The Joe Roth Memorial Game is back at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, and Cal’s season opener against UCLA will bring a long-dormant tradition back to life.
For the Bears, it’s a chance to honor one of the program’s defining figures again in front of a home crowd. For now, though, the future of the tribute beyond this season is still up in the air.
Roth was the kind of player who made people pay attention. A dynamic, charismatic star for Cal in 1975 and 1976, he entered his senior season as a Heisman Trophy favorite and was viewed as maybe the top NFL quarterback prospect in the country. But melanoma returned quietly during the 1976 season, even as he kept playing, and Roth died on Feb. 19, 1977, at just 21 years old.
Born and raised in Southern California, Roth was first remembered by Cal beginning with the 1977 season. From then through 2023, the school marked the Joe Roth Memorial Game every year against the Bears’ two Los Angeles-area conference rivals, USC and UCLA. That setup changed when Cal moved to the ACC and UCLA headed to the Big Ten before the 2024-25 academic year, wiping those matchups off the regular schedule.
A new four-year agreement signed by Cal and UCLA in July brought the Bruins back to Berkeley this season and again in 2028. There isn’t currently a Los Angeles-area opponent on Cal’s schedule in 2027 or beyond 2028, and school officials are still weighing options for keeping the event going down the road.
New Cal coach Tosh Lupoi, who played defensive line for the Bears from 2000 through ’05, said he knows what Roth means to the program and wants his team to understand that legacy.
“Certainly a Cal legend,” Lupoi said. “It’s important to me that the important traditions here and knowledge of the greats like Joe Roth, that our team is educated on those.”
Lupoi said the players watched a presentation on Roth that included “his fighting character, what he embodies as a Cal Bear . . . but more importantly, fighting through that (cancer) battle and doing it with such a humble approach.”
Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele said the chance to wear throwback uniforms from Roth’s era adds another layer to the night.
“We’re ready to represent this school and represent him and the legacy he built when he was here,” Sagapolutele said.
“Ultimately, if we had a majority of the team representing the principles and values of Joe Roth, we’re probably going to one in a position to win a lot of games.”
In Other News...
Cal Fans Now Face A Dark New Question About That Resignation
Chelsea Spencers resignation as UC Berkeleys head softball coach in June 2025 initially landed as a personal decision, one tied to mental health and family reasons. At the time, it was framed as the abrupt end of a notable chapter in the program, the kind of departure that leaves fans looking back on what might have been while trusting the explanation they were given.
Now the story carries a far darker edge. A lawsuit filed in August 2026 by an anonymous former player has put Spencer and the university under legal scrutiny, raising questions about what was happening inside the program long before the resignation became public. The case also suggests the school was notified of the allegations and took action against the player, turning a once-private coaching departure into a broader reckoning for Cal athletics. [Read more 🡒]
Cals UCLA Opener Just Got Trickier Than Bears Fans Realized
UCLAs season opener against Cal is looking a little more complicated for the Bears than it did a few days ago. In a Q&A with UCLA Bruins on SI, Kade Nix laid out why the Bruins have become a tougher read under new head coach Bob Chesney, who is already changing the tone around the program and giving UCLA fans real reason to pay close attention to the start of the season.
Nix also dug into the Bruins roster and pointed to a few pieces that could make the opener more difficult on both sides of the ball, especially if the offense takes a step forward the way some around the program expect. The Cal defense will need to sort through a revamped attack and a new coaching staff at the same time, which is plenty to handle before you even get to the uncertainty around who lines up for the Bruins when kickoff finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Opens ACC Era With A Rival Test Fans Will Feel Fast
Cals first step into the ACC comes with a familiar foe and a familiar kind of spotlight, as UCLA heads to Memorial Stadium on Saturday night in a matchup that feels more like a reset than a routine nonconference game. It also doubles as Tosh Lupois first home game as head coach, giving the Bears an immediate chance to show what this new era looks like in front of a crowd that should be ready to lean in from the start.
The matchup carries the extra edge of a duel between new coaches, and it has already drawn enough interest to make the atmosphere feel bigger than a September opener. With the Bruins favored by a slim margin, the stakes are less about the betting line than the early read on how Cal handles a rivalry test that could set the tone fast for how its ACC journey is viewed. [Read more 🡒]