California Golden Bears football/Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) American football team of the University of California, Berkeley. The Golden Bears compete in the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. UC Berkeley has competed in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) since 1896. The PCL was a college athletic conference that included many leading universities across the United States and Canada. In 1959, when most members of the PCL left to join other conferences, UC Berkeley remained as the only member school in the East Bay to do so. Since then, UC Berkeley has been an independent institution. Currently, the Golden Bears play their home games at Memorial Stadium on the campus of UC Berkeley. The stadium is known for its distinctive architecture with its main stand being called "The Wreck." It was built in 1937 and has been remodeled several times since then. The current capacity of the stadium is 51,000 people. When UC Berkeley first began playing football, they used to hire local high schools to come play them in what are now known as cross-town games. These games would help build interest in the program and give young players experience playing competitive sports.