San Jose State Spartans
University	San Jose State University
Conference	Mountain West Conference (primary) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (women's water polo) WCC (men's water polo) Southland (beach volleyball) WAC (men's soccer)
NCAA	Division I / FBS
Athletic director	Jeff Konya
Location	San Jose, California
Varsity teams	22
Football stadium	CEFCU Stadium
Basketball arena	Provident Credit Union Event Center
Baseball stadium	Excite Ballpark
Softball stadium	Spartan Softball Stadium
Soccer stadium	Spartan Soccer Complex
Other venues	Bud Winter Field Pasatiempo Golf Club SJSU Tennis Complex Spartan Complex Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center Spartan Beach
Mascot	Sammy the Spartan
Nickname	Spartans
Fight song	Spartan Fight Song[1]
Colors	Gold, white, and blue[2]
Website	www.sjsuspartans.com
Team NCAA championships
10
Individual and relay NCAA champions
50

The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

San Jose State is one of 20 Division I members in the state of California, seven of which are FBS members. The other FBS members are fellow Mountain West conference mates Fresno State and San Diego State, plus Pac-12 Conference members University of California, Stanford, UCLA and USC. SJSU has participated in athletics since it first fielded a baseball team in 1890.

San José State sports teams have won NCAA national titles in track and field, cross country, golf, boxing, fencing and tennis.^[3] As of 2023, SJSU has won 10 NCAA national Division 1 team championships and produced 50 NCAA national Division 1 individual champions.^[4] SJSU also has achieved an international reputation for its judo program, winning 51 National Collegiate Judo Association (NCJA) men's team championship titles and 26 NCJA women's team championship titles between 1962 and 2023.^[5][6][7][8]

SJSU alumni have won 20 Olympic medals (including seven gold medals) dating back to the first gold medal won by Willie Steele in track and field in the 1948 Olympics.^[9] Alumni also have won medals in swimming, judo, water polo and boxing.

The track team coached by "Bud" Winter earned San Jose State the nickname "Speed City", and produced Olympic medalists and social activists Lee Evans, Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Smith and Carlos are perhaps best remembered for giving the raised fist salute from the medalists' podium during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

San José State University sponsors teams in eight men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Jeff Konya has served as the director of athletics since June 12, 2021.^[10]

Nickname and mascot history

SJSU's mascot changed many times before the school finally adopted the Spartans as the official mascot and nickname in 1922. Mascots and nicknames prior to 1922 included the Daniels, the Teachers, the Pedagogues, the Normals and the Normalites. The school's current mascot is Sammy the Spartan, or Sammy Spartan for short.

After 1887, the school's official name was the State Normal School at San Jose. The school's athletics teams initially played under the "Normal" identity, but they gradually shifted to the "State Normal School" identity, as evidenced by images of SNS football and basketball squads from this era. In official publications, the school was referred to as the "California State Normal School, San Jose."

Sports sponsored

All varsity teams representing San José State University compete in the Mountain West Conference except beach volleyball (Southland Conference), women's water polo (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), men's soccer (Western Athletic Conference), and men's water polo (Golden Coast Conference).

Baseball

The Spartan baseball team made NCAA tournament appearances in 1955, 1971, 2000, 2002 and 2023. In 2000, the team advanced to the College World Series.^[11]

From 1997 to 2013, the SJSU baseball team competed in the Western Athletic Conference, earning three WAC pennants in 1997, 2000 and 2009.^[11] In 2023, the SJSU baseball team won both the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and tournament championship title.

Under head coach and SJSU alumnus Sam Piraro (1987–2012), the SJSU baseball team reached the 30-win mark 17 times (including five 40+ wins seasons) and appeared in the national rankings 47 times.^[11]

As of 2023, the SJSU baseball team has produced over 25 All-Americans including seven first-team selections.^[11]

Over 100 Spartans have been taken in the Major League Baseball draft since 1965.^[11]

Basketball

The SJSU men's basketball team has garnered 10 conference championship titles beginning with a California Coast Conference championship victory in 1925. The Spartans' most recent conference championship victory occurred in 1996 when SJSU defeated Utah State in overtime to win the Big West championship tournament.^[12]

The SJSU men's basketball team has made three NCAA tournament appearances (1951, 1980 and 1996). SJSU was defeated in the first round all three times.^[12] The SJSU men's basketball team has made one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearance (1981), but was defeated in the first round.^[12] The SJSU men's basketball team has made two College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament appearances (2011 and 2023).^[12][13]

As of 2023, twelve former SJSU men's basketball players have been drafted into the NBA.^[12][14]

San Jose State began fielding a varsity women's basketball team in 1974.

Cross country

In 1962, the San José State University cross country team became the first racially integrated team to win the NCAA national championship.^[15]

The San Jose State men's cross country team has appeared in the NCAA tournament six times, finishing first in 1962 and 1963. The team has compiled an unofficial record of 84–19 (.816).^[16]

The San Jose State women's cross country team has never made the NCAA tournament.^[17]

Football

San Jose State first fielded a football team in 1893 and has won 17 conference championships dating back to 1932.^[18][19] During the 1930s and 1940s, the Spartan football program was considered a powerhouse, winning eight conference championships over an 18-year span. The 1932 team finished 7–0–2 and the 1939 team finished 13–0, marking the only undefeated seasons in school history.

More recent success includes an 11–2 finish in 2012 when SJSU achieved its first-ever BCS ranking and first national ranking since 1990. SJSU was ranked No. 21 in both the 2012 post-season Associated Press Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll.

The football team had another successful season in 2020 when it cracked the AP Poll top-25 for the first time since 2012 and appeared in the College Football Playoff ranking at No. 24. The team also won its first conference championship title since 1991. The Spartans finished the 2020 season 7–1 and ranked No. 24 in the final AP poll.

The San Jose State Spartans football team served unexpectedly with the Honolulu Police Department during World War II. The team had just arrived in Honolulu to play the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Shrine Bowl, but was stranded on the islands after the Pearl Harbor attack.^[20]

SJSU earned more Big West Conference football championship titles than any other team in the history of the Big West conference.^[18]

The SJSU football team has made 12 bowl appearances. Its most recent bowl appearance occurred in 2022 when the Spartans faced Eastern Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho.

SJSU, the University of Dayton, Eastern Illinois University and the University of Arkansas are the only schools known to have produced two alumni who would go on to serve as head coaches of Super Bowl-winning teams.^[18]

SJSU has produced over 70 All-America team members, including five first-team selections.^[18]

As of July 2023, 143 San Jose State players have gone on to play in the NFL,^[21] and eight former Spartans are actively playing in the NFL.^[22][23] The 143 players include 125 draftees, six NFL Pro Bowl selections, six first-round draft picks, two MVP award winners, and one NFL Rookie of the Year.^[21][22][18]

San Jose State has appeared in 13 bowl games and has an overall bowl record of 7–6.^[18]

Golf

Men

The SJSU men's golf team has garnered one NCAA championship title (1948) and has produced two NCAA individual champions, Bob Harris in 1948 and Terry Small in 1964.^[24] The team has also won 10 conference championships dating back to 1968.

Conference Championships

• West Coast Conference (1): 1968^[25]
• Big West Conference (8): 1970, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985^[26]
• Western Athletic Conference (1): 2012^[24]

The SJSU men's golf team has garnered 12 Western Intercollegiate tournament team championships and 12 individual Western Intercollegiate championships, thus earning its place as the winningest team in tournament history.^[24] The team has also produced 33 All-America team members (including four 1st-team members) and seven different PGA Tour winners.^[24]

Notable SJSU alumni include Arron Oberholser and Ken Venturi.

NCAA Men's Golf Championship Results^[27]