North Carolina football will host California on Sept. 2, 2017 to kick off the first half of a home-and-home series with the Golden Bears, the schools announced Wednesday. The second game will be played in Berkley on Sept. 1, 2018.
The series will replace a previously scheduled home-and-home agreement between UNC and Ohio State, as the Buckeyes opted to back out after the Big Ten switched to a nine-game conference schedule. The Tar Heels will also host Eastern Michigan in 2017 and travel to East Carolina in 2018.
The 2017 matchup between UNC and Cal will mark the first time the two have played one another in football. The Heels haven’t faced a team from California since traveling to Stanford in 1998.