Name-a-Day Calendar, July 21: San José State Spartans

Page 257 of 365

Chosen in: 1925

Chosen by: The student body

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What we now know as San José State University was originally established as a private normal school in 1857, named Minns’ Evening Normal School after its founder, George W. Minns. The school was acquired by the State of California just five years later, renaming itself California State Normal School then and San José State Teachers College in 1921. The “Spartans” nickname comes shortly after that last switch.

The school had been playing football since 1893 and men’s basketball since 1907 with no official nickname. They were often called one of several education-based nicknames on account of being a normal school: Normals, Normalites, Pedagogues, and Teachers. Then, in 1925, the student body wanted something fiercer, so they selected “Spartans” as their new athletics nickname. The Associated Student Body (essentially the school’s student government) confirmed this in the 1925 edition of the La Torre yearbook, though they did not provide any details on who exactly suggested the nickname or why.

San José State’s current mascot is a costumed Spartan named Sammy. He works out.

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