2025 EVENTS

JOIN US FOR CAL FOOTBALL ALL FALL

Join fellow Cal alums, fans and friends to cheer on the Golden Bears at Hurley Tap, your Chicago home for Cal football.

Location: Hurley Tap
1645 Cortland St.
Chicago, IL 60622
[view interactive map here]

The North Carolina game will be televised at 9:30 pm CST on Oct. 17, and then on Fri., Oct. 24 the CACC will be hosting our next official game watch party (Va. Tech) at Hurley Tap, 6:30 pm. And on November 22 vs. Stanford, we will have appetizers for all as in years past. More info to be announced soon.

FALL HAPPY HOUR OCTOBER 22 AT GAME ROOM

Join us for a night of Cal pride, darts, and good vibes at Game Room (12 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago) on Wednesday, October 22nd at 5:45 pm.

We’re bringing the Berkeley energy to Chicago—think Golden Bear spirit, new connections, and a splash of friendly competition (no blue books required this time). Whether you’re fresh out of Berkeley or a seasoned alum, this is your chance to meet fellow Bears, trade stories, and toast to the best public university in the world.

Expectation and Location:

• Darts with a side of Cal camaraderie

• Free games and plenty of “Go Bears!”

• A night that proves once a Golden Bear, always a Golden Bear

• Complimentary appetizers courtesy of CAA

• Game Room at 12 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603

Spots are limited—grab yours and let’s show Chicago how Cal rolls. RSVP Here. Go Bears.

REGIONAL TAILGATE INVITATION:
NOVEMBER 8 IN LOUISVILLE

A heads-up for a great opportunity to take in Golden Bears football this fall closer to the Midwest - the November 8 game vs. Louisville will feature a Cal Athletics Tailgate before the game. The tailgate will be located on “The Berm” adjacent to the Lynn Soccer Stadium on the Louisville campus.

Many alumni will be traveling from the Midwest to take in this game, so we hope to see you there! Tailgate ticket includes a Lousville BBQ buffet and a selection of beer, wine, signature cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Parking and game ticket are NOT included in the tailgate price. 

Register via this link - if you are greeted with a request for a passcode, you can leave that field blank and it will let you advance to the next step to register. Note that all event ticket sales are final and no refunds are available, but tickets can be transferred to another person(s) if the ticket buyer and/or guests are unable to attend. 

BERKELEY PROFESSORS RECEIVE NOBEL PRIZES

In what’s seemingly becoming an annual tradition each fall, two more Nobel Prizes were received this week by UC Berkeley professors.

Professor John Clarke received a 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. Prof. Clarke is an emeritus professor of physics at the school currently. His work in particular was that of quantum tunneling, one of many strange aspects of quantum mechanics. He shares the prize with two other physicists, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, who at the time of their prize-winning research were at UC Berkeley. Devoret is now at Yale University and UC Santa Barbara, while Martinis is at UC Santa Barbara.

Then the following day, it was announced that Omar Yaghi, a Jordanian-American chemist on campus, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shares it with Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Japan.

“The scientists were cited for creating “molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow. These constructions, metal-organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions.” You can read the full article here.

According to Berkeley News, the Nobel Prize committee honored Prof. Clarke’s team “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.” The discovery laid the foundation for superconducting quantum bits, or qubits, at the heart of many of today’s quantum computers. Congrats once again to UC Berkeley professors receiving these prestigious awards.

CHICAGO AND OTHER CAA CHAPTERS FEATURED IN ALUMNI MAGAZINE ARTICLE

The CACC and other regional chapters of the Cal Alumni Association were all featured in this comprehensive round-up of summer alumni activities in the most recent alumni magazine edition. Summer welcome parties were the main thrust of the October 1 article, and the article featured activity from the following alumni chapters:

Lake Tahoe Alumni Club | Berkeley Chinese Alumni International Association | Cal Alumni Club of Florida | Berkeley Student Cooperative Alumni Association | Black Engineering Science Alumni Club | Cal Alumni Chapter of Southern Nevada | Cal Alumni Club of Austin | Cal Alumni Club of Chicago | Cal Alumni Club of Southern Nevada | Club Alumni Club of Fresno | Cal Alumni Club of Houston | Cal Alumni Club of Long Beach | Cal Alumni Club of Marin | Cal Alumni Club of the Monterey Peninsula | Cal Alumni Club of New England | Cal Alumni Club of New York | Cal Alumni Club of Washington D.C. | Cal Alumni of Los Angeles | Cal Bears in the Desert | Black Alumni Association | Cal Club of San Joaquin County | Central Coast Cal Alumni Chapter | Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, Bay Area | Motor City Cal Alumni Association of Southeast Michigan | Napa Valley Cal Alumni Club | Native and Indigenous Alumni Chapter | Orange County Cal Alumni Club | Portland Cal Alumni Club | Pilipinx (Pilipino) American Alumni Chapter | Colorado Alumni | Sac Cal Alumni | San Diego Cal Alumni | San Gabriel Valley Cal Alumni Club 

CACC HOSTS SUMMER WELCOME PARTY
IN LAKE BLUFF

On July 27, alumni hosted the Annual Summer Welcome Party for all Midwest Cal students and their families at Sunrise Beach, Lake Bluff, Ill. Cal alums helped teach new students the Cal Fight song and current students came back to share some insider tips about life at Berkeley. This has proven to be an annual highlight for the CACC - thanks to the new Golden Bears and their families for making the 2025 event another success!

CACC FEATURED IN CAL CONNECTIONS

The Cal Alumni Club of Chicago was featured again for its programming and engagement with Midwest alumni - this time in the August 2025 edition of The Cal Connection that went out to Cal alumni nationwide.

Some events that the article pointed out as highlights from the past year: our annual Yield event for admitted students, our game watches and road trips for Cal athletics events, and happy hours organized to reunite alumni from the region. You can read more about the way Midwest alumni have stayed engaged through CACC programming here.

COACH CHARMIN SMITH MEETS WITH MIDWEST ALUMS, STUDENTS AT DOWNTOWN HAPPY HOUR JULY 21

The CACC hosted a terrific happy hour downtown 7/21/25 with Cal Women’s Basketball Coach Charmin Smith, who took time out to meet with Midwest Cal alums and students. The group talked about the upcoming '25-26 hoops season for the Golden Bears, building on last season’s remarkable turnaround and berth in the NCAA tournament. Alumni also got to meet the new WBB general manager Meghin Williams. Thanks to Tim McLaughlin and Cal Athletics for co-hosting. 

GOLDEN BEARS TAKE PART IN JUNE 26
HAPPY HOUR WITH LIVE MUSIC

Berkeley alumni met at Pritzker Pavilion on June 26 and took in live music and shared a picnic dinner together. This was the opening concert of the summer concert series in Millennium Park. Thee Sacred Souls was the featured band. Alums reported great food, music and dancing.

2025 CAL ALUMNI CLUB OF CHICAGO T-SHIRTS FOR SALE

Show your Cal spirit in Chicago by purchasing a Cal Alumni Club of Chicago t-shirt for $35 plus shipping. We’ve had alumni wear them at social events, volunteer activities, new admitted student receptions, and Golden Bear football games. Email calalumniassociationchicago@gmail.com for orders.

About

We are an officially chartered chapter of the California Alumni Association bringing together Cal alums form the greater Chicagoland area and surrounding Midwest states. 

The Cal Alumni Club of Chicago organizes social activities, game watches and volunteer events for Alumni throughout the year. We also work with the University to coordinate and host a Summer Welcome Party for the new Midwest Cal students.

If you are interested in getting involved, sign-up for our events  and please email us at  calalumniassociationchicago<at>gmail.com.  Sign-up for our monthly newsletter below.