The California Golden Bears may not be a modern-day powerhouse in the Pac-12, but they are an important part of the conference’s history. The Golden Bears have many long-lasting rivalries within the league, which can make cheap California football tickets challenging to find. In addition to being a prominent part of West Coast football history, there is strong evidence that the Golden Bears are on the rise again. With the team ready to start competing for conference titles again, last-minute California football tickets are once again in high demand.

Early Dominance

In 1916, College Football Hall of Fame member Andy Smith took over as the head coach at Cal. Smith’s arrival in Berkeley coincided with the Bears joining the Pacific Coast Conference and jumpstarted a decade of dominance. In 1918, Cal won its first-ever conference championship. Two years later, Smith led the Golden Bears on a run of five straight undefeated seasons, a stretch that included four straight national championships from 1920 to 1923. Even after Smith’s departure, Cal continued to be one of the best football programs on the West Coast, culminating in another national championship in 1937.

Waking Up

For the second half of the 20th century, the Bears were in a prolonged state of hibernation. They won just two conference titles during those 50 years and only rarely found themselves in the top-25. However, Cal football started to wakeup under head coach Jeff Tedford. In 2002, Tedford took over a program that was 1-10 the previous season. In his second season, Tedford led Cal to a bowl game, and in his third season, the Bears finished 10-2 and ranked in the top-10 at season’s end. It was a miraculous turnaround that culminated in Cal winning the Pac-10 crown in 2006, snapping a 31-year drought. More importantly, it was a reminder that the Golden Bears are more than capable of being a West Coast powerhouse.