Bears Host Aggies In 2022 Opener

BERKELEY -- California opens the 2022 football season on Saturday, Sept. 3 with a 1 p.m. PT kickoff on Pac-12 Bay Area against UC Davis on FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium. The Bears and Aggies are meeting on the field for the 11th time in history, with Cal winning all 10 of the previous matchups.

SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Television (Pac-12 Bay Area): Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Shane Vereen (analyst)
Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Learfield: KGO 810 AM
Joe Starkey (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Todd McKim (sideline reporter);
SiriusXM Ch. 134 or 204 / SXM App 967, The Varsity App

ABOUT THE SERIES
— Cal leads the series, 10-0, the last meeting a 27-13 Golden Bear win on Aug. 31, 2019 in Berkeley.
— The Bears have outscored the Aggies by a combined mark of 378-36 over the 10 matchups.

OPENING EFFORTS
— Cal has won six of its last seven season openers dating back to the 2014 season, including three of four under head coach Justin Wilcox.
— The Bears are 10-4 in home season openers dating back to the 2000 season.

LOTS OF NEW FACES
— Cal has a total of 58 players on its current 113-player roster who have not participated in a game and 35 in their first season with the Golden Bears, including nine who have transferred after previously being on a roster at another four-year school in Xavier Carlton (Utah), Odua Isibor (UCLA), Demetric Jackson Jr. (Chattanooga), Tyler Jensen (Louisville), Spencer Lovell (Arizona State), Kenden Robinson Jr. (Northern Iowa), T.J. Session (Montana State), Jack Plummer (Purdue) and Jackson Sirmon (Washington).

NEW NAMES, NUMBERS AND POSITIONS
– In addition to 35 first-year players in 2022, Cal has 13 more that will be in a new number with two of those also changing positions (Andy Alfieri and Jeffrey Johnson from ILB to TE) and one going from his previously shortened first name to his full first name (Femi to Oluwafemi Oladejo).

STARKEY'S FINAL PLAY
— Legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Starkey, best known for his "the band is out on the field" call of "The Play" in 1982, announced that he will retire as Cal's football radio play-by-play announcer following the 2022 campaign.
— In Starkey's 48th and final season on the mic, the 2022 Golden Bears will travel to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish for the first time in 55 years, celebrate the 125th Big Game and 40th anniversary of The Play in Berkeley, and host "Joe Starkey Day" for the regular-season finale in Strawberry Canyon against UCLA.
— Starkey has also had an array of broadcasting duties with professional sports organizations during his career that he mostly fulfilled in conjunction with his Cal duties, highlighted by a 22-year stint on the San Francisco 49ers' radio broadcast team (1987-2008) that included the final 20 campaigns as the play-by-play voice. The 49ers won their most recent three Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX) during Starkey's tenure with the team as he described plays for Pro Football Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young, among others.

STAY POSTED
For more coverage of Cal football, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalFootball), Instagram (@calfootball) and Facebook (/CalAthletics/).