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Cal Football

Additional Kickoff Times Set For 2025 Cal Football Season

May 29, 2025
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Kickoff times for six of the California football team’s first eight games of the 2025 season have been announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In addition to its earlier announcement of the Golden Bears’ season opener at Oregon State being a 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff on ESPN, Cal had five more of its games assigned start times and television designation.

After its trip to Corvallis, the Golden Bears will face Texas Southern at 3 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra in their home opener Sept. 6 at California Memorial Stadium. This will be the first matchup between the Bears and Tigers.

Cal will then host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN. The matchup will mark the seventh time the Bears and Gophers have faced one another, and the first time since 2009. The Bears are 4-2 all-time against the Gophers.

In week four, the Bears will travel south to face San Diego State on Sept. 20. Kickoff against the Aztecs has been set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

It will be the 10th meeting between the Golden Bears and Aztecs. Cal is seeking the series' first-ever victory on the road in 2025. In the previous nine meetings, the home team was victorious. With last season’s victory over the Aztecs, Cal now leads the series, 5-4.

The Bears will have back-to-back Friday night games in October, one at home on Oct. 17 against North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. PT followed a road matchup at Virginia Tech on Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m. PT. Both games will be televised by ESPN. It will be the first matchup between Cal and UNC since 2018. The Bears and Hokies haven’t met since the 2003 Insight Bowl, which Cal won 52-49. Overall, Cal is a combined 3-0 versus the Tar Heels and Hokies.

The times for Cal’s games against Boston College, Duke, Virginia, Louisville, Stanford and SMU will be announced at a later date. 

Discussion from...

Additional Kickoff Times Set For 2025 Cal Football Season

3,543 Views | 35 Replies | Last: 8 hrs ago by 72CalBear
oskidunker
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11:57a, 5/29/25
All night games. Glad I did not buy season tickets. Ugh
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Sebastabear
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1:13p, 5/29/25
My first thought in glancing at this was "Look at all the night games. People are going to be pissed." But on a deeper dive I'm actually pretty pleased by these slots and wouldn't have designed anything different (for these at least) even with a totally blank sheet of paper.

@OSU - August 30, 7:30 pm. Almost has to be a night game. It can be really hot in Oregon that time of year. May head up for this one as our last trip up there in 2022 was not bueno - that was the game where I believe Milchalczik told us candidly that we had the worst coached offensive line he had ever seen. Not unrelated that was the only time where I sent an email to Justin voicing an opinion on one of his assistant coaches. Think the talent differential will still allow this to be a solid W this year.

Texas Southern - September 6, 3:00 pm. Perfect time for an FCS game.

Minnesota - September 13, 7:30 pm. Our big OOC for the year. Need the students to show up and as we have discussed night games work for them. 1:00 PM kickoffs do not. Plus, it can be pretty hot in mid-September in Berkeley as well. We should be undefeated at this point, which will also get people to show up . Should be great. Was at the 2009 game where we played them @Minnesota and Jahvid Best went off. God, I loved watching him play.

@San Diego State - September 20, 7:30 pm. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have never beaten these guys in San Diego. Four losses down there. That streak has to end. Still a hot time of the year. Good for night games.

UNC - October 17, 7:30 pm. Not a fan of the mid-October or later night games but given it's a Friday night there's no other option. Plus, once again, we need the students for this one and a 7:30 PM kickoff will be perfect to maximize student attendance. Calgorithm should be running wild by this point in the season if we're doing well. A lot of material to work with. We definitely need a few "Our Jordan is better than your Jordon" signs. Hopefully by then either Moko or King are going off.

@Virginia Tech - October 24, 7:30 pm. Another Friday night game so there's really no option. Should be an amazing atmosphere though. Hope the team is rolling by then.

Of course it's the unassigned part of the roster that will really tell the tale for us. . If we are winning, we'll start getting better and better slots. Lose and these won't be the only night games we will be facing.
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sycasey
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1:43p, 5/29/25
I know the old dudes here don't love the 7:30 start times for attending games, but the truth is that those time slots actually draw a pretty good TV audience. The reason? Not many other games are on at that time, so football fans will just watch whatever football is in front of them.

I would also note that these night games are the most likely to be announced early in the season. There will probably be more day games in the upcoming TBD slots.
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bencgilmore
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1:45p, 5/29/25
SD State fans are pretty high on this years' team. Lot of castoff transfers from other programs. Definitely not a sure win.
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kal kommie
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3:21p, 5/29/25
Four is too many 7:30 or later kickoffs in my book and there are probably more yet to come. But I know we're powerless here, just like we are in every other aspect in which this sport has gone down the tubes.
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Calfan92
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3:32p, 5/29/25
ick.
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Bjorn91
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4:13p, 5/29/25
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.
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GivemTheAxe
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In reply to oskidunker • 7:27p, 5/29/25
oskidunker said:
All night games. Glad I did not buy season tickets. Ugh
I would prefer 12:30 start time for all home games. But in September and October games can be brutal on sunny days.
There are several advantages to night games:

1. Nights are warm and pleasant.

2. There is plenty of time for a pre-game tailgate OR to gather at La Vals (on Northside) for pre-game Pizza followed by an not too difficult walk up to Memorial Stadium.

3. Post-game walk to my parking spot near West Gate is very pleasant with a beautiful night view of the campus: Hearst Mining Building, Doe Library, Memorial Glade, Moffett Undergraduate Library and the East Asian Library. .
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calumnus
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In reply to Bjorn91 • 1:23a, 5/30/25
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.


Of the 5 games, 3 are 7:30 kickoffs on the West Coast (9:30 Central, 10:30 Eastern). Lots of people still in the bars at that time. Assuming the game ends 3 hours later is 12:30 Central, 1:30 Eastern. I am not in bars that late, but I understand many are.
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mbBear
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In reply to Bjorn91 • 8:39a, 5/30/25
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.
Sharing the East Coast with you, I dread the starts, but yeah, I stay up most of the time.
The question is does being in "Prime Time" in the Pacific time zone off-set whatever loss there is on the East Coast? If I am remembering correctly(always a big IF), the numbers for "After Dark" aren't too bad...and, let's face it, this space exists because there is some level of success for the Networks.
Not for nothing, population growth over the last number of years in the Mountain Time Zone doesn't help matters for us in the East. Then, of course, it's "not quite as late" in the Central...
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BearoutEast67
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In reply to Bjorn91 • 8:40a, 5/30/25
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.
It is hard to stay awake. But I try to do so anyway! On rare occasions, I'll record and watch in the morning but then that brings all the spoiler alerts and possible damage to the team's ju-ju during the game, as I wasn't wearing my lucky Bear feet slippers.
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
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sycasey
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In reply to calumnus • 9:14a, 5/30/25
calumnus said:
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.


Of the 5 games, 3 are 7:30 kickoffs on the West Coast (9:30 Central, 10:30 Eastern). Lots of people still in the bars at that time. Assuming the game ends 3 hours later is 12:30 Central, 1:30 Eastern. I am not in bars that late, but I understand many are.
I will reiterate that the late games may not be ideal for the old men on this board, but they tend to draw better ratings than our afternoon games. It's simply not true that those games hurt Cal's media exposure.

They may hurt attendance, though again, our best-attended game last year was Miami . . . a late game.
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Jeff82
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9:22a, 5/30/25
The games are being scheduled for TV, which I get. Also, if a night game is better for the students, so be it. But I am glad I decided not to buy season tickets, given that at least two of the six games are at night, which I doubt my 90-year-old Dad will be interested in going to. I probably will go to Minnesota, because a night game in mid-September should be good weather. October, not so much.
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mbBear
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In reply to Jeff82 • 10:19a, 5/30/25
Jeff82 said:
The games are being scheduled for TV, which I get. Also, if a night game is better for the students, so be it. But I am glad I decided not to buy season tickets, given that at least two of the six games are at night, which I doubt my 90-year-old Dad will be interested in going to. I probably will go to Minnesota, because a night game in mid-September should be good weather. October, not so much.
I will say this, having experienced night games in the SEC: it's beyond electric. Now, you can tell me that (a lot) bigger crowds plays a part, and there is some tradition there, but it's fantastic....
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sycasey
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In reply to mbBear • 11:07a, 5/30/25
Down South they far prefer night games, because it's hot as f*** during the day.
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smh
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In reply to sycasey • 11:49a, 5/30/25
sycasey said:
Down South they far prefer night games, because it's hot as f*** during the day.
riight, and established Trend is not our friend.
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ac_green33
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In reply to mbBear • 12:20p, 5/30/25
mbBear said:
Jeff82 said:
The games are being scheduled for TV, which I get. Also, if a night game is better for the students, so be it. But I am glad I decided not to buy season tickets, given that at least two of the six games are at night, which I doubt my 90-year-old Dad will be interested in going to. I probably will go to Minnesota, because a night game in mid-September should be good weather. October, not so much.
I will say this, having experienced night games in the SEC: it's beyond electric. Now, you can tell me that (a lot) bigger crowds plays a part, and there is some tradition there, but it's fantastic....
I went to an LSU Bama night game in Death Valley and then The Big Game the following week and Berkeley (unfortunately) felt like a funeral in comparison
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golden sloth
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In reply to sycasey • 1:32p, 5/30/25
sycasey said:
I know the old dudes here don't love the 7:30 start times for attending games, but the truth is that those time slots actually draw a pretty good TV audience. The reason? Not many other games are on at that time, so football fans will just watch whatever football is in front of them.

I would also note that these night games are the most likely to be announced early in the season. There will probably be more day games in the upcoming TBD slots.
This probably isn't the best attitude, but I've already given up on the season, so I'm mostly cheering for good ratings to help bolster Cal's case with the media execs in another two or three years.

Unfortunately, this year's slate of games are not overly compelling, so I'm happy we have the number of late night / national games to help minimize the competition and draw better ratings. Of the non-assigned games, I'm thinking only SMU might get picked up nationally (mainly because its Thanksgiving weekend and the games are spread out over Friday and Saturday, so there are more timeslots available).
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sycasey
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In reply to golden sloth • 1:41p, 5/30/25
golden sloth said:
sycasey said:
I know the old dudes here don't love the 7:30 start times for attending games, but the truth is that those time slots actually draw a pretty good TV audience. The reason? Not many other games are on at that time, so football fans will just watch whatever football is in front of them.

I would also note that these night games are the most likely to be announced early in the season. There will probably be more day games in the upcoming TBD slots.
This probably isn't the best attitude, but I've already given up on the season, so I'm mostly cheering for good ratings to help bolster Cal's case with the media execs in another two or three years.

Unfortunately, this year's slate of games are not overly compelling, so I'm happy we have the number of late night / national games to help minimize the competition and draw better ratings. Of the non-assigned games, I'm thinking only SMU might get picked up nationally (mainly because its Thanksgiving weekend and the games are spread out over Friday and Saturday, so there are more timeslots available).
Louisville might be good, so maybe that game too. Otherwise I suspect a steady dose of ACC Network for the rest.
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TandemBear
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2:43p, 5/30/25
Let me get this straight:

(All posted times PDT.)
@OSU - August 30, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
Texas Southern - September 6, 3:00 pm. (6:00pm EDT)
Minnesota - September 13, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@San Diego State - September 20, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
UNC - October 17, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@Virginia Tech - October 24, 4:30 pm (7:30pm EDT)

Unbelievable!

Not a SINGLE 12:30 game? This is EXACTLY what irrelevance and relegation look like.
Older crowd/alumni? Gone.
Tradition? Gone.
Beautiful fall day in Memorial? Mostly gone.
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)

Long, (not-so) slow slide into extinction right here.
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sycasey
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In reply to TandemBear • 3:13p, 5/30/25
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.
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ac_green33
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In reply to TandemBear • 3:34p, 5/30/25
TandemBear said:
Let me get this straight:

(All posted times PDT.)
@OSU - August 30, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
Texas Southern - September 6, 3:00 pm. (6:00pm EDT)
Minnesota - September 13, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@San Diego State - September 20, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
UNC - October 17, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@Virginia Tech - October 24, 4:30 pm (7:30pm EDT)

Unbelievable!

Not a SINGLE 12:30 game? This is EXACTLY what irrelevance and relegation look like.
Older crowd/alumni? Gone.
Tradition? Gone.
Beautiful fall day in Memorial? Mostly gone.
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)

Long, (not-so) slow slide into extinction right here.
That is 1/2 of the total games. The rest could all be 12:30 starts, we have no way of knowing.

I'd also argue that having national TV games in a less saturated timeslot is a good way to build a national following, or at least interest. Having a game on the pac-12 or ACC network going up against Texas Alabama or Ohio St Penn St is a great way to have literally 0 people outside of Cal fans watch.
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Bjorn91
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In reply to sycasey • 7:58p, 5/30/25
sycasey said:
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.


The game on the background in a bar at midnight is not being watched by anyone. It's just on. Trust me, I haven't come across anyone between the age of 22-60 here in the South that has watched a night time Cal game. Few bother to watch USC or Oregon for that matter. Maybe I'm overstating it, but we are mostly sending that telecast into the ether. This hasn't mattered in the past, but being part of the ACC we should be trying to make ourselves relevant to our market.
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golden sloth
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In reply to TandemBear • 7:59p, 5/30/25
TandemBear said:
Let me get this straight:

(All posted times PDT.)
@OSU - August 30, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
Texas Southern - September 6, 3:00 pm. (6:00pm EDT)
Minnesota - September 13, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@San Diego State - September 20, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
UNC - October 17, 7:30 pm (10:30pm EDT)
@Virginia Tech - October 24, 4:30 pm (7:30pm EDT)

Unbelievable!

Not a SINGLE 12:30 game? This is EXACTLY what irrelevance and relegation look like.
Older crowd/alumni? Gone.
Tradition? Gone.
Beautiful fall day in Memorial? Mostly gone.
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)

Long, (not-so) slow slide into extinction right here.


Most people dont like 12:30 games, and they would get buried by the competition when competing for ratings.
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mbBear
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In reply to sycasey • 8:01p, 5/30/25
sycasey said:
Down South they far prefer night games, because it's hot as f*** during the day.


Um, you think there is a nice ocean breeze at night?
Like they don't tailgate all afternoon...
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golden sloth
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In reply to Bjorn91 • 8:04p, 5/30/25
Bjorn91 said:
sycasey said:
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.


The game on the background in a bar at midnight is not being watched by anyone. It's just on. Trust me, I haven't come across anyone between the age of 22-60 here in the South that has watched a night time Cal game. Few bother to watch USC or Oregon for that matter. Maybe I'm overstating it, but we are mostly sending that telecast into the ether. This hasn't mattered in the past, but being part of the ACC we should be trying to make ourselves relevant to our market.


Playing games to try and cultivate or accommodate an east coast audience is a terrible idea. I agree there might be a difference between ratings and people watching the games, as this would be the midnight game that is just on at the bar. But Cal is desperate for ratings, and being the lone midnight game is far better than competing against the Big Ten, SEC and whatever top ten matchup is scheduled for that weekend.

Cal will be no one's top choice of game, so the ratings will be better if Cal is the only choice.
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sycasey
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In reply to Bjorn91 • 8:40p, 5/30/25
Bjorn91 said:
sycasey said:
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.


The game on the background in a bar at midnight is not being watched by anyone. It's just on. Trust me, I haven't come across anyone between the age of 22-60 here in the South that has watched a night time Cal game. Few bother to watch USC or Oregon for that matter. Maybe I'm overstating it, but we are mostly sending that telecast into the ether. This hasn't mattered in the past, but being part of the ACC we should be trying to make ourselves relevant to our market.

They wouldn't watch the game if it was on at 12:30 either because they'd be watching the SEC game instead. At least Cal can be "just on" and in front of people when they're the only major game on at night. We're talking about relative viewership based on time slots here, and sorry but the numbers don't lie: barring a prime slot on a major broadcast network (which we aren't going to get unless the team is a LOT better than it has been since 2008), the night games get better ratings than the day games. The numbers don't lie; your anecdotal experience might.
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calumnus
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In reply to sycasey • 11:20p, 5/30/25
sycasey said:
Bjorn91 said:
sycasey said:
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.


The game on the background in a bar at midnight is not being watched by anyone. It's just on. Trust me, I haven't come across anyone between the age of 22-60 here in the South that has watched a night time Cal game. Few bother to watch USC or Oregon for that matter. Maybe I'm overstating it, but we are mostly sending that telecast into the ether. This hasn't mattered in the past, but being part of the ACC we should be trying to make ourselves relevant to our market.

They wouldn't watch the game if it was on at 12:30 either because they'd be watching the SEC game instead. At least Cal can be "just on" and in front of people when they're the only major game on at night. We're talking about relative viewership based on time slots here, and sorry but the numbers don't lie: barring a prime slot on a major broadcast network (which we aren't going to get unless the team is a LOT better than it has been since 2008), the night games get better ratings than the day games. The numbers don't lie; your anecdotal experience might.


Lots of people around the country watched that Cal-Miami game, the ratings were good and there was a lot of discussion of how Wilcox blew it with incorrect strategy. Was even featured in a bad coaching podcast, so we know it was more than just "on on the background" though for our purposes, it doesn't matter. We just need the ratings.
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sycasey
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In reply to calumnus • 9:46a, 5/31/25
calumnus said:
sycasey said:
Bjorn91 said:
sycasey said:
TandemBear said:
Nationwide viewers? Gone. (I know, I know, we haven't had 'em in years anyway...)
Already discussed, but this part at least is not true. People do watch those games.


The game on the background in a bar at midnight is not being watched by anyone. It's just on. Trust me, I haven't come across anyone between the age of 22-60 here in the South that has watched a night time Cal game. Few bother to watch USC or Oregon for that matter. Maybe I'm overstating it, but we are mostly sending that telecast into the ether. This hasn't mattered in the past, but being part of the ACC we should be trying to make ourselves relevant to our market.

They wouldn't watch the game if it was on at 12:30 either because they'd be watching the SEC game instead. At least Cal can be "just on" and in front of people when they're the only major game on at night. We're talking about relative viewership based on time slots here, and sorry but the numbers don't lie: barring a prime slot on a major broadcast network (which we aren't going to get unless the team is a LOT better than it has been since 2008), the night games get better ratings than the day games. The numbers don't lie; your anecdotal experience might.


Lots of people around the country watched that Cal-Miami game, the ratings were good and there was a lot of discussion of how Wilcox blew it with incorrect strategy. Was even featured in a bad coaching podcast, so we know it was more than just "on on the background" though for our purposes, it doesn't matter. We just need the ratings.

Yup, and there was also a lot of talk about how the refs blew the shoulda-been targeting call on Fernando at the end. It dominated college-football Twitter discourse for that week, especially since it came after Miami had just gotten another borderline call to go their way the week before. People obviously watched the game.
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bipolarbear
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In reply to kal kommie • 4:51p, 5/31/25
kal kommie said:
Four is too many 7:30 or later kickoffs in my book and there are probably more yet to come. But I know we're powerless here, just like we are in every other aspect in which this sport has gone down the tubes.
ACC After Dark!
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sycasey
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In reply to bipolarbear • 5:44p, 5/31/25
bipolarbear said:
kal kommie said:
Four is too many 7:30 or later kickoffs in my book and there are probably more yet to come. But I know we're powerless here, just like we are in every other aspect in which this sport has gone down the tubes.
ACC After Dark!
Yes, though in fairness two of these are not under the ACC contract. The Oregon State game is under the current Pac-12 deal (which I guess includes ESPN this year) and SDSU is under the Mountain West's.
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CALiforniALUM
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In reply to mbBear • 6:26a, 6/1/25
mbBear said:
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.
Sharing the East Coast with you, I dread the starts, but yeah, I stay up most of the time.
The question is does being in "Prime Time" in the Pacific time zone off-set whatever loss there is on the East Coast? If I am remembering correctly(always a big IF), the numbers for "After Dark" aren't too bad...and, let's face it, this space exists because there is some level of success for the Networks.
Not for nothing, population growth over the last number of years in the Mountain Time Zone doesn't help matters for us in the East. Then, of course, it's "not quite as late" in the Central...


I've just gotten in the habit of recording the game, setting up the coffee maker and the mimosas for an early Sunday morning replay. Key is not to check your phone under any circumstances.
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bipolarbear
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In reply to sycasey • 8:13a, 6/1/25
sycasey said:
bipolarbear said:
kal kommie said:
Four is too many 7:30 or later kickoffs in my book and there are probably more yet to come. But I know we're powerless here, just like we are in every other aspect in which this sport has gone down the tubes.
ACC After Dark!
Yes, though in fairness two of these are not under the ACC contract. The Oregon State game is under the current Pac-12 deal (which I guess includes ESPN this year) and SDSU is under the Mountain West's.
Yeah, but we are in the ACC.
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mbBear
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In reply to CALiforniALUM • 8:57a, 6/1/25
CALiforniALUM said:
mbBear said:
Bjorn91 said:
Now that I live on the East Coast…I can tell you these games are nearly unwatchable. Only a diehard cal fan will watch games that go to 2am. Not good for our brand.
Sharing the East Coast with you, I dread the starts, but yeah, I stay up most of the time.
The question is does being in "Prime Time" in the Pacific time zone off-set whatever loss there is on the East Coast? If I am remembering correctly(always a big IF), the numbers for "After Dark" aren't too bad...and, let's face it, this space exists because there is some level of success for the Networks.
Not for nothing, population growth over the last number of years in the Mountain Time Zone doesn't help matters for us in the East. Then, of course, it's "not quite as late" in the Central...


I've just gotten in the habit of recording the game, setting up the coffee maker and the mimosas for an early Sunday morning replay. Key is not to check your phone under any circumstances.
I have never had the discipline to record sports of any kind...but especially Cal sports....a character flaw for sure...
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72CalBear
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8:04p, 6/1/25
Worrying about Bear kickoff times in relation to national audience and exposure is needless. Cal football is no longer relevant - we know that, and even my So Cal friends who used to follow us around USC and Ucla, could now care less. Trying to watch Cal games even in between SC and Ucla down here is a joke. I had to pay a bar server just to turn a game on one of the 20 plus TVs in a sports bar here. Stay up until 1030 for kickoff? After a full day of college football? ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzBears
Bring back bottled beer and cigars at CMS. Should get us back in the Rose Bowl!
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