GameDay Primer: Details about Saturday’s historic day

FBOct 2, 2024 1:16 pm | From: Cal Athletics

ESPN’s popular pregame show visits Cal for the first time

BERKELEY – ESPN’s College GameDay from The Home Depot will launch Saturday from Cal – the first time the wildly popular college football pregame show has ever come to Berkeley.

The show takes place on the Memorial Glade in the center of campus and is open to the public.

Developed by The Home Depot, College GameDay airs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. PT. The “pit” — the area closest to the stage and capable of seating about 400 fans — will open at 3:30 a.m. PT. Guests are allowed to start lining up to enter The Pit early Saturday morning at midnight. All fans entering the box will be screened by ESPN security.

Once The Pit reaches capacity, fans are welcome to gather throughout the Glade to watch the show.

All fans in attendance must follow the University’s policy on prohibited items. Additionally, the following items are prohibited in The Pit: bags (of any kind), food and beverages, pens, pencils, markers, dry erase boards, and signs that do not comply with ESPN’s sign guidelines.

Below you will find other important information for Saturday:

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION: The four campus parking spaces listed below are available free of charge (no permit required), but vehicles must be removed by 11:00 a.m. or they will be ticketed and towed.

• Garage of the leisure sports facility (RSF).
• Ellsworth structure
• Genetics Garage
• Lower Hearst Structure – Level II

Additionally, the Center Street Garage – a paid city parking lot – will open at 4:30 a.m. Saturday.

BART will also offer early morning service from select stations arriving at the Downtown Berkeley BART station by 5 a.m. PT. The selected stations are Daly City, Dublin/Pleasanton, 16th Street Mission, Powell, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Fremont, Bay Fair, Fruitvale, El Cerrito del Norte and MacArthur. BART will announce more details soon, including when trains will depart from each station. The campus has established a shuttle service that runs approximately every 20 minutes from the Downtown Berkeley BART station to the Hearst Mining Building from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. PT to bring fans closer to Memorial Glade.

FOOD AND DRINKS: The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive free donuts, pastries and coffee. Fans will also have the opportunity to receive free breakfast burritos throughout the event. Additional food and drinks can be purchased throughout the morning.

SCHEDULE: ESPN will air live TV spots from Memorial Glade starting at 4:30 a.m. PT until the show begins at 6 a.m. PT.

The Golden Bears host No. 8 Miami at California Memorial Stadium on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. PT. There are still a limited number of tickets available.

Stay tuned to the CalBears.com and Cal Athletics social media accounts later this week for more updates.

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