text: why is uc berkeley called cal, or on football california? on the pac 10 thing its just called "california" even though there are many california teams. why is this? cal is short for "california." why just "california"? it's the same reason the university of michigan at ann arbor is just "michigan" or the university of texas in austin is just "texas" -- berkeley is the oldest and premier institution of the university of california system. hence, the school is called california, or just "cal" for short.