Cal Football Team Is Heading To Hawai'i For Bowl Game. Here's What To Know

BERKELEY, CA — The Cal Golden Bears are heading to the Aloha State this holiday season after accepting an invitation to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl game.

The Golden Bears will be facing the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors in a televised Christmas Eve matchup. Game time starts at 5 p.m. PT. The game will take place at Clarence T.C. Ching Complex at the University of Hawai'i's Mānoa campus.

This marks Cal's third straight bowl appearance and 27th overall in the school's history. The Golden Bears' last bowl game win, however, came in 2019 at the Redbox Bowl when they defeated the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 35-20.

"We are excited to accept an invitation from the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl and continue our season in Honolulu," Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said in a statement Friday. "This is a reward for the hard work our student-athletes put in during the season, and we are looking forward to competing against an excellent Hawai'i team in front of a nationally televised audience."

The Golden Bears and Rainbow Warriors have played each other five times throughout history, with Cal coming out on top three times. They last played each other in Sydney, Australia, in 2016, where the Bears won 51-31.

Hawai'i native and true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele said in a social media post that he was excited to play at home in front of his friends and family.

"I truly love my teammates and the entire Cal Community," Sagapolutele said. "You are my ‘Ohana!"

This Cal season has seen its ups and downs.

The Golden Bears started the 2025 season with a promising 3-0 record before suffering an upset loss to San Diego State University. Ultimately, the Golden Bears finished with a 7-5 record this season.

A loss to rivals Stanford in the 128th "Big Game" also saw the departure of longtime head coach Justin Wilcox.

The Golden Bears have since announced Tosh Lupoi will be taking over at the helm next season. Lupoi will finish out his season at the University of Oregon before officially taking over Cal's program.

Interim head coach Nick Rolovich, meanwhile, will lead the team during the upcoming bowl game.