Dec. 23, 2016
Support The Spartans All Year Long
January 14 (Women's Soccer) -- Darriell Franklin is invited to the U.S. Under-19 national team training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. She is the first of two Spartans in 2016 to train and/or play with a national team.
February 1-6 (Football) -- San Jose State is the host site for the Carolina Panthers, the National Football Conference's representative in Super Bowl 50. Spartan alum Bené Benwikere was a defensive back for the 2015 Panthers.
February 13 (Women's Basketball) -- Forward Riana Byrd becomes the second San Jose State University women's basketball player to score 1,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds in a career in a 59-58 conference win over New Mexico at The Event Center.
February 20 (Women's Swimming & Diving) -- Senior Riley Spitser set two of her four school records during the Mountain West Championships in the 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyles on the meet's final night of competition.
March 7 (Women's Basketball) -- Point guard Dezz Ramos is named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year and Riana Byrd is named the conference's "Sixth Player of the Year."
March 8 (Men's Basketball) -- Forward Brandon Clarke is the first freshman to receive the Mountain West's "Sixth Man of the Year" award in a vote by the conference coaches.
April 2 (Beach Volleyball) -- San Jose State defeats #16-ranked California, 3-2, for its first win in program history against a top-20 nationally ranked team.
April 5 (Softball) -- USA Softball and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association names San Jose State first baseman Jessie Hufstetler as the national Player of the Week for batting .571 with eight extra-base hits, 12 RBI and scoring eight runs in six games.
April 28 (Women's Tennis) -- Junior Marie Klocker becomes the most honored player in San Jose State women's tennis history with her fifth and sixth all-conference awards. Klocker would finish the calendar year with 122 singles and doubles victories and is on the verge of setting a school record for most career wins by an individual in 2017.
April 30 (Football) -- Running back Tyler Ervin and offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer are selected in the 2017 National Football League Draft by the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons, respectively.
May 1 (Women's Water Polo) -- Senior Rae Lekness becomes the San Jose State single-season and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation career scoring leader in her final match. She finished the 2016 season with 98 goals and 294 for her career.
May 13 (Men's Golf) -- San Jose State breaks ground on the $10.2-million Spartan Golf Complex on the South Campus.
June 3 (Men's Soccer) -- Lionel Messi, acknowledged presently as the world's best soccer player, joins the Argentina national team for team practices at San Jose State's South Campus in preparation for the Copa America Centenario tournament.
June 12 (Women's Swimming) -- Brenna Bushey and Colleen Humel qualify to compete in the U.S. Olympic Swimming and Diving Team Trials. They joined teammate Riley Spitser in Omaha, Neb., competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympics team.
July 1 (Baseball) - Jason Hawkins is named new head baseball coach.
July 5 (Women's Water Polo) -- Gabor Sarusi is named the new San Jose State University women's water polo head coach. He was the assistant coach for the men's team during the 2015 season.
August 1 (Track & Field) -- San Jose State announces the reinstatement of men's track and field for the 2018-19 season. Between 1941 and 1970, Spartan athletes were ranked in Track & Field News' Top-10 in the world 91 times.
August 9 (Women's Water Polo) -- Clara Espar Llaquet became the first San Jose State alum to play in the Olympics. The Spartans' leading scorer in 2014 and 2015 played in three of Spain's six matches in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Marti Malloy in women's judo and 2016 silver medalist Travis Stevens and Colton Brown in men's judo represented San Jose State, too, in the Rio Olympics.
September 12 (Women's Golf) -- San Jose State wins the Ptarmigan Golf Classic and senior My Leander earns medalist honors as the individual champion.
October 15 (Women's Soccer) -- Junior Dorthe Hoppius is invited to play for the German national team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 World Women's Cup in New Guinea.
October 20 (Volleyball) -- San Jose State overcomes a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win in Spartan Gym over Mountain West conference leader Colorado State. The Spartans ended Colorado State's 31-match conference and 14-match conference road winning streaks.
November 15 (Men's Cross Country) -- Sophomore Jose Pina becomes the first San Jose State runner in 32 years to qualify for the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships with his eighth place finish at the NCAA Regional Championship meet in Sacramento.
November 26 (Football) -- San Jose State retains the Valley Trophy with a 16-14 win at Fresno State.
December 3 (Women's Swimming & Diving) -- Diver Cari Reiswig sets a school record in the 1-meter event with a 309.80 score in a double dual meet with UC Santa Cruz and Cal Lutheran.
December 5 (Women's Golf) -- Four-time all-conference golfer Regan DeGuzman earns full status on the LPGA Tour for the 2017 season.
December 7 (Football) -- San Jose State announces Brent Brennan as the new head football coach.
December 21 (Men's Basketball) -- San Jose State completes its most successful pre-conference schedule in six years with a 92-82 win over Southern Utah. The Spartans 7-4 record includes two three-game winning streaks and a road win at Washington State.
Academics
April 13 -- The San Jose State University men's cross country, women's cross country and women's water polo programs were named as recipients of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Award for a multi-year score of 1,000 out of 1,000.
April 15 -- 59 current and former student-athletes and cheerleaders, the largest number ever, are honored at the University's annual Honors Convocation
April 21 -- 23 Spartans named Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. San Jose State had the most honorees of any school in the Pacific Time zone.
August 2 (Women's Gymnastics) -- More than two-thirds of the team (13 out of 19) earns National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/Women) Scholastic All-America honors for individual grade-point averages of 3.50 or higher. The 2016 season marks the third consecutive year at least 10 Spartans are honored nationally.
Special honors
January 14 (Men's Water Polo) -- Peter Ueberroth accepts the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the NCAA's highest honor, at the annual NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
May 28 (Men's Basketball/Track & Field) -- Dr. Harry Edwards, 1964 men's basketball co-captain and former school record holder in the discus, receives an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters and delivers the speaker at the University's commencement.
October 24 (Track & Field/Cross Country) -- Head coach Jeff Petersmeyer was inducted into the Baldwin Wallace University Sports Hall of Fame.
November 1 (Football) -- Senior Tim Crawley becomes the first San Jose State player to be named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award winner. He would participate in honors dinner in New York City and receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.
November 2 (Men's Basketball) -- Former San Jose State men's basketball player Pat Hughes calls the final out in the 2016 World Series. Hughes, the voice of the Chicago Cubs since 1996, became the first radio announcer in franchise history to call the team "World Series champions."
In memoriam
San Jose State quarterback Bob Reinhart, 1956 NCAA passing efficiency leader, (1932-2016)
San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame football player Leon Donohue (1939-2016)
Baseball coach Gene Menges (1926-2016)
Men's golf coach Jerry Vroom (1922-2016)
Men's water polo coach Lee Walton (1935-2016)
NCAA faculty representative Dr. Charles (Charlie) Whitcomb (1946-2016)