Celebrating 100 Years of Spartans at SJSU
In 1924, San José State students adopted Spartans as the official university mascot and identity, recognizing the legacy of social progress established by previous generations of educators, innovators and pioneers at One Washington Square. In the ensuing 100 years, as we emerged from the heart of San José to become Silicon Valley’s original startup, Spartans have advocated for civil rights, won Olympic medals, trained countless teachers, engineers and entrepreneurs, and helped transform the university into the epicenter of the future. Join us as we honor the past, commemorate the present and anticipate the future of SJSU.
Fill in the Timeline! Share Your Favorite Spartan Memory
We’re on a mission to capture the history of Spartans at SJSU, and we need your help! Contribute your favorite memory to our timeline — whether it's a personal achievement, a memorable event or a significant milestone. Together, we'll expand this timeline with our collective memories and experiences. We can't wait to hear from you!
2025 – Beyond
Research team members testing the lower limb exoskeleton. Photo courtesy of Mojtaba Sharifi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
What will the next 100 years of Spartans bring?
We invite you to explore our campus master plan and stay up to date with SJSU faculty, students and alumni who will help shape the future through their inventions, research and scholarship— including exoskeletons, innovative bio-recycling methods, smart breast pumps and much more. From AI to VR, transformative teaching to cutting-edge social science research, digital humanities to opportunities through SJSU Online, the future of Spartan ingenuity will literally take us to the moon and back.
2024 – 2014
Photo: Mel Chircop, ’21 BFA Photography.
2020
The COVID pandemic transforms the lives of people globally. San José State students, faculty and staff adjust to virtual classes and work. San José State receives more than $28.7 million dollars from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help students and the campus deal with COVID-19 related hardships. This marks the second time in a century that Spartans worked together to combat a major health crisis — in 1918, the college was converted into a hospital so nursing students could treat patients.
2019
2018
Spartan logo from 2018–present.
2013 – 2003
The 2023 Spartan Racing team at the unveiling event of their new vehicle. Photo: David Schmitz.
2012
Marti Malloy, ’10 BS, ’15 MS Mass Communications, earns a bronze medal at the London Olympics under the tutelage of Yoshihiro Uchida.
2010
Spartan logo from 2010–2018.
2008
Spartan Racing’s SR-1 car earns them a Rookie of the Year award at the prestigious Formula SAE international collegiate racing competition.
2005
The Olympic statue depicting John Carlos and Tommie Smith on the Mexico City podium is erected by Rigo 23 at SJSU.
2003
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library partners with the San José Public Library, becoming the first library in the United States to combine a major city and university library, making every collection and service available to all.
2002 – 1992
Photo: James Tensuan, '15 Journalism.
2001
September 11, 2001. UPD Captain Belcastro reflects on his time as a NYPD captain on the tragic day, and SJSU honors pilot Jason Dahl, ‘80 Aeronautics Operations, who perished while piloting Flight United 93.
1999
Spartan logo from 1999–2010.
1991 – 1981
"Krazy" George Henderson. Photo courtesy of SJSU Special Collections and Archives.
1989
Loma Prieta Earthquake shakes the campus and the entire region.
1985
Spartan logo from 1985–1999.
1984
Peter Ueberroth, ’59 Management, ’86 Honorary Doctorate, serves as CEO of the 1984 Olympic Games. He created the business model for the modern Olympic Games.
1983
Spartan logo from 1983–1985.
1981
“Krazy” George Henderson, ’70 Industrial Technology, is credited with inventing “The Wave” at an Oakland A’s game. Krazy George remains a staple at Spartan athletics events.
Spartan logo from 1981–1983.
1980 – 1970
1970 Survival Faire’s Great Car Burial. Photo courtesy of Spartan Daily.
1978
1977
Spartan logo from 1977–1981.
1973
Patti Jo Hirabayashi, ’77 MUP, and Roy Hirabayashi, found San José Taiko while working to establish an Asian American Studies program at SJSU.
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, ’56 Sociology, publishes “Farewell to Manzanar,” a memoir based on her time in an incarceration camp during World War II.
1970
Faculty and students called for the end of internal combustion automobiles at Survival Faire’s Great Car Burial, where a brand new 1970 Ford Maverick was buried on campus.
1969 – 1959
1962 SJS cross-country team. Photo courtesy of SJSU Special Collections and Archives.
1969
The San José Gay Liberation Front, the university’s first official LGBTQ+ group, is established not long after the Stonewall riot in New York.
1968
Athlete-activists Harry Edwards and Ken Noel organize the Olympic Project for Human Rights to establish a platform for social justice on an international platform. Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists on the podium in Mexico City in what became known as the human rights salute.
1966
1962
The Spartans become the first integrated cross-country team to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I title, as part of Bud Winter’s Speed City legacy.
1960
Spartan logo from 1960–1977.
1958 – 1948
Charles "Chuck" Alexander, ’82 Management. Photo courtesy of the Alexander family.
1958
Wayne Merry, ’59 Conservation, becomes one of the first rock climbers to ascend to the summit of Yosemite’s El Capitan.
1955
Charles “Chuck” Alexander, ’82 Management, establishes the Good Brothers House for student-athletes who were otherwise denied access to housing — a few of the student-athletes became Olympians.
1949
Spartan logo from 1949–1960.
1948
Spartan logo from 1948–1949.
1947 – 1937
(Left) Yoshihiro Uchida, ‘47 Biological Science, ‘04 Honorary Doctorate, SJSU judo coach. Photo courtesy of SJSU Special Collections and Archives.
1942
The men’s gym is converted into a processing center for Japanese Americans descent following Executive Order 9066. Yoshihiro Uchida’s family is among those sent to incarceration camps during WWII.
1941
1940
Spartan logo from 1940–1948.
1939
John Allen becomes the first Black student to join the SJSC Baseball team.
1936 – 1926
Margaret Jenkins, ’25 Education. Photo: Otto Brettmann/ Brettmann / Getty Images.
1933
1928
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