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Cal Announces 2025-26 Nonconference Schedule

July 28, 2025
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BERKELEY – Eleven home contests at Haas Pavilion and marquee road/neutral site matchups with Kansas State and UCLA highlight the Golden Bears’ 2025-26 nonconference slate, announced today by the California men’s basketball program. The Bears’ schedule features the return of former Pac-12 foe Utah while adding four new opponents in out-of-league competition.

The third year of the Mark Madsen era will tip off Nov. 3 against CSU Bakersfield, the first of three consecutive home contests to open the season. Cal defeated CSU Bakersfield, 86-73, in its season opener last November. The Bears will host Wright State later that same week on Nov. 6 in the first meeting between the two programs, before welcoming CSU Fullerton to Berkeley for the first time since Dec. 16, 2017, when the Bears notched a 95-89 overtime win in their only clash on the hardwood with the Titans.

The Bears will head to Kansas State on Nov. 13 for their only true road contest of the nonconference slate. The Wildcats hold a 4-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1958. Cal and KSU last met in November 2022 in Haas Pavilion when the Bears battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit before ultimately falling to the Wildcats, 63-54.

Cal will return to the Bay for a three-game lineup as part of the previously announced 2025 Empire Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project, Gazelle Group. The Bears will host Presbyterian (Nov. 18) and Sacramento State (Nov. 21) as part of the multi-team event before clashing with UCLA in a neutral site matchup at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 25.

The second half of the Bears’ nonconference schedule will include a six-game homestand, beginning with a game against Utah on Dec. 2. This will be the 28th meeting between the two programs on the hardwood, with the Utes holding a five-win advantage in the all-time series record.

Cal will welcome back Northwestern State (Dec. 13) for the second consecutive year and face a pair of new opponents in Dominican University of California (Dec. 9) and Morgan State (Dec. 19). Cal will wrap up nonconference competition Dec. 21 when Columbia makes the trip to the west coast for the Lions’ third meeting with the Bears and first since 2003.

Game times and television/streaming designations for Cal's 2025-26 nonconference slate will be announced at later dates.
 
Season tickets for the 2025-26 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu.

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Discussion from...

Cal Announces 2025-26 Nonconference Schedule

2,098 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 2 days ago by annarborbear
sonofabear51
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1:58p, 7/28/25
Cal beat Fullerton in the 1st round of the NIT in 1987. I was there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_National_Invitation_Tournament
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barsad
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In reply to sonofabear51 • 4:17p, 7/28/25
Bring it on Presby, take off that Blue Hose!
I like a patsy-stacked noncon schedule, but did we go too far in choosing tiny religious schools? The likes of Presby and Dominican aren't great warmups for the giants of the ACC.
If we can play respectably against K State, UCLA, Utah and Columbia (fearing a Cornell '24 debacle at home), then we can look forward to a successful spring 2026. Nice job on the remember-the-Pac-12 pair of games. Go Bears!
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oskidunker
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4:33p, 7/28/25
Is Bozeman still coaching Morgan State?
Bring back It’s It’s to Haas Pavillion!
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oskidunker
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5:33p, 7/28/25
I thought we were playing usc
Bring back It’s It’s to Haas Pavillion!
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barsad
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In reply to oskidunker • 5:43p, 7/28/25
Kevin Broadus has been at M State since 2019 with a very Cal-like record of 82-93
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BearSD
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In reply to barsad • 3:55a, 7/29/25
barsad said:
Kevin Broadus has been at M State since 2019 with a very Cal-like record of 82-93

That's better than Madsen at Cal so far. Our Bears would have to win at least 18 games this year for Madsen's Cal winning percentage to get to the 47% that Broadus is at now.
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SFCityBear
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3:09p, 7/29/25
Kansas State is usually a good test.

In Cal's greatest season 1958-59, my father and I went to Harmon on Dec. 12, 1958 to watch Cal play its 4th game of the pre-conference season, against Kansas State. The Bears were just coming off a tough 2 point win over #14 St Marys.

Kansas State was ranked #3, so we thought this game would give us an idea of how good Cal might be. The game did not disappoint. Kansas State's star player, 6-8 forward Bob Boozer, was the #3 rated player in the country, averaging 26 points per game. He would go on to be a Consensus All-American, a #1 NBA draft pick, and a future Hall of Famer. Kansas State was coached by future Hall of Fame coach, Tex Winter, who would later take his triangle offense to the NBA as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls, where they won all those NBA championships.

Kansas State also had a very tough, smooth guard, Don Matuszak, the kid brother of Marv Matuszak, a star SF49er linebacker who was a local hero to Bay Area fans. Don Matuszak was a real factor in the game along with the other guard. In the first half, after a steal, a rebound, or a Cal bucket, Matuszak would try and pass the ball down way down the floor to the other guard, who was so far ahead of the defense, that he would easily score a layup. They ran this a couple of times before Newell called timeout. After the timeout, Kansas State never tried that play again, because Cal's defense was ready for it. The game was neck and neck the rest of the way, with Cal losing by 68-65. Those two layups were the difference between winning and losing. My father and I went to all the home games that season, and in those games, we never saw any team get a breakaway basket by getting behind the Cal defense on the inbounds pass. We knew then that Cal was pretty good, and could compete with the best. Newell's team would go on to win the NCAA title a few months later.

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annarborbear
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8:21p, 7/29/25
I went to my first Cal basketball game also in 1958-59. Just thought I would mention one thing of note from reviewing rosters of the 59-60 championship game. All of Ohio State's top seven players, plus their coach, grew up in Ohio. For Cal, all of out top seven plus our coach grew up in California, except for Bill McClintock. Different times.
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