturdays were legendary. She was married to this department for nearly 40 years. As you may have noticed the printed media guides will no longer be available to our fans. Cal has joined a number of Division I institutions that have elected to take this course of action to help reduce cost. Later this year the NCAA will consider legislation that would prevent all member institutions from printing media guides in the future. Media guides will continue to be available on line at Calbears.com for you viewing. I am confident that you will like the on line version and you will have the ability to print the media guide at home. Again, from all of us, a big thank you for all you has done and will continue to do to support the Bears. Go Bears! Tod Bannister
Fimrite's goal has been to write the definitive history of the exciting and sometimes challenging program. He places Cal Football in the greater context of history of the University of California. He has been working on the manuscript for several years. Beyond the happenings on the field, the book will document the many events and issues--both academic and political-- that have influenced the program. Various rule changes will also be analyzed (such as the forward pass in 1906) and how those changes impacted the game. Many notables who are a part of the history of Cal Football are featured including Andy Smith, Stub Allison, Pappy Waldorf, Jackie Jensen, Joe Kapp, Craig Morton, Chuck Muncie and Jeff Tedford. Great plays, including "The Play" from the Big Game of 1982, will be recaptured in detail. Like a historical novel, the narrative will flow seamlessly from era to era, filled with adventure, intrigue, conflict, tragedy, humor, villainy, and heroism. The Cal Football History Project has been underwritten by private donations (mostly from alumni and former players) and the efforts have been chaired by Lefty Stern, Class of '51. For more information, contact the California Alumni Association at 510-642-7026 or Andrea L. Campos, Athletic Development, at 510-643-5750.
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The California Alumni Association has undertaken a project of great importance to fans of Cal football and, in particular, those interested in the history of Cal Football. Renown sports writer and Cal alumnus Ron Fimrite has written a comprehensive history of Cal football that will be published this August by Mac Adam/Cage Publishing.
