The Wisconsin Badgers and California Golden Bears have scheduled a home-and-home football series for the 2029 and 2030 seasons, both schools announced on Tuesday.
In the first game of the series, Wisconsin will travel to take on California at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2029. The Badgers will host the Golden Bears the following season at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc., on Aug. 31, 2030, which will conclude the two-game series.
Wisconsin and California have met six times previously on the gridiron in a series that began in 1946. The Badgers won that initial contest before the Golden Bears reeled off five consecutive victories between 1947 and 1990 to claim the series lead, 5-1.
The series marks the first scheduled non-conference opponent for Wisconsin for both the 2029 and 2030 seasons. The Badgers were previously scheduled to face the UCLA Bruins the same two seasons, but the series was nullified after UCLA announced its intention to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
California, which moves from the Pac-12 to the ACC officially this summer, now has two scheduled non-conference opponents for the 2029 season. Following the home contest against Wisconsin, the Golden Bears are slated to visit the Wyoming Cowboys on Sept. 8.
Wisconsin is the first scheduled non-conference opponent for Cal in 2030.
Football Schedules
This is absolutely stupid, not the playing each other, that I have no problem for non conference play, but California as well as Stanford joining the ACC is the stupid part. All right, when these two aren’t playing each other, they will have to fly to the east coast at least 4 or 5 times a season, at least in basketball they can play two straight road games before coming home. However, what about the small sports? Women’s tennis? Lacrosse, swimming, golf and other low revenue sports, where usually the only fans are the players parents. What I think should happen, and just my opinion, since you still have Oregon State and Washington State in now the Pac 2, they should try to recruit some of these former Pac 12 schools to come back. Sorry about the rant, but realignment is going to hurt all college sports.
As a Badger living on the West Coast, I’m excited to see my Badgers make a trip out here once a year for Football. Since Football, or more precisely Football revenue, drove the latest realignment upheaval, I wish that the moves would have been for Football only while the Pac-12 remained together for the other sports. Even if the schools lost to the Big 12 stayed in the Big 12 for all sports (basketball was a factor in that expansion) the remaining 8 would be better off in there own conference, especially for non-revenue sports. What baseball or softball player attending UCLA wants to travel to the Midwest or East Coast for a third of their games?