This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
 
 
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, turning on the radio and finding a station with the voices of Ted Robinson, Greg Papa, Jon Miller, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Tim Roye, Dan Rusanowsky, Ken Korach and, of course, California legend Joe Starkey, was a regular occurrence for Bay Area residents.
 
One of those residents was Justin Allegri.
 
Allegri, who enters his third season as the play-by-play voice of the Golden Bears, felt spoiled as a kid growing up listening to some of the broadcasting world's great storytellers.
 
"At that time, I felt every team in the Bay Area had a tremendous example of how to be a broadcaster," Allegri said. "I learned what was necessary to make a broadcast production flow while being able to craft my own style."
 
With a love for sports, a desire to be on the air and a little nudge from his mom, Lynne, Allegri began his broadcasting journey as an undergraduate student at San Jose State University.
 
Over the course of 10 years, Allegri had gone from a zealous student trying to find any opportunities within the athletic department to a full-time staff member running all the Spartans' video productions and on-air broadcasts while calling Spartan football and basketball games.
 
By the end of his time in San Jose, he staffed, produced and engineered roughly 120 multi-camera video events and 70 radio broadcasts for Spartan volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, softball and baseball in addition to his broadcasting duties.
 
Allegri had a lot on his plate, but he enjoyed it. He was helping his alma mater grow in the broadcasting and digital world of the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.
 
"Deep down, I had this desire to see how far my broadcasting career could go and I wanted to chase that passion," Allegri said.
 
Allegri wasn't looking for change, but he knew that if he wanted to grow as a broadcaster, change may be necessary. In 2023, Cal was preparing to go through a change of its own. After 48 years as the voice of the Bears, Starkey announced he was retiring.
 
"I was very happy at San Jose State," Allegri said. "But when I heard that Joe was retiring, I began to pursue the opportunity. Opportunities like the one at Cal don't come around often, and when or if they do, you have to go for it."
 
On August 3, 2023, Allegri was officially named the new voice of the Golden Bears.
 
"I found out that I was hired a few weeks before the football season started," he said. "It was such a whirlwind, and I had to learn names, job titles, schedules and a lot more in only a few weeks."
 
In any transition, support from people who know their way around is crucial. Enter former Cal quarterback and current color analyst Mike Pawlawski.
 
"Being the guy after the guy is tough," Pawlawski said. "Since day one, Justin has come in and been such a pro. He approaches the job in the right way and engages with players, coaches, fans and alumni in such a genuine way. It doesn't surprise me that our chemistry in the booth has been special since he arrived."
 
As the pair enters year three in the booth together, Allegri feels right at home in Berkeley. 
 
He's taken his broadcasting career to the next level in the region he grew up in, and is building a legacy that inserts him amongst some of the broadcasting world's great storytellers for the next generation of Bay Area radio listeners.