First Published September 2004:

Groups Seek to Preserve
School's CSU Identity

New Web Page, Shirts & Retail Site Announced

With the 110-year plus tradition of Spartan football facing possible extinction, and the lack of school pride at San Jose State an almost daily topic in campus related media, Spartans who are fiercely proud of their school's status as the original California State have launched a campaign to protect and preserve that identity. This includes a new web page devoted exclusively to the California State Normal School (1862-1921), a new California State commemorative T-shirt, and a retail location featuring state-oriented products and a display of historical California State N.S. documents.

A growing number of Spartans believe San Jose State's small-time "metro U" (city college) identity is the root cause of the school's decline. The name doesn't even make sense: San Jose is not a state.

Once a leader, the oldest CSU campus now ranks fifth or sixth among CSU campuses in size, alumni associaton membership, donations and other metrics of success. The school has obviously lost its rightful place as the flagship of the CSU system. In fact, market research indicates that because of the city-centric "SJSU" identity, many do not even know the school is a CSU campus.

Its city college identity is simply not prestigious enough to compete with area schools and attract the kind of solid residential students, professors, athletes, coaches, donors and statewide support needed to sustain a "destination" campus, and Spartan football. Instead, it only tends to attract commuter students who don't support the university, financially or athletically.

Groups like CSU Alumni San Jose and CSU Spartans believe a more balanced state/city identity is more appropriate for the State of California's oldest college. After all, San Jose is not a state!