2025 EVENTS

CACC HOSTS CHARMIN SMITH AT CHICAGO DINNER, TRAVELS TO GAME @ NOTRE DAME

The CACC hosted Cal women’s basketball head coach Charmin Smith and assistant coach Kai Felton for dinner on February 7. We were extremely grateful that Coach Smith was able to join us in Chicago in between the Louisville and Notre Dame basketball games.  20 Chicago alums participated in a lively Q&A with Coach Smith over dinner. The coaches were presented with CACC T-shirts and Cal cupcakes and cookies to take to the Cal WBB team before the game against Notre Dame, which a caravan of CACC members made the trip for. The Golden Bears fell to the Irish but are heading to the NCAA tournament in March.

2025 SCHEDULE FOR CAL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Crowds this winter have been really strong for women’s bkb in Haas Pavilion - below is the schedule for the team as you plan more road trips as we head down the home stretch. Midwest alums have already organized several trips to see the Golden Bears on the road this winter, as we head toward the NCAA tournament in March.

SAVE THE DATE: OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

April: Cal Admissions Office Yield event for Midwest Cal admitted students. Downtown Chicago. More details TBA.

May: CACC Volunteer event at Northern Illinois Food Bank Distribution Center, Lake Forest. More details TBA.

July: Summer Welcome Party for new Cal Midwest students and families.  CACC alums host on Sunrise Beach,  Lake Bluff, IL. More details TBA.

Fall: Cal game watch parties during football season.

SCHEDULE FOR ACC MEN’S BASKETBALL THIS WINTER

Below is a calendar that shows the Bears’ opponents for their first season of men’s basketball in the ACC, one of the most competitive leagues in the sport. We’ll update this page for any upcoming game watches we’ll schedule throughout the winter. Already this season, alumni from the Midwest met up at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo., to take in the Golden Bears’ game against Missouri together.

BIG GAME 2024 - CAL KEEPS THE AXE!!!

Cal fans in Chicago reveled in the Golden Bears’ 98-yard game winning drive and touchdown in the closing minutes of the 127th Big Game.  Final score Cal 24- Stanford 21.  With this fourth consecutive win over Stanford, Cal becomes BOWL ELIGIBLE!!  GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  BEARS!!!!!!

2025 CAL ALUMNI CLUB OF CHICAGO T-SHIRTS FOR SALE

Show your Cal spirit in Chicago by purchasing a Cal Alumni Club of Chicago t-shirt for $35 plus shipping. We’ve had alumni wear them at social events, volunteer activities, new admitted student receptions, and Golden Bear football games. Email calalumniassociationchicago@gmail.com for orders.

HOMECOMING DETAILS ANNOUNCED FOR 2025

The Cal Alumni Association has shared details for the 2025 Homecoming Weekend. Lectures will allow us to hear from renowned faculty on groundbreaking research, while the Oski Wow Wow celebration on Memorial Glade and the Bear Affair Tailgate will let you celebrate with fellow alums. And the ACC home opener will be the game (this year’s Homecoming opponent is Duke).

Online registration opens in July at homecoming.berkeley.edu. We are encouraged to start making travel plans now.

LIGHT THE WAY CAMPAIGN EXCEEDS $7 BILLION

Thank you to everyone who donated to UC Berkeley’s Light the Way campaign! This multi-year effort, which had a goal of $6 billion, raised more than $7.37 billion – one of the largest of any public or private organization.

The advancement department shared with us that these generous gifts will help make the university a top public education and teaching institution. Everyone contributed to this important work demonstrated by 76% of the donations coming in at $1,000 or less. Here are just a few ways the donations will go to work: 

·       $390 million in graduate student support (fellowships, student aid and more)

·       $1.2 billion in academic investment

·       $28 million in COVID research

·       $719 million in undergraduate support (scholarships and programs)

·       $1.5 billion in capital projects and campus improvements

 For more on the campaign, check out the story here.

BERKELEY TEAM EARNS DISTINCTION WITH HOLLYWOOD RESEARCH PROJECT USING AI

A team of researchers at UC Berkley conducted a project that confirmed Hollywood films have actually been getting more diverse, including increased representation for actors who are women, Black, Hispanic/Latino, East Asian and South Asian. This has been noted as groundbreaking research as their findings contradicted recent claims made over the last few years. With the help of advanced AI, the study used facial recognition technology to track the amount of time actors appear on screen in more than 2,300 Hollywood films released between 1980 and 2022 — a total of 4,412 hours of footage.

Check out the link to learn more. Proud to be a Golden Bear! #UCBerkley #alumni #ai

https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/11/04/with-the-help-of-ai-uc-berkeley-researchers-confirm-hollywood-is-getting-more-diverse/

About

We are an officially chartered chapter of the California Alumni Association bringing together Cal alums form the greater Chicagoland area and surrounding Midwest states. 

The Cal Alumni Club of Chicago organizes social activities, game watches and volunteer events for Alumni throughout the year. We also work with the University to coordinate and host a Summer Welcome Party for the new Midwest Cal students.

If you are interested in getting involved, sign-up for our events  and please email us at  calalumniassociationchicago<at>gmail.com.  Sign-up for our monthly newsletter below.