The California Golden Bears college football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of California, Berkeley in the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Since the establishment of the team in 1886, California has appeared in 26 bowl games,[1] including eight appearances in the Rose Bowl Game.[1] Their latest bowl appearance was the 2024 LA Bowl, where California was defeated by the UNLV Rebels 24–13, to give the Golden Bears an overall bowl record of 12–13–1 (.481).
Key
General
†
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Bowl game record attendance
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‡
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Former bowl game record attendance
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Results
W
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Win
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L
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Loss
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T
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Tie
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Bowl games
List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance and head coach[A 1]
#
|
Bowl
|
Score[A 2]
|
Date
|
Season[A 3]
|
Opponent[A 4]
|
Stadium
|
Location
|
Attendance[2]
|
Head coach
|
1
|
Rose Bowl
|
W 28–0
|
January 1, 1921
|
1920
|
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Tournament Park
|
Pasadena
|
42,000‡
|
Andy Smith
|
2
|
Rose Bowl
|
T 0–0
|
January 2, 1922
|
1921
|
Washington & Jefferson Presidents
|
Tournament Park
|
Pasadena
|
40,000
|
Andy Smith
|
3
|
Rose Bowl
|
L 8–7
|
January 1, 1929
|
1928
|
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
66,604‡
|
Nibs Price
|
4
|
Rose Bowl
|
W 13–0
|
January 1, 1938
|
1937
|
Alabama Crimson Tide
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
90,000‡
|
Stub Allison
|
5
|
Rose Bowl
|
L 20–14
|
January 1, 1949
|
1948
|
Northwestern Wildcats
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
90,000
|
Pappy Waldorf
|
6
|
Rose Bowl
|
L 17–14
|
January 2, 1950
|
1949
|
Ohio State Buckeyes
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
100,963‡
|
Pappy Waldorf
|
7
|
Rose Bowl
|
L 14–6
|
January 1, 1951
|
1950
|
Michigan Wolverines
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
98,939
|
Pappy Waldorf
|
8
|
Rose Bowl
|
L 38–12
|
January 1, 1959
|
1958
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
Rose Bowl
|
Pasadena
|
98,297
|
Pete Elliott
|
9
|
Garden State Bowl
|
L 28–17
|
December 15, 1979
|
1979
|
Temple Owls
|
Giants Stadium
|
East Rutherford
|
40,207
|
Roger Theder
|
10
|
Copper Bowl
|
W 17–15
|
December 31, 1990
|
1990
|
Wyoming Cowboys
|
Arizona Stadium
|
Tucson
|
36,340
|
Bruce Snyder
|
11
|
Florida Citrus Bowl
|
W 37–13
|
January 1, 1992
|
1991
|
Clemson Tigers
|
Citrus Bowl
|
Orlando
|
64,192
|
Bruce Snyder
|
12
|
Alamo Bowl
|
W 37–3
|
December 31, 1993
|
1993
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
Alamodome
|
San Antonio
|
45,716‡
|
Keith Gilbertson
|
13
|
Aloha Bowl
|
L 42–38
|
December 25, 1996
|
1996
|
Navy Midshipmen
|
Aloha Stadium
|
Honolulu
|
43,380
|
Steve Mariucci
|
14
|
Insight Bowl
|
W 52–49
|
December 26, 2003
|
2003
|
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
Bank One Ballpark
|
Phoenix
|
42,364
|
Jeff Tedford
|
15
|
Holiday Bowl
|
L 45–31
|
December 30, 2004
|
2004
|
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
Qualcomm Stadium
|
San Diego
|
66,222†
|
Jeff Tedford
|
16
|
Las Vegas Bowl
|
W 35–28
|
December 22, 2005
|
2005
|
BYU Cougars
|
Sam Boyd Stadium
|
Las Vegas
|
40,053‡
|
Jeff Tedford
|
17
|
Holiday Bowl
|
W 45–10
|
December 28, 2006
|
2006
|
Texas A&M Aggies
|
Qualcomm Stadium
|
San Diego
|
62,395
|
Jeff Tedford
|
18
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
W 42–36
|
December 31, 2007
|
2007
|
Air Force Falcons
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
44,009†
|
Jeff Tedford
|
19
|
Emerald Bowl
|
W 24–17
|
December 27, 2008
|
2008
|
Miami Hurricanes
|
AT&T Park
|
San Francisco
|
42,268†
|
Jeff Tedford
|
20
|
Poinsettia Bowl
|
L 37–27
|
December 23, 2009
|
2009
|
Utah Utes
|
Qualcomm Stadium
|
San Diego
|
32,665
|
Jeff Tedford
|
21
|
Holiday Bowl
|
L 21–10
|
December 28, 2011
|
2011
|
Texas Longhorns
|
Qualcomm Stadium
|
San Diego
|
56,313
|
Jeff Tedford
|
22
|
Armed Forces Bowl
|
W 55–36
|
December 29, 2015
|
2015
|
Air Force Falcons
|
Amon G. Carter Stadium
|
Fort Worth
|
38,915
|
Sonny Dykes
|
23
|
Cheez-It Bowl
|
L 10–7 OT
|
December 26, 2018
|
2018
|
TCU Horned Frogs
|
Chase Field
|
Phoenix, Arizona
|
33,121
|
Justin Wilcox
|
24
|
Redbox Bowl
|
W 35–20
|
December 30, 2019
|
2019
|
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
Levi's Stadium
|
Santa Clara, California
|
34,177
|
Justin Wilcox
|
25
|
Independence Bowl
|
L 34–14
|
December 16, 2023
|
2023
|
Texas Tech Red Raiders
|
Independence Stadium
|
Shreveport, Louisiana
|
33,071
|
Justin Wilcox
|
26
|
LA Bowl
|
L 24–13
|
December 18, 2024
|
2024
|
UNLV
|
SoFi Stadium
|
Inglewood, California
|
24,420
|
Justin Wilcox
|
Notes
- ^ Statistics correct as of 2019–20 NCAA football bowl games.
- ^ Results are sortable first by whether the result was a California win, loss or tie and then second by the margin of victory.
- ^ Links to the season article for the California team that competed in the bowl for that year.
- ^ Links to the season article for the opponent that California competed against in the bowl for that year when available or to their general page when unavailable.
References
- General
- Specific
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |