BERKELEY — For Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who grew up a half-mile from the University of Miami campus, Saturday night’s game against the No. 8 Hurricanes at Memorial Stadium has been circled on his calendar since the schedule was released.
“I have personal implications for the game, really, really wanting to succeed and do well against Miami,” Mendoza said.
California quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) directs his receiver as he scrambles during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Auburn, Ala.(AP Photo/ Butch Dill)
He also knows the Bears’ first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference home game — and everything that goes with it — is bigger than him. This is a rare chance to command the national spotlight, and Cal wants to maximize that opportunity.
Saturday will begin with fans lining up overnight at Memorial Glade in front of the university’s Doe Library, hoping to get an up-close view of the first-ever visit to Berkeley by ESPN’s poplar College GameDay program.
It still will be dark when GameDay begins its three-hour broadcast at 6 a.m. and it will be dark again by the time the Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) and Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0) kick off at 7:30 p.m. in front of what Cal officials expect will be close to a sellout.
“Opportunities like this don’t come often, especially with all the bells and whistles of GameDay coming and Miami being a top-10 team in the nation,” Mendoza said.
Cal has not drawn 50,000 fans for a non-Big Game at home since beating Texas 50-43 in 2016 with 50,448 looking on. Memorial Stadium’s current capacity is 52,428.
Cal’s Chibuzo Nwokocha (16) celebrates their victory over Texas’ in their NCAA football game at Cal’s Memorial Stadium on the U.C. Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. Cal upset the #11 ranked Texas Longhorns 50-43. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)
Ticket sales zoomed Sunday morning after ESPN announced its GameDay plans. “I think it has the potential to break 50 (thousand) on Saturday night,” said Jay Larson, Cal’s deputy athletic director, who oversees football.
Cal hopes the horizons of this opportunity are broader than merely the game, although the Bears would relish their first win over a Top-25 opponent since beating Oregon in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
The benefits that come with the GameDay crew setting up shop on campus are hard to measure but widespread.
Boulder, CO – Sept. 16, 2023 – University of Colorado: Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, head coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado Buffaloes, Pat McAfee, and Kirk Herbstreit on the set of College GameDay Built by the Home Depot…(Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
“Man, I think it’s going to be cool,” sophomore linebacker Cade Uluave said. “College GameDay is sweet . . . For us, it’s just another game. But the exposure that Cal’s getting and the attention nationwide is awesome.”
For East Coast fans, just getting to know Cal as a first-year ACC member, Uluave noted they’ll get their first glimpse of Tightwad Hill and team mascot Oski.
Larson sees even greater rewards, as does new Cal Chancellor Rich Lyons, who planned to be at Memorial Glade, helping to hand out donuts, coffee and breakfast burritos to early risers.
“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.”
Former Cal All-America linebacker and NFL coach Ron Rivera will be at the game and the athletic department has reached out to other high-profile ex-players. The Bears expect a huge turnout of potential recruits and high school coaches. A drone show will share halftime with introduction of Cal’s 59 Paris Olympians.
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ACC commissioner Jim Phillips will be here, making an appearance at GameDay before attending both the Stanford-Virginia Tech game at 12:30 p.m. and the Cal-Miami matchup.
The Bears hope to give him a show and to make a statement, coach Justin Wilcox said.
“With all the kind of disruption that college football has entered into the past couple years, it’s an incredibly opportunistic time for a place like us that has untapped potential,” said Wilcox, alluding to the changes that sent Cal from the Pac-12 to the ACC. “We’re looking forward to being the ones to tap that potential.
“There’s so much that can be done here and we’re eager to put that on display.”