Cal Football Explores Alternate Sites for Fall Camp

Golden Bears Head Coach Justin Wilcox says, 'everything's on the table'

The Golden Bears may be headed outside of Berkeley, Calif., and the San Francisco Bay Area for football camp this fall.

"Everything's on the table," California Head Coach Justin Wilcox said when asked about the possibility of an off-campus training camp on a webinar organized by the Pac-12 Conference Thursday.

California Head Coach Justin Wilcox (Photo: Cal Football Twitter)

Earlier this week, a University of California spokesperson told media it's unlikely California and the other nine campuses of the public university system will "fully" reopen this fall. With universities avoiding in-person instruction for students, it's doubtful that university administrators would allow for athletic competitions or training on campus.

Indeed, local officials in Berkeley, Calif., and its surrounding Alameda County, have also been more conservative in reopening from stay-at-home orders intended to combat the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

"We're looking at every scenario," Coach Wilcox explained about his staff and the university's exploratory work for the coming football season. "Whether that's June 1, June 15, July 1, July 15, Aug. 1, there's just these different points where we're looking at [as] a possibility.”

The Golden Bears head coach added the discussions are ongoing daily at the conference and university-levels and that he and his staff have already discussed different potential sites.

“It could be, so we've modeled that out, and how in-depth you go on that, we've discussed preliminary... logistics,” Coach Wilcox continued, referring to the likelihood of an off-campus training camp.

"We have talked about that. If it was a necessity in order for us to prepare to play, then that would be something we would consider," Coach Wilcox reiterated on the webinar.

The Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are also likely exploring alternate sites for fall football training, as the other three California-based teams in the Pac-12 Conference.

With a campus in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Cardinal face similar restrictions on large in-person gatherings, including football training, as the Golden Bears. Los Angeles County, home to the Bruins and Trojans, is also the epicenter of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in the state of California with at least 33,180 confirmed cases and more than 1,600 deaths.