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 54 National Collegiate Judo Association (NCJA) men's team championship titles and 27 NCJA women's team championship titles between 1962 and 2026.[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.
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]
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
San Jose State is a member of the Mountain West Conference
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]
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.
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]
Defeated Iowa, Washington State, Colorado, Oregon State, Southern Illinois, Western Michigan, Houston, New Mexico, Michigan State. Colorado State, Abilene Christian, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma State, William & Mary, Miami (OH), Providence, Notre Dame, Drake, Iowa State, Tennessee, and Arkansas Lost to Villanova and Kansas State
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.
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 14 bowl games and has an overall bowl record of 7–7.[18]
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.
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]
The SJSU women's golf team has garnered three NCAA championship titles (1987, 1989, 1992), 18 conference championships, and 37 All-America honors. The team has also produced one AIAWindividual champion (Patty Sheehan in 1980) and one NCAA individual champion (Pat Hurst in 1989). The team's most recent conference championship victory came in 2022, when the Spartans won the Mountain West Conference tournament.[28]
In 2022, the SJSU women's golf team won the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional title and finished 7th overall in the 2022 NCAA national tournament. SJSU golfer Natasha Andrea Oon finished 2nd overall on the D1 national tournament leaderboard. The 2022 women's golf team also finished No. 3 in the final NCAA national rankings.
In June 2017, the first phase of the Spartan Golf Complex was completed, which includes a 400-yard driving range, hitting positions for 80 golfers, as well as chipping and putting areas. Phase 2 of the facility is currently in the planning stages and is expected to include a clubhouse, locker rooms, meeting rooms and coaches' offices.[30]
The San Jose State men's indoor track and field team appeared in the NCAA Division I national tournament six times, finishing as high as 3rd in 1969.[31] In 2024, San Jose State women's indoor track and field sent two individuals to compete in three events. Emilia Sjöstrand finished as the NCAA runner-up in the triple jump.[31]I n 2025, San Jose State women's indoor track and field sent two individuals to compete in the long jump and triple jump. Simone Johnson finished 8th and earned First-Team All-American honors — the third consecutive First-Team All-American recognition for San Jose State women's indoor track and field.[32]
Men's soccer competes in the Western Athletic Conference through the 2025 season, after which the MW will add men's soccer with SJSU as one of the league's inaugural members.[33]
The Spartans men's soccer team has made a total of 14 NCAA championship appearances dating back to 1963, and has an overall NCAA D1 tournament record of 7–14.[34][35] The Spartans' most recent NCAA championship appearance occurred in 2003.
Women's
The SJSU women's soccer team won the Western Athletic Conference championship title in 2000, 2009 and 2010, and won the Mountain West Conference championship title in 2015, 2018 and 2022. The women's team has an NCAA Division I tournament record of 0–4 through four appearances.[36]
The SJSU Spartan softball team earned NCAA appearances in 1990, 1992, 2013, and 2017, and has an NCAA Division I tournament record of 1–8.[37]
Phases one and two of the new SJSU Spartan softball complex were completed in 2018. As of 2023, the third and final phase is under construction and will add permanent bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand and press box. The final stadium will be an enclosed facility with seating for over 700.[38][39]
Defeated CSU Fullerton in Round 1 of Los Angeles Super Regional. Eliminated by UCLA in Round 2
Tennis
The San Jose State women's tennis team won the Western Athletic Conference championship title in 2013, and made NCAA tournament appearances in 2013 and 2017. The team also won the Mountain West Conference championship title in 2017 and 2021.[40][41]
San José State University opened a new tennis complex in July 2018. The state-of-the-art facility includes six competition courts with lighting, sound system, spectator seating and viewing areas, and a full scoreboard. The Spartan Tennis Complex also includes a seventh court, the Mubadala Stadium Court. The complex formerly hosted the San Jose State All-Comers Championship and currently hosts the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, a WTA Tour event, over nine days every August.[42]
Since first being recognized as a varsity sport in 1974, The San Jose State women's volleyball team has made 12 NCAA Division I tournament appearances, with an 8–12 record.[43] The team advanced to the final four in 1984.[44]Beach volleyball was added as a spring semester sport in 2014, playing in the Southland Conference. The volleyball program has had 9 head coaches, the first being former Olympian Jane Ward. Craig Choate had the longest tenure, 14 years, and was the winningest coach; Dick Montgomery achieved the best win–loss record, 191–99 over 9 years, and was inducted into the Spartans Hall of Fame in 2000.[45] Todd Kress became head coach in 2023.[46] SJSU has had two volleyball All-Americans: Teri DeBusk in 1985 and Lisa Ice in 1986. Ice is also the only San Jose State athlete to win an NCAA Top Six Award.[47]
In the 2024 season, the women's volleyball team received national attention after it became public as a result of a lawsuit against the NCAA that the team included a transgender player. Four Mountain West Conference teams and one non-conference opponent forfeited games against the Spartans, and an assistant coach was suspended after bringing a Title IX lawsuit against the university.[48] After the Boise State declined to play them in the semifinal, the Spartans advanced on a bye to the conference final,[49] where they were defeated by the Colorado State Rams.[50]
Water polo
The San Jose State men's water polo team was a national powerhouse in the 1960s and '70s. The team won a national title in 1968, one year before the sport was officially recognized by the NCAA.[51] The team would go on to finish in the top five nationally four times in the 1970s. In 1981, the school discontinued the program to comply with Title IX regulations, but the program was reinstated in 2015.[51] The team has an NCAA Division I tournament record of 5-6 through six appearances and advanced to the national championship match in 1971 and '72.[52]
National Men's Water Polo Championship Results (NCAA from 1969)
In addition to its various NCAA Division I sports programs, San José State University has a very active club sports community consisting of approximately 25 sports and 50 teams.[53] Many of the club sports teams are run and organized by students, although some of the more established teams employ full-time paid coaches and enjoy strong alumni support. The list of club sports active at SJSU includes:
Founded in 1990, the San Jose State men's ice hockey team garnered one PCHA Division ll championship (1992) and four PCHA Division l championship titles (1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997), before withdrawing from the PCHA and becoming an independent American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division ll team in 1998.[54] SJSU won one additional PCHA Division 1 title as a non-member in 2017.
In 1992, the team went undefeated, finishing the season with a 17–0 record.[54] The team finished 26-1-1 (18-0-1 at home) in 2006, and went undefeated through 42 consecutive home games from 2004 to 2007.[54]
The SJSU hockey team has qualified for the ACHA national championship tournament nine times, finishing as high as 10th in 2010.[54] In 2011, SJSU hosted the ACHA national tournament.[54] More recently, the team qualified for the Pac-8 tournament in 2019, 2020 and 2023.
The San Jose State men's ice hockey team posted 26 consecutive winning seasons from 1991 to 2017.[55][54]
Judo
The San Jose State judo program was established in 1937 to help train police cadets. In 1940, sophomore biology major Yosh Uchida was hired as the student coach. The program was disbanded during World War II, and reestablished in 1946 upon Uchida's return to the college.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Uchida and University of California, Berkeley coach Henry Stone established rules to allow their students to compete with each other, including a weight class system. Uchida and Stone persuaded the Amateur Athletic Union to sanction judo as a sport, and San Jose State hosted the first AAU national championship in 1953.
In 1962, the Spartans won the inaugural National Collegiate Judo Championship. They would continue to dominate the event to the present day, winning 52 National Collegiate Judo Association (NCJA) men's team championship titles and 26 NCJA women's team championship titles between 1962 and 2024.[56][6][57][7][58][59]
In 2005, SJSU alumnus and head coach Mike Swain announced the establishment of the Swain Scholarship, the first full athletic scholarship in judo at an American university. In 2008, the SJSU judo program was named one of six National Training Sites by USA Judo.
Gerardo Padilla, gold medalist, 1979 and 1983 Pan American Games
Mike Swain, bronze medalist, 1988 Olympic Games; gold medalist, 1987 World Championships (first American male to win World Championships); head coach, 1996 U.S. Olympic judo team
Yosh Uchida, head coach 1964 United States Olympic Judo Team
Joe Wanang, gold medalist, 1991 Pan American Games
In 2013, SJSU finished first in the conference in 7's competition.[60] In 2023, SJSU defeated the University of South Florida 17–12 in a game between runner-up teams (in rugby terms, a bowl game) from D1AA conferences in California and Florida.[61]
The SJSU women's rugby team went undefeated in 2021–2022, finishing a perfect 5–0 on the season.[62] The team won the 2022 USA Rugby's Division II rugby sevens championship, defeating St. Mary's, 22–0.
Salsa
San Jose State's salsa team, "Spartan Mambo", was established in 2010 and competes at amateur and collegiate competitions across the country. Spartan Mambo holds two championship titles from the College Salsa Congress in 2011 and 2015 as well as the 2015 and 2016 Collegiate Salsa Open.[63][64] Spartan Mambo also won the Collegiate Teams division at the 2013 World Latin Dance Cup.[65]
Table tennis
The SJSU table tennis team regularly competes in National Collegiate Table Tennis Association tournaments.[66] The San Jose State table tennis team rose to No. 4 in the national rankings and competed in the NCTTA national championship tournament in 2012.[67] The team was led by Truong Tu and reached the semifinals.
Discontinued
Wrestling
Wrestling has a history at San José State University dating back to the early 1930s, although SJSU has not sponsored a Division 1 wrestling program since the 1988 season.[68] Eddie Baza is one of three two-time All-America wrestlers in San Jose State University history and was inducted into the Spartan Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[69]
Championships
NCAA championship appearances
San José State University sports teams have competed in NCAA national tournaments across 15 active sports (8 men's and 7 women's) over 170 times at the topmost level.[70]
Patty Sheehan won the AIAW individual women's golf championship in 1980. Additionally, at the NCAA Division II level, San Jose State has garnered two individual NCAA titles.[71]
San Jose State also has a natural athletics rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal of Stanford University, due in large part to the two school's geographic proximity.[83] The approximate physical distance between the two universities is 23 miles. Additionally, San Jose State and Stanford are each known for having a large alumni workforce presence in Silicon Valley.[84] The two schools first played each other in football in 1900.
The Provident Credit Union Event Center, Spartan Complex, and Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center (SRAC) are the principal sports facilities for athletes on the main campus. Additional athletics facilities, including CEFCU Stadium (formerly known as Spartan Stadium), administrative offices, and multiple training and practice facilities, are located on SJSU's 62-acre (25.1ha) south campus approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) south of the main campus.
A CEFCU Stadium east-side building addition is currently under construction at a projected cost of $57.6 million.[85] Known as the Spartan Athletics Center (SAC), the 55,000 square feet (5,100m2), multi-story facility will house a new football operations center, locker rooms, offices, meeting and training rooms and a sports medicine center. The facility will also include soccer team offices and locker rooms, as well as dining and hospitality facilities, event spaces and premium football viewing areas.[86] Along with construction of the SAC, a major renovation of the stadium's entire east side is currently underway.
The east-side stadium renovation has temporarily reduced seating capacity at CEFCU Stadium from just over 30,000 to 21,520.[87] Approximately 9,000 seats were removed from the stadium in 2019 to make way for the new building. This includes virtually all of the east-side stadium seating and some of the north end zone bleachers. The north end zone bleachers were removed to make way for construction of a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard and outdoor bar and lounge area.[88] Installation of the new video scoreboard was completed in 2021 at an approximate cost of $5.2 million.[89] SAC construction and remaining east and north-side stadium renovations are projected to be completed in August 2023.
In April 2014, a new $76 million south campus development plan was unveiled.[90] The plan was later revised and the estimated cost was increased to $150 million including the cost of the new football stadium addition. The plan calls for construction of a golf training facility, new baseball and softball stadiums, new outdoor recreation and intramural facility, new soccer and tennis facilities, three beach volleyball courts, a new multilevel parking garage, and a new track and field facility.
The new golf, soccer, and tennis facilities opened in 2017. The new softball facility opened in 2018, and the beach volleyball courts were completed in 2019. The new outdoor recreation and intramural facility and parking garage were completed in 2021. The first phase of a new baseball facility was also completed in 2021.[91] In October 2022, university officials announced they had secured $9 million in funding for a new $25 million, joint-use track and field facility to be constructed approximately 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres) southeast of CEFCU stadium on the site of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.[92] In 2023, new bleachers and a press box were added to the new soccer facility.
As of spring 2023, remaining south campus projects include the third and final phase of the new softball stadium, the second phase of the new golf facility, and the second phase of the baseball facility.
The third and final phase of the softball stadium will add permanent bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand, and a press box. The stadium will be an enclosed facility with seating for over 700. The second phase of the new golf facility is expected to include a clubhouse, locker rooms, meeting rooms, and coaches' offices. The second phase of the new baseball facility will add stadium seating, restrooms, a concession stand, and a press box.
In August 2015, a $55 million renovation of the Spartan Complex was completed. Located on the main SJSU campus, the Spartan Complex houses open recreation spaces, gymnasia, an indoor aquatics center, the kinesiology department, weight rooms, locker rooms, dance and judo studios, and other classroom spaces. The primary project objectives were to upgrade the structures to make them compliant with building codes, correct ADA deficiencies, correct fire safety deficiencies, and expand and modify existing structures.
The new Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center (SRAC) was completed in 2019. At a cost of $132 million, the new facility houses a gymnasium, weight and fitness center, exercise rooms, rock climbing wall, sports club organizations, and competition and recreation pools with support spaces. The new facility is located on the main campus at the corner of 7th Street and San Carlos.[93]
Athletes are elected to the San José State University Sports Hall of Fame by a committee vote. The hall of fame includes over 300 former players and coaches, and is displayed in the Jeff Garcia Hall of Champions, located in the Koret Athletic Training Center just north of CEFCU Stadium.[94]
