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Tightwad Hill is the popular name for Charter Hill, the hill rising to the east of California Memorial Stadium at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, U.S..
Tightwad Hill is so named as it affords a free view of the stadium's field, allowing fans of the Golden Bears to see the game for free. [1] [2] The hill usually has its occupants, even when the stadium sports empty seats. Tightwad Hill is part of Charter Hill, the area behind campus that also encompasses the Big "C", a large concrete letter "C" in the hillside.
Tightwad Hill rises steeply about 100 feet above the east rim of the stadium, to a relatively flat area where spectators perch. Created when Memorial Stadium was built in 1923, Tightwad Hill was created from the dirt removed during the excavation of lower Strawberry Canyon. The first time fans were seen on the hill for Cal games was on November 24, 1923, during the inaugural game at California Memorial Stadium, which Cal won by a final score of 9–0, beating Stanford for the fifth straight year and securing their fourth straight undefeated season. Due to the stadium being sold out for the game, fans and students made their way up to the hill that had been created above the east rim of the stadium.
Since then, U.C. Berkeley students, staff, faculty, and the public have enjoyed fall days on the hill, cheering for the Golden Bears and enjoying the view of the U.C. campus, downtown Berkeley, and the central San Francisco Bay.
There are and have been many unique features on the hill over the years. Some of those items and areas include or included:
In 2006, the Regents of the University of California began considering a major renovation of Memorial Stadium. One plan proposed the construction of a new seating structure, the so-called "Eastside Seating Structure" on the promenade on the east side of the stadium. If this were to be built, it could block views of the field from Tightwad Hill, possibly eliminating this unusual and colorful tradition. An organization called "Save Tightwad Hill" sued the university, claiming that the Environmental Impact Report for the stadium project did not adequately analyze the impacts of the planned improvements on historic resources and scenic views. The group eventually settled with the university. Under the terms of the agreement the university agreed in concept to preserve Tightwad Hill as an important Cal football tradition, and to include representatives of Tightwad Hill in the design process for east side improvements.
Tightwad Hill became the sponsor of The Bear Raid podcast on November 15, 2020, the same date as the debut of the show. The long-term goal of the podcast, currently hosted by three members of The Hill (two of which are current and former "Governors of Tightwad") is to cover all of the Cal athletic programs.
To the right of the fans on the hill is the platform for the California Victory Cannon. Constructed in 2004 to serve as a replacement for the old wooden cannon platform, the concrete and stone structure was paid for through a 2003 donation campaign spearheaded by current and former UC Cannoneers, the keepers and operators of the cannon. This permanent structure debuted during the 2004 season as the new perch for the Victory Cannon. At every home game, rain or shine, the cannon is loaded and shot at each of the football team's run-outs, whenever Cal scores a touchdown, and when a Cal victory goes final. The resulting boom is heard throughout the stadium and the surrounding area, and has come to be known as "Oski's Mighty Thunder."
Starting at the Big Game of 1963, the California Victory Cannon was traditionally brought by members of the UC Rally Committee to be fired inside the stadium. When the old Pac-8 Conference banned cannons from stadiums in 1972, all other Pac-8 schools abandoned their cannons; Cal, however, maintained the tradition as the hill behind the stadium was ruled to be outside the zone governed by the ban. Since 1972, the Victory Cannon has been fired from outside of Memorial Stadium to the delight of fans on and off Tightwad Hill. [3] The cannon has only once run out of ammunition, in a 1991 home game against Pacific where Cal scored 12 touchdowns.
In addition to being fired at all Cal home games, the cannon has traveled to bowl games, such as the Holiday and Copper Bowls, as well as to away games against Washington and Indiana, even having a stand-in from the Australian town of Wagga Wagga brought to Cal's victory over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the College Football Sydney Cup, the opening game of the 2016 season, in Australia's national stadium ANZ Stadium.
The University of California, Berkeley is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley, it is the state's first land-grant university and is the founding campus of the University of California system.
Big Game is the name given to the California–Stanford football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. Both institutions are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. First played in 1892, it remains one of the oldest college rivalries in the United States. The game is usually played in late November or early December and its location alternates between the two universities every year. In even-numbered years, the game is played in Berkeley while odd-numbered years are played at Stanford.
California Memorial Stadium, also known simply and commonly as Memorial Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It is the home field for the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The University of California Marching Band, usually shortened to Cal Band, is the marching band for the University of California, Berkeley. While it is administered under the auspices of the university, the Cal Band is almost completely student-run and represents Cal at sporting events and other social gatherings. The name of the band is officially "The University of California Band" according to the constitution, but is typically called "The University of California Marching Band" or "The Cal Band". When the band marches out of Memorial Stadium's North Tunnel for football pre-games, it is referred to as "The Pacesetter of College Marching Bands, the Pride of California".
The Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion is an indoor arena on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. It is the home venue of the Golden Bears men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's and women's gymnastics teams. The arena is located in the middle of the main sports complex, overlooking Evans Diamond (baseball) and Edwards Stadium (track/soccer).
Aggie Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is the home field of the New Mexico State Aggies of Conference USA.
The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, known locally as simply the Greek Theatre, is an 8,500-seat Greek Theatre owned and operated by the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, United States.
The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as California or Cal, the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). In 2014, Cal instituted a strict academic standard for an athlete's admission to the university. By the 2017 academic year 80 percent of incoming student athletes were required to comply with the University of California general student requirement of having a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average.
Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium is a college baseball park on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California.
The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley in college football a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. They were previously a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium and is coached by Justin Wilcox. Since beginning of play in 1886, the team has won five NCAA recognized national titles - 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937 and 14 conference championships, the last one in 2006. It has also produced what are considered to be two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels' fumble recovery at the 1929 Rose Bowl and The Play kickoff return in the 1982 Big Game.
Edwards Stadium is the track and field and soccer venue for the California Golden Bears, the athletic teams of the University of California, Berkeley. It has been a Berkeley Landmark since November 2, 1992, under the name Edwards Stadium and Field.
The Big "C" is a large concrete letter "C" built into Charter Hill in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the University of California, Berkeley. It was constructed on March 23, 1905, and is considered a campus landmark.
The 1991 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. California played their home games at Memorial Stadium. Led by head coach Bruce Snyder and quarterback Mike Pawlawski, the Golden Bears won the Florida Citrus Bowl, 37–13, finished with a 10–2 record, and climbed from being unranked in the preseason to being ranked eighth in the final AP Poll. California scored 443 points and allowed 239 points in 12 games.
The 2011 California Golden Bears baseball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2011 NCAA Division I baseball season. The team played their home games in Evans Diamond. They entered the 2011 season after making the postseason two of the last three years and with a 31–20 record, the Golden Bears won an at-large berth for the 2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, and were seeded #3 in the Houston. The Golden Bears lost the first game of the double-elimination format to the Baylor Bears, 6–4. California then went on to win their next four games in a row eliminating Alcorn State, #1 seed Rice, and Baylor. With their victory on June 6, the Bears advanced to a Super Regional for the first time since the 64 team format was introduced. California hosted its Super Regional games on June 11 and 12 sweeping Dallas Baptist to advance to the College World Series for the first time since 1992. Although the Bears hosted, the series was not at Evans Diamond in Berkeley, but at Stephen Schott Stadium in Santa Clara because Cal's stadium was not suitable for large television crews and did not have lights.
The 2012 California Golden Bears football team represented University of California, Berkeley in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Bears were led by eleventh-year head coach Jeff Tedford and played their home games at Memorial Stadium after having played at home the previous season at AT&T Park due to reconstruction on Memorial Stadium. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The California–UCLA football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA Bruins football team of the University of California, Los Angeles.
The 1947 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1947 college football season. Led by new head coach Pappy Waldorf, the Golden Bears compiled an overall record of 9–1 (5–1 in PCC, second}. Home games were played on campus at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.
The 2019 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. In their third year under head coach Justin Wilcox, the Bears improved to an 8–5 record for only the second time since 2009, finishing 2nd in the Pac-12 North.
The history of California Golden Bears football began in 1886, the team has won five NCAA recognized national titles - 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1937 and 14 conference championships, the last one in 2006.
The 2021 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Justin Wilcox, in his fifth year. The team played their home games at California Memorial Stadium as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
