ESPN's "College GameDay," the popular college football pregame show, is coming to Berkeley for the first time ever this Saturday.
The weekly pregame show features ESPN's Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and other personalities previewing the upcoming slate of college football games from a different campus or site each week in front of a sea of animated college students and fans.
Saturday morning's show, scheduled for 6 to 9 a.m., will be staged at Memorial Glade in the heart of the UC Berkeley campus ahead of the Golden Bears' nighttime showdown with the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes at California Memorial Stadium.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome ESPN's College GameDay to Cal," Cal Athletics Director Jim Knowlton said in a statement. "It's a great reward for everyone associated with our football program, and I know our Cal Family will savor this incredible opportunity to have our student-athletes, University and the city of Berkeley showcased on the national stage."
Fans interested in attending "College GameDay" are encouraged to arrive early. The "Pit," the area closest to the stage capable of housing about 400 people, will open at 3:30 a.m. Fans hoping to get into the "Pit" will be allowed to start lining up at midnight.
Fans who don't make it in time to enter the "Pit" are still encouraged to come out to Memorial Glade and watch the show from the surrounding area.
Visit Cal's athletic department website for more information about "GameDay" rules, regulations and more.
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At the end of "GameDay" when the crew transitions to making game picks, Cal fans will see a familiar face on stage: Marshawn Lynch. The legendary Golden Bear running back has been selected as the guest picker this week.
The Golden Bears have been part of the "GameDay" featured contest three times before, but those all happened on the road: Oct. 9, 2004 at USC (23-17 loss), Sept. 29, 2007 at Oregon (31-24 win), and Oct. 10, 2015 at Utah (30-24 loss).
While some may question the decision by "GameDay" to come to the Bay Area – a region not well known for powerhouse college football programs and diehard fans – Davis, the host of "GameDay," is challenging Cal fans to show up and show out.
"People are doubting you @CalFootball fans," he wrote in a post on X. "They say you won’t show up. They say you don’t know big time college football. I say—you know it. Tell the story. You tell the whole damn world this is Bear territory. Accept the challenge. Sturdy Golden Bears."
The Golden Bears come into Saturday night's matchup boasting a 3-1 record with wins over UC Davis, Auburn and San Diego State. Their lone loss came in their last game against Florida State, 14-9.
Miami is rolling into Berkeley at 5-0, having throttled Florida, Florida A&M, Ball State and South Florida to open the season before escaping with a 38-34 win over Virginia Tech last week.
Cal-Miami kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN.
