Cal Football Debuts Hawaiian Tribal-Patterned Helmets for the Hawaii Bowl
The California Golden Bears are pulling out some very tasteful cultural designs for their game in Honolulu.
The California Golden Bears continue their push into a new era with new helmets! Introducing the Hawaii Bowl alternative looks, which will debut when the Bears match up with Hawaii on Christmas Eve.
There are many nice touches on this Hawaiian helmet, from the tribal patterns on the bear claw and the stripe down the center.
The Cal connections with Hawaii also likely played a large part in this tribute to the trip to the isles, as the Bears continue to expand their reach in a fertile pipeline for top football talent.
Cal interim head coach (and 2026 quarterback coach) Nick Rolovich was the starting quarterback at Hawaii and served as head coach at Hawaii for several seasons. Current Cal offensive line coach Famika Anae also originates from Hawaii.
Cal starting quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is the leading high school passer in state history.
Cal has several other Hawaiians on their team, including defensive lineman Stanley Saole-McKenzie, defensive back Aiden Manutai, and defensive lineman LeBron Williams.
Cal has several incoming Hawaiian recruits from the 2026 class, like quarterback Nainoa Lopes, tight end Taimane Purcell, offensive linemen Esaiah Wong and Kamo’i Huihui-White.
Cal football also stepped up their marketing in Hawaii, as these digital billboards are currently set up at the Honolulu International Airport.
It’s great that the coaches and players are looking to win this game….not just show up for an after season scrimmage as they did the last 2 bowl games under JW’s watch. Should be a great game. Hawaii will be very tough to beat playing in Honolulu.
Awesome lids.