San Jose State Spartans
2024 San Jose State Spartans football team
First season	1892; 132 years ago[1]
Head coach	Ken Niumatalolo
Stadium	CEFCU Stadium (capacity: 21,520)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	San Jose, California
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	Mountain West
All-time record	517–538–38 (.490)
Bowl record	7–6 (.538)
Conference titles	17
Rivalries	Fresno State (Battle for the Valley) Stanford (Bill Walsh Legacy Game) Hawai'i (Dick Tomey Legacy Game) San Diego State (El Camino Real Rivalry) Nevada Pacific (Battle for the Victor's Bell)
Current uniform
Colors	Gold, white, and blue[2]
Mascot	Sammy the Spartan
Outfitter	Under Armour
Website	sjsuspartans.com

The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San José State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Since its first regular season in 1898, the team has produced over 90 All-America team members, won 18 conference championships, and sent 139 players to the NFL, including Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil.^[3] The Spartans head coach is Ken Niumatalolo.

San Jose State plays their home games in CEFCU Stadium (built in 1933 as Spartan Stadium), and regional rivalries include Fresno State, Stanford, Hawai'i, and San Diego Sate.

San Jose State first fielded a football team in 1892 which did not have a coach. In their first year fielding an American football team, the Spartans lost in their sole contest against the local YMCA team of San Jose. The game technically occurred during 1893, but it represented the 1892 academic year and so that is the season it is counted.^[1] In 1983, James E. Addicott started to serve as the head coach. Addicott also served as a math professor at the California State Normal School (now San José State University). The team played a local YMCA club in 1893 and 1894 and garnered its first tie in 1896, a 6–6 decision against nearby rival College of the Pacific.

The first regular football seasons began in 1898 and mostly consisted of games against local high schools and some colleges and junior colleges.^[4]

During the 1920s the football program began playing home games at "Spartan Field," future home of Spartan Stadium. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Spartan football program was considered a powerhouse, posting 12 consecutive winning seasons and earning eight conference championship titles over an 18-year span. The 1932 and 1939 teams went 7–0–2 and 13–0 respectively, the only undefeated seasons in school history.^[4][3]

San Jose State first appeared in the national rankings in 1939 when the AP Poll ranked the Spartans No. 19 in week seven. The team would climb to No. 18 in week eight. Lloyd Thomas was the first San Jose State player to receive first-team All-America honors. Thomas played as a defensive end on the 1936, 1937 and 1938 teams that fielded a combined win-loss record of 27–7–1. As of 2022, SJSU has produced over 90 All-America team members, including seven first-team selections.^[5]

Spartan Stadium (now known as CEFCU Stadium) was built on the original Spartan Field site and completed in 1933 with a capacity of 18,000. The Spartans won the first football game played in the stadium 44–6 over San Francisco State on October 7, 1933.

The San Jose State Spartans football team served unexpectedly with the Honolulu Police Department during World War II. The team had just arrived in Hawaii to play a series of post-season bowl games against Hawaii and the Willamette University Bearcats when the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. The team was stranded on the islands for a number of weeks following the attack, and players were employed by the local police department to help improve island defenses against a possible Japanese amphibious assault and as guards for military bases on the island.^[3][6]

The Spartan football program posted just six winning seasons in the 1950s and 1960s, but the 1970s would usher in a string of successful seasons spanning 20 years.

From 1971 to 1992, San Jose State posted 15 winning seasons, won eight conference titles, appeared in four bowl games and sent nearly 50 players to the NFL.^[7]

SJSU's first win over a nationally ranked opponent occurred in 1971 when the Spartans defeated No. 10 Stanford 13–12 on November 13. Stanford would go on to defeat Michigan in the Rose Bowl that season.^[8] SJSU's second win over a ranked opponent occurred four years later in 1975, when the Spartans defeated No. 15 Stanford 36–34 in a nationally televised game on September 27.^[3] San Jose State also had victories over No. 10 Baylor in 1980, No. 19 Fresno State in 1986, and No. 23 Fresno State in 1990.^[3]

From 1971 to 1992, SJSU garnered 23 victories over current Power Five conference opponents. These victories included eight wins over Stanford, five wins over Cal and three over Oregon.^[9]

In 1975, San Jose State appeared in the national rankings for the first time in over 30 years when the team was ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll in week 13.^[10] SJSU later earned its first post-season national ranking in 1990 when the Spartans finished No. 20 in the Coaches Poll.^[4]

Two stadium expansions and renovations in the 1980s increased the Spartan Stadium seating capacity from 18,000 to 31,218.

From 1993 to 2004, San Jose State had just one winning season when the team finished 7–5 in 2000; however, the team did earn two wins over ranked opponents during this period. The Spartans claimed a 25–22 victory over No. 24 Air Force in 1997 and a 27–24 win over No. 9 TCU in a nationally televised game in 2000.^[3] The Spartans also defeated rival Stanford three consecutive years from 1998 to 2000.

By the spring of 2004, the combination of rising costs for the football program and budget cuts from the state led some San Jose State faculty members to advocate dropping football.^[11][12]

In 2004, San Jose State defeated the Rice Owls 70–63 in a game that set the NCAA Division I record for total points scored and total touchdowns in a non-overtime game.^[13]

Coach Dick Tomey took over the program in 2005 amid Academic Progress Rate (APR) shortcomings that would result in severe penalties imposed by the NCAA.^[14] After showing moderate improvement that year, the Spartans had a breakout season in 2006. It was the team's best season since joining the WAC ten years prior. Tomey guided the Spartans to a 9–4 record, a win over rival Fresno State, and a win over New Mexico in the 2006 New Mexico Bowl, thus ending the team's 16-year bowl drought. The 2006 Spartan squad produced two 2007 NFL draft picks in wide receivers James Jones and John Broussard.

From 2007 through the 2009 seasons, the program was hit with heavy NCAA sanctions for failing to meet APR standards. By the start of the 2009 season, the Spartans had lost 57 scholarships over a four-year period. By the spring of 2010, the NCAA penalties were lifted and a full complement of 85 scholarships was restored.^[14]

The 2007 team was not as successful as the previous year's team, with the Spartans finishing 5–7 and fifth in the WAC. The post-season showed a positive result, however, with several players being named to all-star games including Dwight Lowery, Marcus Teland, Matt Castelo and Adam Tafralis. The Spartans produced another draft pick in the 2008 NFL draft, in defensive back Dwight Lowery. Lowery was named a 1st-team All-America winner in 2007.

The 2008 roster gave the school its best start since joining the WAC. The Spartans jumped to 5–2 and led the WAC for three weeks until losing to Boise State. The Spartans finished the season in sixth place in the WAC with a conference record of 4–4 and a 6–6 overall record. Three players were picked in the 2009 NFL draft, those being defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert, defensive back Christopher Owens and defensive back Coye Francies

After playing an unusually tough non-conference schedule, the 2009 Spartans finished 2–10 with wins over Cal Poly and New Mexico State. Head Coach Dick Tomey announced in November he would retire at the close of the season, thus ending his legendary coaching career. Tomey's record at SJSU was 25–35.

On December 17, 2009, Mike MacIntyre was formally introduced as Tomey's replacement. MacIntyre was previously the defensive coordinator at Duke University.^[15]

San Jose State finished 1–12 in 2010 and 5–7 in 2011 under MacIntyre. In MacIntyre's third season, the 2012 San Jose State Spartans football team finished 11–2 including a win over Bowling Green in the 2012 Military Bowl. The 2012 team earned top-25 post-season rankings in the Associated Press (AP), Coaches and BCS polls. Kent Baer served as interim head coach for the Military Bowl because MacIntyre resigned to accept the head coach position at Colorado.

Ron Caragher, previously the head coach at the University of San Diego, became the SJSU head coach following the conclusion of the 2012 football season. Caragher's team finished a disappointing 6–6 in 2013, however, that season did include a 62–52 upset win over No. 16 Fresno State to close out the year. The team finished 3–9 in 2014, 6–7 in 2015 and 4–8 in 2016. On November 27, 2016, Caragher was relieved of his duties as head coach after compiling a 19–30 (.388) win-loss record and only one bowl appearance over four seasons.

Oregon State wide receivers coach Brent Brennan, who was a San Jose State assistant under Tomey and MacIntyre from 2005 to 2010, took over as head coach in 2017.^[16]

In Brennan's first two years as head coach, the Spartans won just three games. This included a 1–11 season in 2018.^[17] Despite the poor record, five of the team's losses in 2018 were by fewer than nine points. Three of those losses were by a field goal, including a 5 overtime 44-41 loss to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on September 29, 2018.^[18][19]

The 2019 team improved to 5–7, missing bowl eligibility by one win.^[20] The Spartans also showed promise by defeating Arkansas on the road in 2019 for the program's first win over a Southeastern Conference team. Additionally, the 2019 Spartan team defeated Army, making the Spartans one of only 20 teams in college football to defeat all three FBS service academies (Army, Air Force, and Navy).^[21] Brennan received a contract extension at the close of the 2019 season.^[22]

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the 2020 season, with restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County prompting the team to conduct preseason practice at Humboldt State University. The pandemic also resulted in the cancellation of all four non-conference games and two games against Mountain West Conference opponents. Santa Clara County public health orders also forced the Spartans' last two home games to be relocated to Aloha Stadium in Hawaii and Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.^[23]

The abbreviated 2020 campaign would be a breakout year for the Spartans, who won each of their six regular season games for their first 6–0 start since 1939. The Spartans also cracked the AP Poll top-25 for the first time since 2012 and debuted in the College Football Playoff ranking at No. 24.^[24][25]

The Spartans qualified for the Mountain West Conference championship game for the first time, where they defeated Boise State 34–20. In addition to giving San Jose State its maiden win over Boise State, the victory gave the Spartans their first conference championship title since 1991.^[26] Brennan was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and also received the 2020 Lombardi Foundation national Coach of the Year award.^[25][27]

In 2023, the Spartans, along with Boise State and UNLV, finished tied for first in the conference standings.^[28] All three teams finished 6–2 in conference play, but the Spartans were left out of the MWC championship game after a computer tiebreaker placed UNLV and Boise State higher in the rankings.

In January 2024, Brennan left San Jose State to join the Arizona Wildcats as head coach.^[29]

Ken Niumatalolo took over as head coach on January 21, 2024,^[30] becoming the 30th head football coach in the program's history. Niumatalolo was previously the head coach at Navy and won a program-best 109 games, appeared in ten bowl games over 15 seasons, and was a three-time American Athletic Conference (AAC) Coach of the Year (2015, 2016, 2019).

The San Jose State football team has been affiliated with six different athletics conferences since joining the California Coast Conference in 1922.^[31]

• Independent (1893–1921)
• California Coast Conference (1922–1928)
• Northern California Athletic Conference (Also known as the Far West Conference) (1929–1935)
• Independent (1936–1938)
• California Collegiate Athletic Association (1939–1949)
• Independent (1950–1968)
• Big West Conference (Also known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association) (1969–1995)
• Western Athletic Conference (1996–2012)
• Mountain West Conference (2013–present)

San Jose State has won 17 conference championships. From 1969 to 1995, San Jose State earned more Big West Conference football championship titles than any other team in the history of the Big West Conference.^[3] The Spartans moved to the WAC in 1996 and later moved to the Mountain West Conference in 2013.

† Co–champions

San Jose State has made 13 bowl appearances and has an overall bowl game record of 7–6.^[3] Their most recent bowl appearance was on December 23, 2023, when they faced Coastal Carolina in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Known as Spartan Stadium for over eight decades, CEFCU stadium officially opened in 1933 as a 4,000-seat facility. The stadium featured large berms on the east, west, north and south sides of the field, which gave the stadium a "sunken bowl" appearance. The stadium's seating capacity was increased to 8,500 in 1936, and later expanded incrementally to a total seating capacity of just over 18,000 by 1948. The most recent additions came in the 1980s when the capacity of the stadium was expanded from approximately 18,000 to just over 31,000 by adding end zone bleachers, an upper deck and boxes on the west side.

In 1998, the field was widened and other renovations were carried out for the MLS San Jose Earthquakes soccer team in accordance with official FIFA regulations.^[32] As a result of these renovations, parts of the stands closest to the playing field were removed, thus lowering available seating for all sports to 30,456.

In August 2016, Citizens Equity First Credit Union purchased sole naming rights to Spartan Stadium for $8.7 million. The deal between CEFCU and San José State University will last for 15 years.^[33]

In 2019, seating capacity was temporarily reduced to 21,520 as part of a massive east-side stadium renovation project. Phase I of the project, which included construction of the $70 million Spartan Athletic Center, was completed in August 2023. Phase II, which is tentatively slated to include installation of premium spectator seating on the stadium's east side, remains in the planning stages as of 2023.

Other distinctive and unique features of the stadium include the original 1933 Romanesque balustrade spanning the entire east and west sidelines, and the CEFCU Stadium "Ring of Honor" displayed along the west side upper deck.

The Battle for the Valley

San Jose State's biggest rival is California State University, Fresno, due in large part to the two schools' geographic proximity and long history of competing in the same conferences.^[34]

Fresno is the largest city in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley. San Jose is the largest city in the metropolitan capital of the high-tech Silicon Valley. The two schools are separated by approximately 150 driving miles. Beginning in 2013, the winner of the game is awarded the Valley Trophy.^[35][36]

San Jose State led the series from 1949 to 2001, but Fresno State tied it at 32–32–3 with a victory in 2002 and recaptured the lead in 2003. The Bulldogs and Spartans first played each other in 1921.

As of 2023, Fresno State leads the football series 44–39–3. The two schools have met on the gridiron 86 times.^[37]

Bill Walsh Legacy Game

The Bill Walsh Legacy Game is the name given to the rivalry between the Spartans and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University.^[38][39]

In 2007, following the death of San Jose State alumnus and former Stanford coach Bill Walsh, the near-annual game played between the two schools was renamed the Bill Walsh Legacy Game.^[40]

The rivalry is rooted in the two schools' close geographical proximity to one another, with the Stanford University campus being located just 23 driving miles northwest of the San Jose State campus on Interstate 280. The two teams have played each other 67 times since 1900. The rivalry is currently on hiatus due to non-conference scheduling conflicts, however, on June 22, 2022, Stanford and San Jose State announced an agreement to renew the rivalry with a six game home-and-home series beginning in 2024.^[41][42]

Stanford currently leads the series 52–14–1. Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=List_of_San_Jose_State_Spartans_bowl_games
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