Not So Fast, My Bears: What to Know and How to Get to 'College GameDay'

Some suggestions and a place to self-organize to get you, your signs, and your spirit behind the ESPN College GameDay Desk.

Courtesy of @CalFootball on X

In case you’ve been living under a rock, ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Cal to shoot from our glorious Memorial Glade this Saturday at 6 AM before Cal takes on the University of Miami at 7:30 PM up at Memorial Stadium. What does that mean besides lots of fun and festivities? Travel is going to be, shall we say, interesting!

Below we’re collecting resources to get you to GameDay safely, and efficiently, so that you can show off your beautiful sign behind Lee Corso while he dons a pretend Oski Head (because Oski is real and definitely not a person in a costume).

What Time Does ‘College GameDay’ Start?

ESPN’s College GameDay will go live at 6 AM PST and run until 9 AM when the day’s slate of games kickoff. For fans trying to get into the pit (the area directly behind the famous desk), guests will be allowed to line up to enter at midnight Saturday morning and let in at 3:30 AM. The pit will accommodate ~400 individuals. You can and should reasonably expect that fans will be there early, with some rumors of fraternities/sororities/students sleeping out over night on the Glade. There will be an area behind the pit that is open for the rest of us that need sleep to survive.

Golly that’s early! What’s the best way to get there and make sure I can catch Rece Davis welcoming everyone?

Have we got great news for you! BART is planning early trains to get fans from select parts of the Bay to Berkeley, and parking will be free at BART Stations.

Additional details and times are coming (and we’ll try to update the post when available) but BART plans to have trains waiting at Daly City and Dublin/Pleasanton, 16th Street Mission, Powell, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Fremont, Bay Fair, Fruitvale, El Cerrito del Norte, and MacArthur that will get you to Downtown Berkeley by 5 AM!

Additionally, a free shuttle service will run every ~20 minutes or so from Downtown Berkeley BART to Hearst Mining Circle starting at 4 AM and running until 7 AM.

After the game, BART trains will depart Downtown Berkeley up through 12:40am, depending on the specific route. BART will have larger trains running to accommodate the increased crowd sizes.

UPDATE: BART has posted more information! Departure times for the 12 stations that will provide limited service to Downtown Berkeley are posted in the graphic below! These trains are one way, one destination, one time! So don’t miss them! For more information, visit BART.gov or check out BART on Twitter.

Courtesy @SFBART on X

Thanks BART for the help! But I’m planning to drive-in because I have way too many signs that won’t fit on BART. What are my options?

Appreciate the spirit! Four Campus parking lots (RSF Garage, Ellsworth Structure, Genetics Garage, Lower Hearst Structure - Level II) will be available free of charge (no permits!), but your car has to be moved by 11 AM or it will be ticketed and towed.

Hmmm. Sounds like lots of options! Can you put me in touch with someone else that wants to carpool?

What a great idea reader! While we can’t play matchmaker for everyone, we at least want to offer the space for folks to self-organize! If you are planning to drive and can pick up a few folks along the way, let others know where you’re coming from and organize in the comments! Alternatively, you can put #CalTwitter to work and let folks know on Twitter that you’re looking to offer some rides!

Sheesh. All this planning makes me hungry!

I thought I heard that tummy grumbling! The first 1,000 fans in attendance at GameDay will receive free doughnuts, pastries, and coffee (KingPin Donuts pls). Fans will also have an opportunity to compete in the Hunger Games to receive free breakfast burritos throughout the event with additional food and beverage items available for purchase throughout the day (rumor is that Rece Davis is making chocolate chip cookies).

Got it! Anything else I should know?

Below are some random tidbits out there floating in the internet ether that we’ve heard through various channels that might interest you GameDay attender!

• Top Dog is open until 3 AM and will stay open as long as there is a line. Can someone put in a Garlic Frankfurter order for me?

• Hydration (with water!) is key! No buildings will be open that early to fill up, so drink heartily on Friday and Saturday mornings! This is a marathon, not a sprint. So long as a marathon is staying awake.

• There will very likely be porta-potties somewhere on the Glade! Thank you Oski!

• Please please please thank any service staff you see, from BART to campus security to campus grounds staff and Cal Athletics employees! Folks are going out of their way to make this special event happen!

• Please sleep! There’s a lot of time between GameDay ending at 9 AM and Cal kicking off at 7:30 PM. Or if you’re insane, you could make a true Sickos day of it starting at GameDay, catching Stanford at 12:30 (I’m gonna guess there’s probably cheap tickets available), SJSU at 4:30 (who knows! They might be a Pac12 or ACC member by Saturday!) and Cal at 7:30! Or take a nice leisurely nap snuggled up with the squirrels on Faculty Glade.

• Take it in Cal Fans! You helped do this, and don’t forget to stop and smell the GameDay roses!

Thanks Write4Cal and Cal Twitter for the help!

Our pleasure reader! And thanks for being a part of this community and #FightingForCalGameDay! Enjoy the show and boo Lee Corso vociferously if tries to put on a Sebastian head. By the way, have you heard the latest and greatest tune?