Cal announced their non-conference slate of games Thursday, as first-year head coach Mark Fox will have an interesting mix of contests against in-state teams, a trip to Madison Square Garden, and a trip to the new Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Bears will open their season against assistant Marty Wilson's alma mater, Pepperdine, on November 5th, a week after an exhibition against St. Martin's (a D2 School from the state of Washington)

"I'm pleased we can announce early enough for our fans to plan and we're looking forward to debuting a squad full of young talent to a supportive and reenergized fanbase," said Fox in a Cal release. "The goal of a non-conference schedule is to prepare you for Pac-12 play, and this schedule does that. We have lots of work to do to get ready for the season."

The notable contests on the docket are the trip to New York on November 21-22, for two games against Duke, Texas, or Georgetown in the Empire Classic. Then the Bears will take part in the Al Attles Classic, a quadruple header of college games at the Chase Center on December 21st , facing Boston College.

There will also be two games as part of the Empire Classic's regional round, against Cal Baptist and Prairie View A&M on the 15th and 18th of November respectively.

The Bears will also make a second trip across the bridge to take on USF (December 4th), a year after the Bears hosted the Dons at home. Both teams will have new coaches in this matchup. Cal will also travel down the peninsula to take on Santa Clara December 7th

Cal will host UC Davis on November 26th, UNLV on November 12th, and Harvard to close out non-conference on December 29th.