Cal Football: What We Know About Why There Is No Joe Roth Game This Year

The athletic department said Thursday the game will continue to be played in the future, but obviously will look different without the L.A. schools.

The observant Cal football fan may have noticed that Saturday’s home game against USC does not come with the traditional designation.

There will be no Joe Roth Memorial Game this season, the athletic department confirmed.

“As we prepare to make the transition to the ACC, we will be looking at starting a new tradition around honoring Joe Roth and his legacy,” Cal said in a statement.

That does not mean the Joe Roth game will cease to exist. A Cal athletic department spokesman said Thursday night that the school never intended to suggest the series would end.

The game will continue to be played, presumably re-starting next season, but obviously will not be against USC or UCLA, due to conference realignment. Cal does not yet have its 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference football schedule.

The image that appeared on the Cal game program in 1977.

Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Since the 1977 season, Cal has honored its nearly mythical former quarterback with a game named in his honor against either USC or UCLA, whichever school visits Memorial Stadium that season.

That was going to be a problem starting next season, anyway, with the Bears headed to the ACC and both L.A. schools moving on to the Big Ten.

Cal did not specifically address why the tradition was put aside this year, given that the Trojans will make what might be their final appearance . . . at least for a while.

Sounds like plans remain fluid and there may be some complicating issues we don’t know about.

But the Bears haven’t forgotten their All-American quarterback, who died at the age of 21 after playing his senior season while fighting a losing battle against terminal melanoma, a form of skin cancer.

The new Joe Roth era helmet

Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

“In the meantime, we are excited to unveil a new version of the Joe Roth helmet on Saturday,” Cal announced.

Roth enjoyed one of his finest performances against then-No. 4 USC in 1975, delivering a 28-14 upset victory, snapping the Trojans’ 18-game unbeaten streak.

A year later, a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, Roth dealt with cancer having returned. He kept his diagnosis to himself, sharing the grim news with coach Mike White and few others outside his family.

He struggled through the 1976 season but refused to give up playing, even participating in a pair of post-season all-star games.

He died Feb. 19, 1977, just weeks after his final appearance on the football field.

Two months later, Cal announced the creation of the Joe Roth Memorial Game and established a scholarship in his name.

The Bears held a ceremony before the first Roth game on Oct. 29, 1977, retiring his jersey No. 12, which may have helped spark a 17-14 Cal victory over the 10th-ranked Trojans. 

No. 12 remains the only uniform number Cal has retired.

Cover photo of the new Joe Roth helmet courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo