Welcome
to Gostate.org
This is the archive of older Gostate.org webpages. GoState is the
voice of the movement for a balanced state-city identity at "San
Jose State", which was founded as the California State Normal
School (1862-1921) and is the school from which the entire CSU system
grew.
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Spartan
Basketball
Goes 'STATE'
New Uniforms Help Inspire
Most of Team's Wins
Spartan Basketball at the oldest California State University
(CSU) campus went "STATE" this year with great new
uniforms sporting that powerful identity. Although the Spartans
struggled this year, the STATE uniforms helped power them to
most of the wins they achieved this season.
According to Coach George Nessman, the new uniforms are a confirmed
part of the team's "new look" and will continue to
be worn in rotation with other uniforms. What is interesting,
however, is that the team has achieved most of its wins this
year with the STATE uniforms. Some believe that this simple
but powerful identity may have helped inspire the Spartans hoopsters
to better performance. Part of the power of the brand is its
simplicity: one word instead of three. It has more common sense
appeal, since it separates the school's state and city identities.
The STATE identity is almost legendary in intercollegiate athletics,
and usually identifies the oldest "state university"
school in a given state. Since these schools are usually the
2nd-tier public universities, STATE is usually the underdog
school. The oldest CSU campus in San Jose has often been referred
to simply as STATE throughout its history. In fact, the school's
official name from 1887 to 1921 was simply the "State Normal
School" (SNS). Another benefit of the STATE identity for
San Jose is its ambiguity. It can be interpreted as standing
for either "San Jose State" or the school's original
"California State" identity.
A few years ago Spartan athletics hired a marketing firm named
Post Communications, which recommended the University go with
the STATE nickname for athletics. The athletics department accepted
the recommendation, and the basketball team and spirit squad
began sporting STATE uniforms. But anti-California alumni were
able to force the athletics department to pull the STATE basketball
uniforms after only a few games. The spirit squad uniforms remained,
however, until as recently as last year. This website and its
support groups also strongly support the development of a broader
and more prestigious (California) STATE-oriented identity for
the University's struggling athletics programs.
Gostate.org encourages CSU students and alumni from San Jose
to contact
Athletic Director Tom Bowen and Coach Nessman and encourage
them to expand use of the powerful "State" brand for
Spartan athletics, including bringing back the "State"
cheerleader uniforms.
What is now called "San Jose State" was the California
State University, San Jose, for the institution's first two
years as a university (1972 to 1974). This was a modern restoration
of the school's original name: The California
State Normal School (1862-1921).
A growing number of Spartans believe restoration of a more prestigious,
geographically expansive, and internationally recognizable CSU
identity will better service San Jose graduates as they enter
the competitive job market in the Bay Area and elsewhere around
the country, and around the world.
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Spartan basketball
players sporting jerseys
featuring the simple yet powerful STATE identity. Gostate.org
photo.
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