Aug. 25, 2010

2010 Cal Football: Outlook | Schedule | Roster | Tickets | Information Guide
Football Bear Blog | Fan Appreciation Day Saturday | Meet the Bears Saturday

BERKELEY - The Cal football team enjoyed its annual "Football Olympics" on Tuesday as students were allowed to witness and encouraged to participate in the annual event that included fun-spirited competitions such as a tug-o-war, egg toss, tire push, punt catching contest and bat twirl.

The festivities that took place on the hottest day of 2010 with temperatures in the 90s began near the Strawberry Canyon surge facilities with a tug-o-war that pitted the fullbacks and tight ends against the linebackers.

"The offense destroyed," junior fullback Will Kapp said when asked about the event. "They cheated," added defensive lineman Michael Costanzo with a grin.

The next event was the egg toss and aptly so the winners were wide receivers Marvin Jones and Alex Lagemann, with fellow receivers Jeremy Ross and Michael Calvin finishing second.

The event then moved down to Memorial Stadium where the team's freshmen on the offensive and defensive side of the ball faced each other in a tire push relay that required each rookie on each team to sprint to a large tire, flip it over and then sprint back to the start line before the next player could go. For the third consecutive event, the offense prevailed.

The defense finally got on the board when Trevor Guyton won the punt catching competition between the team's offensive and defensive linemen. Regardless of the winner, the sight of seeing players in the range of 300 pounds trying to catch punts made for several entertaining moments for all in attendance.

The final player competition was the bat twirl relay, with the specialists prevailing over the quarterbacks.

Head coach Jeff Tedford then invited the students in attendance to come on down to the field. Tedford and preseason All-American linebacker Mike Mohamed addressed the students, thanking them all for their support and imploring them to be loud and crazy and fill the student section during the 2010 season.

The event ended with selected students taking a crack at catching a few punts out of the jugs machine.

The Bears will enjoy a day off Wednesday before resuming preparations for their 2010 season with a practice on Thursday.

MARCH TO VICTORY LUNCHEON WEDNESDAY, AUG. 25
Cal head coach Jeff Tedford will speak at the inaugural March to Victory luncheon to be held Wednesday, Aug. 25 at Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant, located at 2 Harrison Street in San Francisco. Admission to the luncheon is $20, and includes food, non-alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity. Validated $2 parking is available in the Hills Plaza Garage on Folsom Street, between The Embarcadero and Spear Street. Tickets will be available at the door.

FAN APPRECIATION DAY AND MEET THE BEARS SATURDAY, AUG. 28
Fans can visit Memorial Stadium to meet the 2010 Cal football players and coaches during the team's annual Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, Aug. 28. Gates open at 11:15 a.m. PT and all fans must enter the stadium through the North Tunnel. The two-hour event will include a free team poster, autograph session, the opportunity to take photos and interact with players and coaches, and much more. Fans can also meet members of the 2010 Cal football team at the Broadway Plaza Shopping Center later in the day from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. PT. The center is located at 48 Broadway Lane in Walnut Creek. Several standout players will be present to sign autographs and take pictures at Broadway Lane. In addition, fans will have the chance to win a number of prizes at this free event for all ages. Prizes include Cal football tickets, Cal Athletics memorabilia, and much more.

2010 REGULAR SEASON OPENS SEPTEMBER 4 VS. UC DAVIS
Cal's 2010 regular season begins when the Bears host UC Davis at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 4 (1:00 p.m. PT) in a game to be televised locally on Comcast SportsNet California. The team's entire 2010 regular-season schedule is listed below, including seven home games in the final campaign with the current configuration of Memorial Stadium.

Day, Date - Opponent - Time (TV)
Sat., Sept. 4 - vs. UC Davis - 1 p.m. PT (CSN California)
Sat., Sept. 11 - vs. Colorado - 12:30 p.m. PT (Fox Sports Net; locally on CSN Bay Area)
Fri., Sept. 17 - at Nevada - 7:00 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
*Sat., Sept. 25 - at Arizona - 7:00 p.m. MT/PT (CSN Plus)
*Sat., Oct. 9 - vs. UCLA (Homecoming) - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Oct. 16 - at USC - 12:30 p.m. (FSN)
*Sat., Oct. 23 -vs. Arizona State - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Oct. 30 - at Oregon State - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 6 - at Washington State - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 13 - vs. Oregon - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 20 - vs. Stanford - 12:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net; locally on CSN Bay Area)
*Sat., Nov. 27 - vs. Washington - TBA (TBA) *Pac-10 Game

CAL FOOTBALL
When Cal takes the field for the first time in 2010, the Golden Bears will do so as one of the most accomplished Pac-10 teams of the last eight years. Cal's 67 victories over that period (an average of 8.4 wins per season) are the second-most by a Pac-10 squad. The Bears have a current school-record-tying string of eight consecutive winning seasons, making head coach Jeff Tedford one of only eight FBS coaches with an active winning streak of at least that length. Cal has also won five bowl games, made seven bowl appearances and captured seven Big Games over Stanford during Tedford's tenure - all at least equaling school records for a Cal coach.

For a complete 2010 season outlook, visit CalBears.com.

CAL FOOTBALL TICKETS
Call the Cal Athletic Ticket Office at (800) GO BEARS or visit CalBears.com to purchase your 2010 season tickets now. Cal fans that purchase season tickets and maintain their donation levels this year will have access to the best possible season-ticket seat locations when Cal football plays at AT&T Park in 2011 and returns to the renovated Memorial Stadium in 2012.