LOS ANGELES – The UCLA football team opens its 2026 season under new head coach Bob Chesney against longtime rival California at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Bruins (0-0) and Golden Bears (0-0) will meet for the 95th time and for the first time since 2023.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: California Memorial Stadium (Berkeley, Calif.)
Kickoff Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Tom Hart (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline)
Local Radio (UCLA Audio Network): KABC-AM 790
Local Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Matt Stevens (analyst), Wayne Cook (sideline)
SiriusXM: Radio (108 or 232), App (956)
CHESNEY ERA
Chesney was hired as the 20th head coach in UCLA football history on Dec. 6, 2025. He arrives in Westwood after two successful seasons at James Madison from 2024-25, guiding the Dukes to a 21-6 record and numerous historic firsts. His 2025 team recorded just the 10th unbeaten conference record in Sun Belt history, going 8-0, and captured the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Chesney owns a career 132-52 (.717) overall record over his previous 16 seasons as a head coach. The Kulpmont, Pa., native has now directed five programs across four different levels of college football (Division III, Division II, FCS and FBS). Following Chesney from Harrisonburg, Va., to Westwood are 26 total staffers (seven coaches, 19 support staff) and 10 student-athletes.
UCLA AND CHESNEY IN SEASON OPENERS
UCLA holds an all-time record of 69-33-5 in season openers dating back to the program's first season in 1919. The Bruins' last season-opening victory came in 2024 when they defeated Hawai'i, 16-13, in Honolulu. Chesney owns a record of 12-4 in season openers dating back to his first year as head coach in 2010 at NCAA Division III Salve Regina and has not lost since 2019 (six seasons). Chesney has won each of his last six season openers by at least two scores.
NEW-LOOK BRUINS
UCLA leads the Big Ten with 45 incoming transfer student-athletes. The transfer class Chesney’s staff assembled was ranked 11th in the nation by media outlet On3.
Joining the Bruins is former James Madison running back Wayne Knight. Knight was named a 2025 Paul Hornung Award Finalist and Associated Press Second Team All-American after setting a school record with 2,039 all-purpose yards (1,373 rushing, 397 receiving, 180 punt return and 89 kick return). Knight enters this week’s matchup at California 163 rushing yards shy of reaching 2,000 over his five-year college career.
UCLA also added junior defensive lineman Sahir West who was named the 2025 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. West posted 45 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and 1.0 forced fumble last season. He set a Sun Belt Championship game record with 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks against Troy on Dec. 5, 2025.
NICO RETURNS FOR YEAR TWO
Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava returns for his second season at UCLA in 2026. He completed 208 of 323 passes (64.4%) for 1,928 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions last season. Iamaleava averaged 175.3 passing yards over 11 games, missing only one contest (Nov. 15 at Ohio State).
Iamaleava led the Bruins in every rushing category last season: rushing yards (505), carries (112) and rushing touchdowns (4). His 505 rushing yards ranked third among Big Ten quarterbacks despite playing two fewer games than his counterparts. Iamaleava was also one of two Big Ten quarterbacks last season to gain positive yardage in every game played.
Iamaleava was named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List on Aug. 3, which is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding player. There were 81 players, including 45 quarterbacks on this year’s watch list. The Long Beach, Calif., native was also selected to the 2026 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watch List on Aug. 20. Iamaleava, who was a finalist for the award at Tennessee in 2024, is of Samoan descent and has seven siblings.
SERIES HISTORY & CONNECTIONS
UCLA leads the all-time series over California, 58-35-1, dating back to 1933. The Bruins and Golden Bears were conference-mates for 96 consecutive seasons from 1928-2023 before the two programs split for the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences. UCLA and California met for 91 consecutive years from 1933-2023, playing 94 total games in that span.
Richard Rodgers, UCLA's special assistant to the head coach, makes his return to his alma mater California on Saturday. Rodgers was a two-time All-Pac-10 Second Team selection for the Golden Bears from 1980-84. Rodgers was special teams captain for three seasons and called “The Play” in the huddle to defeat Stanford in the iconic finish in 1982. During “The Play,” Rodgers was the second and fourth player to handle the ball on the famed five-lateral, last-play touchdown return.
Five current UCLA players played portions of their college careers at California: K Mateen Bhaghani (2023), DL Tyson Ford (2025), WR Mikey Matthews (2024), OLB Ryan McCulloch (2023-25), RB Jaivian Thomas (2023-24).
UCLA TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket packages and single-game tickets for UCLA's upcoming football season are available. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information.