UC BERKELEY HOSTS THE 26TH ANNUAL CELEBRITY FLAG FOOTBALL CHALLENGE®

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA: Celebrity Sweat®, the leading lifestyle brand, is back with its 26th Annual Celebrity Flag Football Challenge® during football’s Big Game week, Thursday February 5, 2026, 7:00pm-9:00pm PST in Berkeley, California at California Memorial Stadium. Doors open at 5:30pm PST with exciting, informative “Visit Berkeley” experiences.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the Celebrity Sweat Flag Football Game at California Memorial Stadium”, said UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons. “It’ll be a great day, with Cal students, alumni, and the public gathering together for a wonderful event benefitting First Responders, Military Service Members and Veterans from across Northern California. In short, the game and its purpose could not be more perfectly aligned with the legacy of California Memorial Stadium. We can’t wait to showcase one of California’s premier sport- and-event facilities for a national television audience”.

“Berkeley is honored to host the Celebrity Flag Football Challenge®,” said Jeffrey Church, CEO of Visit Berkeley. “Berkeley and the entire East Bay region will provide affordable, and authentic places for visitors to stay, dine, and explore during this fantastic celebration the first week of February. From big-screen watch parties to themed community events, the “blue zone” of Berkeley will be first & goal to go!”

The Celebrity Flag Football Challenge® is presented by “Visit Berkeley” and sponsored, in part, by Under Armour and Gatorade. NBC Bay Area will serve as a media sponsor, with promotional coverage beginning in January and continuing through game day. Over twenty athletes and celebrities will play in this competitive Flag Football game, with invited First Responders, Military Service Members and Veterans from across Northern California as invited guests. Celebrity Sweat’s Flag Football game has been an annual event for the past twenty-five years, and this year, the game will feature Basketball’s Hall of Famer and 8-time All Star, Dwight Howard going up against the Global Music Icon, Quavo. It promises to be a high-energy, star-studded event with celebrities from the world of entertainment, sports and influencers all designed to engage with the fans----up close and personal--- at accessible prices.

“California Memorial Stadium is one of the premier venues in the country, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with Celebrity Sweat to bring the 26th Annual Celebrity Flag Football Challenge to campus,” Cal Co-Athletic Directors Jenny Simon-O’Neill and Jay Larson said. “We are looking forward to having our community come together for this unique event.”

“We’re excited to bring the energy of the Celebrity Flag Football Challenge® to the City of Berkeley during football’s big weekend”, said Lisa Levine, President of Celebrity Sweat®.

“This annual event allows fans to participate in the football excitement, bringing the best of athletes and celebrities together for great community outreach at an affordable price.” Stay Tuned …. A sensational roster of A-List celebrity athletes and entertainers, from Hollywood to Cal Alums, will be playing in the highly anticipated Celebrity Flag Football Challenge®. Please refer to celebritysweat.com for continual roster updates as well as details of an awesome halftime entertainment show.

For those unable to attend the Flag Football Challenge®, the event will be shown live on YouTube (The Celebrity Sweat YouTube Channel), beginning at 7:00pm PST, and subsequently, the AFN, American Forces Network, will be able to air the game for our Military on bases worldwide in 168 countries.

For more details and ticket information --- Visit Celebritysweat.com

ABOUT CELEBRITY SWEAT®: Celebrity Sweat® is the leading celebrity lifestyle brand bringing the best of athletes, celebrities, and entertainers together to showcase the value of active and healthy living. Catch full episodes on the Celebrity Sweat YouTube Channel.

ABOUT VISIT BERKELEY: Visit Berkeley is the destination marketing organization for Berkeley, Calif., promoting the city as a desirable destination for meetings, conventions, tour groups, leisure travelers and film production. Discover more at VisitBerkeley.com.

ABOUT CAL ATHLETICS: Founded in 1868, the University of California's flagship campus at Berkeley is consistently ranked as the No. 1 public university in the world. Cal Athletics supports 900 student-athletes in 30 sports, and has as its mission: To Educate, Compete, Serve and Excel … Developing Leaders of Tomorrow. Cal teams have earned 105 national championships in 15 different sports, and Golden Bears have collected 246 medals at the Olympic Games.ABOUT UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY: UC Berkeley reimagines the world by challenging convention to shape the future. UC Berkeley fuels a perpetual renaissance, generating unparalleled intellectual, economic and social value. We integrate research with teaching, the artistic with the scientific, the scholarly with the athletic, and the up-and- comer with the advantaged. Our diverse and kinetic community draws inspiration from every discipline, sparks dynamic interactions, and produces revelations about the world we aspire to live in. With the drive to ask critical questions, and embrace new challenges, we are redefining ourselves, and the role of a university in a changing world.

Contact:

Sharon Epstein
Celebrity Sweat
VP Media/PR
sharon@celebritysweat.com

Jonathan Okanes
University of California, Berkeley
Associate Athletic Director
jokanes@berkeley.edu