SOUTH CAMPUS
Alternate Zeality: SJSU Athletics Embraces the Future of Social Media
By Sean Woodland Photography courtesy of Zeality
Dipak Patel thinks he’s unlocked the next phase of storytelling, and he’s partnering with San José State Athletics to prove it.
“For thousands of years, we’ve been staring at a rectangle,” says Patel, co-founder of Zeality, a new digital platform specializing in immersive media. “Whether it's on the wall or whether it’s in your pocket, or in a book, it's always been a rectangle. But when you add a z-axis, it changes everything. Because now I can actually activate both sides of the brain simultaneously. I can put you underwater, get you to learn something, get you to feel something, then get you to act.”
Unlike other social media platforms, Zeality gives users immersive experiences and allows them to explore and interact with a 360-degree environment. It was a feature that was immediately attractive to SJSU Athletics.
“Here at SJSU, we have to be creative and we have to think differently. And that’s kind of what Zeality is,” says Scott MacDonald, senior deputy athletic director for external operations. “When I first met Dipak, he had this idea of creating this seventh social media platform in Zcasts to promote creative thinking that aligns with what we try to do here at San José State — be transformative and innovative.”
“Here at SJSU, we have to be creative and we have to think differently."
— Scott MacDonald
This 2025 Spartan football game was captured on the SJSU Zeality channel.
Zeality and SJSU Athletics announced their marketing and content partnership in May. Soon after, San José State launched a channel on Zeality focused on SJSU athletic programs and student-athletes. ZCasts help fans experience Spartan Athletics from an entirely new perspective and create sponsorship opportunities for brands.
Tyler Chen, ’27 Nursing, is an offensive lineman with the SJSU football team and early adopter of Zeality. His presence on the platform helped him secure a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with d.hudson, a golf apparel company. NIL allows college athletes to be compensated for the commercial use of their personal attributes. This allows athletes to benefit financially from endorsements, sponsorships and other opportunities.
“NIL is the whole name of the game right now,” says Chen. “You’re just trying to get your name out there. I think Zeality is a great opportunity for that just because it shows people who I am in a different format. It goes past that surface level of information that you see by just scrolling through a roster.”
Left to right: Spartan football players Tyler Chen, Justin Stearns, and Walker Eget (far right) with Zeality founder Dipak Patel (second from right).
Dipak Patel at the recording studio at South Campus' Spartan Athletics Center.
“I think the more other student-athletes start seeing what others are doing currently, I think they’re all going to want to embark on this,” says MacDonald. ”I think they’re going to look at this like it’s just another possible revenue stream for them. I think it’s going to enhance our brand here at SJSU.”
Everyone involved in the partnership between Zeality and SJSU Athletics understands that it is in its infancy. However, they all see the potential to build something that can make a tremendous impact not only for SJSU Athletics, but the entire university.
“I want to build an ability for us to test all the different spokes of this possibility right within the university,” Patel says. “Whether it’s education, college recruiting, construction, real estate or journalism, there's so many different aspects that we can build out here. I can totally see building a deeper partnership, a much broader partnership to kind of expand on what we're learning here.”
“I’m a firm believer in that if you put the time and effort into something, it’s going to blossom. It’s going to grow. And I think in terms of moving forward with Zeality, how I can grow my image is to put the time in,” says Chen. “I think I’m on the right path and I just have to keep chugging along.”
“I’m a firm believer in that if you put the time and effort into something, it’s going to blossom. It’s going to grow."
— Tyler Chen
SJSU Magazine © 2025. All Rights Reserved | Land Acknowledgement