Cal To Host UCLA, Clemson Under The Lights On ESPN

California Memorial Stadium will be lit up for night games against UCLA and Clemson this fall with 7:30 p.m. PT kickoffs for both nationally televised ESPN contests. The Golden Bears will open the 2026 campaign by hosting the Bruins in the first non-conference matchup between the long-time rivals on Sept. 5, while the Tigers make their first visit to Berkeley less than three weeks later for a Friday night contest on Sept. 25.

The game times and network television designations were made public on Wednesday as part of an announcement by the Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN. The start times and network television broadcasts for three other California football contests were also announced, including the Week 2 ACC opener at Syracuse (Sept. 12, ACC Network), a Week 3 home game against Wagner (Sept. 19, ACC Network) and the Bears' final regular-season non-conference tilt in Week 5 at UNLV (Oct. 3, CBS Sports Network). All three contests will kick off at 12:30 p.m. PT.

Game times and broadcast television networks for all other 2026 Cal football regular-season games will be announced throughout the season, either 12 or six days in advance.

2026 Cal Football Schedule (Time, TV)
Sept. 5 - UCLA (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Sept. 12 - at Syracuse (12:30 p.m., ACCN)*
Sept. 19 - Wagner (12:30 p.m., ACCN)
Sept. 25 - Clemson (7:30 p.m., ESPN)^*
Oct. 3 - at UNLV (12:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Oct. 10 - Virginia Tech*
Oct. 17 - Wake Forest*
Oct. 24 - at SMU*
Oct. 31 - at NC State*
Nov. 14 - at Virginia*
Nov. 21 - Stanford*
Nov. 28 - Pittsburgh*
Dec. 5 - ACC Championship (9 a.m., ESPN)**

All Home Games In Bold At California Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, CA); *ACC Games; ^All Games On Saturdays Other Than Friday Vs. Clemson; All Times Pacific; **ACC Football Championship Game At Bank Of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC