| Wide: | yes |
| Bear Bowl | |
| Team1: | California Golden Bears |
| Team1logo: | California Golden Bears logo.svg |
| Team2: | UCLA Bruins |
| Team2logo: | UCLA Bruins script.svg |
| Firstmeeting: | [1] Tie, 0–0 |
| Mostrecent: | November 25, 2023 California, 33–7 |
| Nextmeeting: | September 5, 2026 Berkley, Calif. |
| Total: | 94 |
| Series: | UCLA leads, 57–35–1 |
| Largestvictory: | UCLA, 56–3 (1965)[2] |
| Longeststreak: | UCLA, 12 (1978–1989) |
| Currentstreak: | California, 1 (2023–present) |
The California–UCLA football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA Bruins football team of the University of California, Los Angeles.[3] [4] [5]
Traditionally, the Cal–UCLA rivalry is played on "All-University Weekend". During the same week, Cal and UCLA usually play each other in any other sports in season, and the schools host festivals celebrating the achievements of the UC System. Played annually since 1933, it was the third-longest never-interrupted rivalry in college football, behind only Iowa State vs. Kansas State (uninterrupted since 1917), and Navy vs. Notre Dame (uninterrupted from 1927 until 2020). Because so many college football teams did not play in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, the Cal-UCLA rivalry is now the second-longest never-interrupted rivalry in college football and one of two never-interrupted rivalries that still exist in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I college football. Due to the two team's nicknames being named after bears, it is sometimes referred to as the Bear Bowl by fans.
In 2020, the rivalry was set to end its yearly streak due to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. However, after unexpected cancellations for both Cal and UCLA on November 13, 2020, the Pac-12 scheduled the game for November 15, 2020.[6] The game alternates between the two respective schools. Excepting 2020, contests in odd-numbered years are played in Pasadena, and even-numbered years in Berkeley. The rivalry will be interrupted once UCLA joins the Big Ten and Cal joins the ACC in 2024.[7] [8] Cal and UCLA agreed to play non-conference games in from 2026−2029, with games being played at California Memorial Stadium in 2026 & 2028 and the Rose Bowl in 2027 & 2029.[9]