Celebrate the New Year with the Spartans; Review of 2021Celebrate the New Year with the Spartans; Review of 2021

Celebrate the New Year with the Spartans; Review of 2021

San José State Athletics wishes all Spartans a very happy new year. As we enter 2022, SJSU takes a look back at some of the top moments of 2021 and celebrates the Charge of the Spartans!!!

  • The women's tennis team won the Mountain West championship for the first time since 2017
    • Irena Muradyan was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, becoming the first SJSU player to earn the distinction since 2014
    • Chad Skorupka earned Mountain West Coach of the Year
  • James Jones joined the CEFCU Ring of Honor (story) to become the first wide receiver and San Jose native to receive that recognition
    • He was inducted into the San Jose Hall of Fame in November
  • San José State had six former Spartans compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; Suzy Brookshire Gonzales (Medico, Softball), Colton Brown (USA men's judo), Michelle Cox (Australia, Softball), Emma Entzminger (Canada, Softball), Clara Espar Llaquet (Spain, Women's Water Polo) and Robyn Stevens (USA Women's Track and Field, 20k race walking)
    • Llaquet won a silver medal with Spain in women's water polo, while Entzminger earned a bronze medal with Canada in softball to become the first SJSU women to earn Olympic medals in their respective sports
    • The five female Olympians are the most to represent SJSU at the Summer Olympic Games
    • Fencing alum Greg Massialas, a three-time USA Olympic team member in the 1980's, coached Team USA for the fourth consecutive Olympics since 2008
  • Two-time WGCA All-American Scholar Kajsa Arwefjäll shot 67 in the final round of the NCAA Stanford Regional to qualify for the NCAA Championship and earn a 36th-place finish at the national championship tournament
    • Went on to become the first SJSU underclassman to win a professional tournament, capturing the Golf Uppsala Open championship in Sweden by winning in a playoff
  • Roman Johnson, Jr. (men's 100-meter dash) and Tyler Cash (men's high jump) won Mountain West championships for the Spartans at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships
  • The volleyball team won a program-best 13 games in Mountain West play, earning a third-place finish in the regular season standings
    • Regardless of the conference affiliation, the Spartans went a perfect 9-0 against teams based in California
    • SJSU earned a final RPI ranking of No. 80, third-best in the Mountain West
  • Ruben Ibarra was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft (story), becoming the highest SJSU draft pick since the 2004 MLB Draft
  • Rudi Castro delivers a ESPN Top-10 play highlight (video here) as the Spartans rally to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Utah Valley in WAC quarterfinals
  • Trey Smith delivers the ESPN Top-10 play (video here) with a buzzer beater in the season opener for SJSU as first-year head coach Tim Miles picks up his 400th career win
  • The men's water polo team finished in the final coaches top-10 poll twice in 2021, during the shortened spring season at No. 8, its highest ranking since the program was reinstated in 2015, and ended the traditional fall season at No. 9
    • Yahav Fire earned All-America Honorable Mention honors for the third time in his career after finishing third in the country with 289 total saves
    • Bende Pardi earned All-America Honorable Mention honors after leading the team with 53 goals, fourth in the Golden Coast Conference
  • The women's golf team finished its fall season at No. 13 in the GolfStat Rankings, its highest GolfStat mid-season ranking in more than 25 years (fall recap)
  • The football team defeated Southern Utah, 45-14, in the season opener in front of 16,204 fans, the most for a home opener in over a decade
    • The season home attendance was the most since the 2013 season
  • A department record 146 student-athletes, cheer squad, and student employees were recognized as a San Jose State University President's Scholar or a Dean's Scholar at the university's annual Honors Convocation
  • A total of 280 student-athletes earned conference recognition for academic excellence over the last year, including national recognition for seven teams and 66 student-athletes in 14 intercollegiate sports
  • For the second consecutive season, water polo player Riley Agerbeek was named the top Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholar-Athlete in her sport for student-athletes of color by Diverse Issues
  • Jeff Konya became the 15th Director of Athletics at San José State University (story here)
  • The gymnastics team defeated Stanford, 194.375-192.550, in their only home meet of the year (recap)
  • SJSU makes historic hire as Charles Ryan becomes the first black Director of men's and women's track and field
  • Omari Moore slams home the No. 3 play of the night on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays (video here) to give the Spartans a win over Northern Colorado
  • Nick Watts fired a 10-under par 206 to capture the Husky Individual Invitational on the Cascade Course, making an eagle on the par-5, 18th hole with a chip in from 15 yards away
    • He became the first freshman to finish in first place in a men's college golf tournament since Larry Silveira in 1984

ONE SPARTAN NATION

  • Secured a new multimillion multimedia rights partnership with Playfly Sports that doubled the previous commitment from Learfield annually over a 10-year span (read story)
  • Witnessed a 50 percent increase in donations (story here)
  • Funding secured for new facilities: baseball practice field and soccer grandstands
  • Over $5.7 million give in support of student-athlete scholarships and other support impacting the lives of SJSU student-athletes
  • Construction began on the Spartan Athletics Center, largest capital project in SJSU Athletics history
  • The entire staff from the Athletics Department contributed to the End-of-the-Year campaign to reach 100 percent participation for the first time in department history
  • Highest number of season tickets sold since 2013

DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

  • Created the first-ever 24-7 HD radio network, The Charge, which will launch in 2022 as soon as radio clearances are finalized
  • Developed a new format of SJSU's All-Access Show, The Charge, which highlights student-athletes, the department and staff throughout the 2021-22 year
  • Produced the first local football telecast in more than 25 years by partnering with NBC Sports Bay Area/California for the Oct. 2 home game vs. New Mexico State and established a partnership with the regional sports network to televise SJSU's All-Access Show, The Charge (click here for episodes), and the 2022 SAMMY Awards in May
  • Partnered with OpenDorse to assist student-athletes in the area of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) (story here)
  • Launched a more comprehensive Lifeskills Program, Beyond Sparta, and partnered with NextPlay to enhance post-university job and career opportunities

STAFF HIGHLIGHTS

  • Football running backs coach Alonzo Carter's Zoom calls are changing lives and elevating careers (The Undefeated story)
  • Lauren Hanson, women's soccer head coach, was named to the Silicon Valley Business Journal 40 Under 40 Class of 2021 (story here)
  • Women's Golf Head Coach Dana Dormann competed in the 2021 U.S. Women's Senior Open (story here)
  • Simon Tobin earned WAC Coach of the Year honors (story here)
  • Laura Alexander, Assistant AD for Student Wellness and Leadership Development and head football trainer, won the 87kg USA Weightlifting national championship and finished sixth in the snatch competition at the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) world championships held in Uzbekistan (feature story)
  • Longtime football media relations contact and CoSIDA Hall of Fame member Lawrence Fan worked his 500th consecutive SJSU football game on Nov. 13, 2021 (tweet)
  • Director of Media Relations Amy Villa becomes just the 31st woman to earn the CoSIDA 25-year Award (story here)

OTHER AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

  • Sept. 17 – Football retained the Dick Tomey Legacy Tropy with a 17-13 victory at Hawaii
  • June 16 – Women's tennis is ranked 63rd in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings matching the highest end of season ranking for a San Jose State women's tennis squad
  • June 14 – The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) honors the San Jose State University Athletics media relations staff for its media services in 2020
  • June 11 – NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators) honors San Jose State Athletics in the area of video production by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools
  • June 1 – Assistant head coach Alonzo Carter received the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches "MVP Advocate Award" for increasing membership by more than 100 members and creating mock interview opportunities for coaching candidates of color
  • April 12 – Head coaches Sage Hopkins (women's swimming & diving), John Kennaday (men's golf) honored at the 22nd annual San Jose State University faculty service recognition awards ceremony for 15 years of service
  • Jan. 12 – The final ranking and polls for the 2020 college football season are published and for the first time, San Jose State is ranked in the top-25 in the two major polls and the College Football Playoff rankings (No. 24 in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls and No. 22 in the College Football Playoff rankings)
  • 2021 – Men's Golf Head Coach John Kennaday is in his second year as the president of the Golf Coaches Association of America

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

  • Dec. 21 – One-time San Jose State freshman basketball player and current Chicago Cubs play-by-play broadcaster Pat Hughes is named one of the top 100 local play-by-play broadcasters in the 100 years of sports play-by-play radio and television broadcasting by Sports Broadcast Journal
  • Nov. 16 – San Jose State wide receiver James Jones, who was added to the CEFCU Stadium Ring of Honor during the 2021 football season, is inducted into the City of San Jose Sports Hall of Fame
  • Oct. 1 – The San Jose State University Sports Hall of Fame adds Dr. Harry Edwards (basketball, track & field), Laura Fritz (women's swimming), Dwight Lowery (football), Coach Hugh Mumby (wrestling), John Poch (coaching, administration), Thomasina Wallace (women's gymnastics), and the 2000 baseball team that competed in the College World Series
  • Sept. 4-6 – 1989 NCAA Division I women's golf medalist Pat Hurst, who led the Spartans to the team championship that same year, captains the United States team in the Solheim Cup
  • Jan. 29 – The General Mills cereal company announces San Jose State Olympic Games gold medal winner and human rights activist Tommie Smith would be featured on the front of boxes for Wheaties cereal with proceeds going to the NAACP

IN MEMORIAM
San Jose State University Sports Hall of Fame members
Rich Donner (men's water polo & men's swimming, 1937 – February 28, 2021)
Lee Evans (men's track & field, February 25, 1947 – May 19, 2021)
Dennis Johnson (men's track & field, May 6, 1939 – April 22, 2021)
Neville Myton (men's track & field, May 28, 1946 – May 19, 2021)
"Nort" (Norton) Thornton (men's water polo & men's swimming, 1933 – April 22, 2021)
 
Other notables
Dave Ellis (San Jose State quarterback & football radio broadcaster, February 20, 1949 – July 18, 2021)
Terry Donahue (freshman football team, winningest Pac-12 football coach, June 24, 1944 – July 4, 2021)
Charles "Chuck" Davidson (San Jose real estate developer, Spartan Foundation executive board member and philanthropist, March 25, 2021 at age 90)
Pat O'Daniels (founder of the San Jose State alumni publication The Rat Line, May 19, 1940 – June 13, 2021)

ETC.
Spartan Fans return to home events
May 2021 - After 15 months of no spectators at home events, San Jose State Athletics began allowing spectators back at its venues beginning in May 2021 with the annual Spring Football Showcase. Spectators got their first look at the new scoreboard/videoboard in the north end zone. The Spartan baseball and softball teams also hosted home games with spectators before the end of the 2021 season.
 
One Spartan Nation
February 17, 2021 – The formal introduction of One Spartan Nation
 
Women's Tennis
June 15-19, 2021  – Irena Muradyan represented Armenia in the 21-nation Billie Jean King Cup women's tennis tournament qualifying in Lithuania. The Spartans' No. 2 singles player throughout the college season was 4-1 in hardcourt singles competition defeating players from Nigeria, Iceland, Ghana, and North Macedonia.
 
Men's Golf
April 12-14, 2021  – Hosted by San Jose State University men's golf, the Western Intercollegiate becomes the first college regular-season tournament to be televised live three times in its history. GOLF Channel provided nine hours of live coverage (three hours each on three consecutive days) in 2021 and 2019. ESPN first provided live coverage in 1996.

Happy New Year!!! #SpartanUp