The Golden Bears are the football team of the University of California, Berkeley. They compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA and play in the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
California has been extremely successful since first fielding a team in 1886, and the Golden Bears claim 5 national titles and 14 conference championships. After playing for several decades as an independent team, California joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, remaining a member until 1958. The Golden Bears then competed in the Athletic Association of Western Universities, before playing in the Pacific-8, Pacific-10, and finally the Pac-12 Conference.
The team counts Stanford and UCLA among its closest rivals, and the game between California and Stanford has been played since 1892, with the nickname, "The Big Game."
