SAN JOSE, Calif. — San José State Athletics is pleased to announce two new Forever Spartans, as SJSU alumni Stan and Diane Chinchen have made a major investment in Spartan student-athletes through an estate gift. The gift will support the Spartan Athletics Center, the most transformative capital project in the history of the athletics department.
"We are so thankful for the generous donation from Stan and Diane," said SJSU Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. "Our vision is to build champions in the classroom, in competition and in the community, and passionate alums like the Chinchens provide that opportunity for our student-athletes. Thank you Stan and Diane from all the Spartans!"
FOREVER SPARTANS
Born and raised in San Jose, Stan chose to attend his hometown university beginning in the 1940's. "I started at San José State in the fall of 1945," says Chinchen. "I attended for a quarter and then ended up in the Navy for two years. Eventually I found my way back to San José and I graduated in 1951 with a degree in business."
He met the love of his life, Diane, while attending San José State. Now, the longtime supporters and football season ticket holders have been proud Spartans together for more than seven decades.
As a result of their generosity, the Chinchens are the latest to become Forever Spartans – the distinguished group honored for sharing their legacies through a planned gift to benefit current student-athletes and future Spartans.
IF YOU BUILD IT
Diane and Stan were married in 1948 and will be celebrating their 73rd anniversary this year. Those 73 years have been filled with their unwavering love for family, one another and San José State football.
The gift from the Chinchens will help fund the new Spartan Athletics Center on the east side of CEFCU Stadium. Construction on the state-of-the-art building which will provide a cutting-edge experience for generations of Spartans is currently underway.
As it turns out, this means Stan will have left his thumb print on both the east and the west side of CEFCU Stadium after having a heavy hand in the fundraising for the upper deck expansion some 40 years ago.
"I was very active in building the upper deck on the west side of (then) Spartan Stadium," he recalls. "I was on the committee to raise the money for it back in the 70s. I secured a gift of $100,000 to help the construction, which obviously was quite a bit of money at the time. Those were definitely fond memories."
Now, Stan and Diane are focused on creating fond memories for generations of Spartan student-athletes through their transformational gift to the Spartan Athletics Center.
When asked about his favorite SJSU moment, Stan doesn't hesitate in recalling his own graduation from the university. He hopes this gift will encourage the next wave of Spartan greats to earn a degree from the school that has been such a big part of his life.
TRANSFORM SPARTAN ATHLETICS
The Spartan Athletics Center will provide a cutting-edge experience for Spartan student-athletes with new locker rooms, an auditorium, coaches' offices, a state-of-the-art athletic training room and much more. The building will be the capstone of the South Campus Athletics Complex transformation and will help the department's goal of building a sustainable, championship-level football program in the Mountain West and nationally.
For more information about the Spartan Athletics Center, how to support the project and naming opportunities, visit OneSpartanNation.com or contact Sr. Deputy Director of Athletics, Rob Clark (408-924-1175, rob.clark@sjsu.edu).
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