The San José State University Football Programs Collection, 1934-2007, provides a snapshot of the intercollegiate games played by the SJSU Spartans. The football team began in 1893, with the first intercollegiate game taking place in 1895. SJSU celebrated its intercollegiate centennial in 1995. SJSU is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, participating in the Western Athletic Conference. The programs provide biographical profiles of the players and coaches of both teams, and also include statistics, records and press releases. In addition, notable materials in the collection include SJSU football information guides provided for the press, radio, and television, and the 1995 Football Media Guide celebrating the 100th anniversary of the SJSU football team.

In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes, Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations, and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.

7.0 boxes [2.92 linear feet]

Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the collection. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files from or derived from these collections is restricted to research and educational purposes.

The collection is open for research.