Cal Athletics, Dialpad Announce Landmark Jersey Patch Sponsorship

BERKELEY, CALIF. – In a landmark moment for California Athletics, Dialpad – the AI platform for customer experience – has been selected as the inaugural jersey patch sponsor across all 30 of the Golden Bears' sports programs. Dialpad has also been named the Official AI Platform for Fan Experience of Cal Athletics in what is the largest corporate partnership in Golden Bears history.

The partnership ties two forces at the leading edge of AI onto the same team at the epicenter of AI innovation. UC Berkeley is at the forefront of AI, the ground zero where the startups, professors and students defining the field come together, making it a natural home for Dialpad.

“This is a historic moment for Cal Athletics,” Cal Co-Directors of Athletics Jenny Simon-O'Neill and Jay Larson said. “Our partnership with Dialpad will have a profound impact on our student-athletes, department and university as we move forward in this dynamic era of intercollegiate athletics. Craig Walker, Dialpad’s CEO, is a true Golden Bear, and we are thrilled to work side by side with him and Dialpad in this new venture.”

"This sponsorship is a vital step for Cal Athletics, and for the university,” said Chancellor Rich Lyons. “In the evolving landscape of college sports, collaborations like this with partners who share our values help provide the support our student-athletes need to thrive and excel. We’re proud to partner with Dialpad, and welcome their vote of confidence as we launch a new era of excellence for Cal Athletics.”

An Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First

Continuing the trend of serving as an innovator and trailblazer among its peers, Cal is now the first athletic department in the ACC to announce a jersey patch sponsor for any sport. The comprehensive multi-year partnership, facilitated by Learfield's Cal Bears Sports Properties, will maximize Dialpad’s visibility with the brand woven into the fabric worn by more than 850 Golden Bear student athletes.

“We are thrilled to enter into this remarkable partnership with Dialpad,” Cal Football General Manager Ron Rivera said. “The benefits will be extensive in a variety of ways and will have a far-reaching impact on our football program and athletic department. We are excited to partner with Dialpad as we continue to thrive in the changing landscape of college football.”

The Official AI Platform for Fan Experience of Cal Athletics

As the Official AI Platform for Fan Experience of Cal Athletics, Cal will deploy Dialpad AI to understand and elevate every fan interaction beginning with the 2026-27 athletics season. Dialpad's AI agents and human agents work as one to understand what a fan needs, take action to resolve it in the moment, learn from the people they work alongside, and get measurably better with every interaction.

“Fans reach out because they care,” said Craig Walker, Co-founder and CEO of Dialpad. “They want to attend the game, find the answer or solve the issue without starting over. That's exactly what Dialpad is built to deliver – AI that doesn't just talk, but takes action. Cal is setting the pace for how athletics programs connect with fans, and getting to build that future at the university that shaped me makes this one especially personal.”

A Partnership Rooted at Berkeley

The partnership is also personal. Berkeley is where Walker got his start, which makes bringing Dialpad back to campus especially fitting. The connection reflects a shared belief in what Berkeley has always stood for: using new ideas to move the world forward. Now, Dialpad will continue to enhance that spirit through Golden Bear student-athletes and NIL programming that includes an original content series debuting on Cal Athletics social media, player appearances at brand events, and “Dialpad Dedicated Fans” video calls.

In addition to the premium year-round visibility of the all-sport jersey patch and the authentic fan connection delivered through student-athlete influence marketing, the partnership features naming rights to the Dialpad Field Club – the largest club space at California Memorial Stadium – as well as on-field apron logos with TV broadcast visibility behind one end zone.

Dialpad will also activate across signage and promotion inside California Memorial Stadium and Haas Pavilion for Cal football and basketball home games, radio broadcast spots during all Cal football games, and digital advertising via CalBears.com, the Cal Bears mobile app, and Fan365 – Learfield's programmatic digital marketing platform.

“We're proud to work with Craig, an outstanding alum and representative of Cal, to enhance our fan experience, provide NIL opportunities for our incredible student-athletes, and grow the Cal Bears and Dialpad brands together,” said Bryan Meadows, General Manager of Cal Bears Sports Properties. “Dialpad specializes in helping organizations deepen fan interaction and turn conversations into intelligence and understanding, making it a win for Cal, for Dialpad, and for our fans and alums.”

Cal Bears Sports Properties, the locally based team of Learfield – the media and technology company powering college athletics – is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for Cal Athletics and oversees all sponsorship agreements on behalf of the Golden Bears.

For more information on Dialpad, please visit dialpad.com. For more information on Cal Athletics, please visit calbears.com.

About Dialpad

Dialpad is the AI platform for customer experience, providing real-time AI solutions since 2018. Dialpad’s all-in-one solution understands your business and acts on your behalf, getting smarter with each interaction. Our customers are uniquely able to understand their customers, improve customer experience, increase operational efficiency, and build a lasting competitive advantage. Dialpad’s Agentic AI resolves issues, advances deals, and clears busywork, handling routine customer inquiries automatically while working seamlessly alongside human agents on complex issues. Market-leading brands including Randstad, Motorola Solutions, Netflix, the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, and Cal Athletics trust Dialpad. Dialpad is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, GV, ICONIQ Capital, and T-Mobile. Visit dialpad.com to learn more.

About Cal Athletics
Founded in 1868, the University of California's flagship campus at Berkeley is one of the top-ranked universities in the world with 63 Nobel Prizes held by UC Berkeley alumni and offering more than 350 degree programs. Cal Athletics supports 850 student-athletes in 30 sports, and has as its mission: To Educate, Compete, Serve and Excel … Developing Leaders of Tomorrow. Cal teams have earned 106 national championships in 15 different sports, and Golden Bears have collected 246 medals at the Olympic Games.

About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.