Cal's sports teams compete as the California Golden Bears. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the Pacific Ten Conference. The annual football Big Game between the Bears and the rival Stanford Cardinal is the most important game on Cal's schedule. The winner of this game gains custody of the Axe. The 85th Big Game on November 20, 1982 saw one of the most dramatic last-minute plays in college football history.

Cal's independent student-run newspaper is the Daily Californian. Founded in 1871, The Daily Cal became independent in 1971 after the campus administration fired three senior editors for encouraging readers to take back People's Park.

The University of California Marching Band has served the university since 1891, and performs at every football game and many other sports games and spirit activities. The university also has a Rally Committee, which is in charge of most aspects of the Cal Spirit.

The official school colors, Yale Blue and California Gold, were established in 1874. Yale Blue was chosen because most of the original faculty were Yale University graduates. Gold was selected to represent the Golden State of California.

The official mascot is Oski the Bear, who first debuted in 1941. Previously, live bear cubs were used as mascots at Memorial Stadium. It was decided in 1940 that a costumed mascot would be a better alternative to a live bear. Named after the Oski-wow-wow yell, he is cared for by the Oski Committee. The wearer of the costume is kept a secret. It is the tradition to have the basketball player with the largest feet donate his shoes for Oski to wear. As is common with team mascots in general, Oski has been involved in several physical confrontations over the years with other teams' mascots.

The Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) is the student government organization that controls funding for student groups and organizes on-campus student events.