By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear Reporter // Photo via Aikman Fang
The phrase ‘not the same old San Jose State’ struck a chord in SJSU AD Jeff Konya.
“That’s the hardest thing, right? At what point do you get over historical perceptions? Like, how long does it take to change perception?” Konya pondered last week.
Over the last few years, public perception of SJSU (0-1) has shifted. There’s been an upward trend in football attendance and donor interest. Nonetheless, SJSU needs more of both to boost its odds of outlasting the next round of conference realignment. Which is why the importance of SJSU upsetting No. 18 Oregon State this Sunday afternoon, in its its first regular season game on CBS since 1982, can’t be understated.
“I hope everybody outside the state of California tunes in to watch the game, but I hope that everybody in the Bay Area actually comes to the game,” said a charged-up Brent Brennan, SJSU football’s head coach.
Back in 2017 …
During Brennan’s first year in 2017, current special teams player Andrew Jenkins went to SJSU’s bout against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for his unofficial visit. “I’m already thinking in my mind, college athletics, it’s gonna be huge.” He was “surprised” to find 400-1,000 people in the stands.
The “surprise” was the sum of the difference between what he expected to see and what he saw. “There was nobody here,” Jenkins recounted.
Five years, one Mountain West Championship and two bowl appearances later, Jenkins felt a transition. “As we started getting better throughout the years you started seeing more fans, more people in the community buy in,” Jenkins said.
Last season, marked SJSU’s first time finishing 6-0 at home since 1978 and its most single-season ticket sales in recent memory.
Heading into the 2023 season, SJSU’s Deputy AD for External Relations Scott MacDonald said SJSU’s “$200 grand ahead of where we were last year at this point in time” in ticket sales.
Realignment Impact
From a coach’s and player’s perspective, packed stands help lure recruits and build a lively culture and atmosphere. From the administration’s perspective, packed stands mean a bolstered financial status.
For example, football ticket sales are essential to raising an athletic program’s bottom line. A June report from USA Today showed SJSU brought in the least revenue to the Mountain West last season.
The Mountain West and SJSU have survived the realignment saga for now. The Mountain West might even temporarily benefit from it. The collapse of the PAC-12 has led to the possibility of Washington State and this week’s opponent Oregon State joining the Mountain West.
However, if something were to change, SJSU would likely be the first team to go. The roughly $6 million SJSU receives from the Mountain West is vital to keeping the entire athletic program running. If SJSU was relegated to a lower-tier conference it would result in the axing of athletic programs.
With the Mountain West’s media deal expiring after the 2025-26 season, an upset over an elite squad in No. 18 Oregon State could lower its chances of becoming a realignment casualty.
Yes, it’s a tall order, but SJSU is playing catch up.
Valuable time slot
Broadcasting this Sunday’s game on CBS is a prudent move.
“I would say that the Oregon State game, definitely is going to be a major opportunity for us. Given that it’s going to be a television window where there’s no competition, right? And it’s going to be the only football that’s being played in a very significant time window on the weekend,” Konya said.
Viewers might be completely unaware of SJSU and its recent upswing. But they’ll tune in because they’re starving to watch competitive football on a Sunday afternoon. Those fans will hear about SJSU’s recent success. Last season marked the first time SJSU football, men’s basketball and baseball each made the postseason. Plus, the broadcast will feature the newly unveiled $60 million Spartan Athletic Center.
It’ll be the widest platform SJSU has to show potential alums who’ve written off the school, they’re investing in a surging product.
Rush the Field?
What’re the chances SJSU pulls off its biggest upset since defeating No. 16 Fresno State at home in 2013? According to ESPN’s match-up predictor: 17.7%. Vegas has SJSU pinned as 16.5-point underdogs.
Last week the Spartans showed glimpses of its capability of upsetting an elite program. SJSU was down just 35-21 to No. 6 USC with about a minute left in the third quarter. Sizable, but not impossible. But then, USC’s Zachariah Branch returned a kickoff for a touchdown and all momentum was lost. When the clock hit zero, the Spartans lost 56-28.
This week, its imperative SJSU doesn’t have any special team breakdowns. A difficult task considering SJSU’s facing an All-Pac-12 Second Team Return specialist in Silas Bolden. What’s more, SJSU can’t deflate.
At first glance, it’s obvious. Might even warrant a ‘yuh think?’ But the kryptonite of any upset is an inability to play its best football in the final 15 minutes.
Last year, SJSU nearly upset Auburns in SEC country. SJSU was down 17-13 at the top of the fourth quarter. But that was the closest SJSU got. The Tigers narrowly escaped the upset and won 24-16.
On Sunday, SJSU’s inexperienced, under-proven defense can’t get worn down by 2023 Preseason All-PAC-12 First Team running back Damien Martinez. Plus, prevent former five-star and Clemson transfer quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei dazzle in his OSU debut.
“He’s [Uiagalelei] one of the most talented players I’ve ever seen,” Brennan said.
Aftermath
If SJSU upsets No. 18 Oregon State, it’ll hopefully strengthen donor support and ticket sales. Then the question becomes ‘by how much?’
That’s the difficult part. As of right now, there’s no exact answer. Everything hangs upon a hypothetical thread.
Brennan pinpoints Christmas of 2018, the time period when SJSU’s rebuild took shape. The Spartans are no longer Mountain West bottom dwellers, who can’t garner ticket sales and donor interest. That was the ‘same old San Jose State.’ Sunday – and really 2023 – can be the demarcation of a new era and catch phrase.