San Jose State has made local, state, and even national headlines over the years for its great athletes and outstanding accomplishments. This page will chronicle the national attention obtained by Spartan Athletics for the 2006-2007 year.


Eight Spartan Football Players Achieve WAC Recognition
Fresh off their first win over Fresno State since 1990 on December 2, 2006, the Spartan Football program received more good news the following week: 8 SJSU players recieved Western Athletic Conference honors. All-American defensive back Dwight Lowery and punter Waylon Prather were named first team All-WAC selections. Wide receiver James Jones, lineman Matt Cantu, running back Yonus Davis, linebacker Matt Castelo, defensive back Christopher Vedder, and kicker Jared Strubeck were named second team All-WAC.


Spartan Squad Featured on SportsIllustrated.com
Despite the bleak weather early on, SJSU students packed Spartan Stadium for the November 11 game against BCS-bound Boise State, ready to get loud. And they were definitely loud. Spartan Squad so rowdy, so spirited in fact, that SportsIllustrated.com picked San Jose to be one of the few schools featured in the "College Superfans" section of their website. Spartan Squad is definitely gaining national attention.

Irwin Takes Player of the Year Honors
For the first time in almost a decade, a San Jose State women's soccer player earned WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. That player, selected on November 1, 2006, was Nicole Irwin. Irwin registered eight goals during the 2006 season, four of which were game-winners. The junior also accumulated 20 total points during the season, leading the conference in points, goals, and game-winning goals during WAC play. It doesn't get much more clutch than that.

USA Today Recognizes Spartan Football
You want national coverage? How about a half page story about San Jose State in theWednesday, October 18, 2006 edition of USA Today? Coming off a hard fought 21-14 victory over the Aggies of Utah State, the national newspaper featured a story on Coach Tomey and the Spartans' upcoming contest at Nevada. Tomey said that although the Spartans then had a record of 4-1, they would have to play much better to defeat the Wolfpack on their home turf. The whole country had opened its doors to the Spartans' motivational tactics.

Crazy George Invented the Wave!
He is unmistakable. He is unique. And no matter where he's been or where he's going, one thing will always ring true: he is a Spartan. George Henderson (better known by all as Crazy George) is one of the most famous Spartans of all time. With drum in hand and distinguished voice, he commands respect. So it's no surprise that when Crazy George says that he invented the wave back in 1981 that everyone believes him. At San Jose State, you'd have to be crazy not to. ESPN and the San Jose Mercury News both covered the wave's anniversary in mid October 2006.

Shull in Select in Company
San Jose State volleyball player Jessie Shull became just the 18th player in NCAA history to record 2,000 digs in a career. The senior libero, regarded as one of the hardest playing athletes in the country, achieved dig number 2,000 in a three game sweep over WAC rival Nevada on October 12, 2006. Shull says, however, that she would not have had so much success had she not been surrounded by so many great Spartan teammates.

Lowery Honored by Sports Illustrated
Few defensive backs played better than SJSU's Dwight Lowery for the first half of the 2006 college football season. Perhaps no one did. With seven interceptions through the first four games, Lowery not only led the nation that category but was selected as a mid-season All-American by Sports Illustrated on October 12, 2006. The buzz around San Jose is that it's just the beginning of national recognition in this new era of San Jose State.

Jones Turns it Around and Puts SJSU on ESPN
On September 9, 2006, San Jose State wide receiver James Jones' 42-yard reverse turned out to be the winning score in the Spartans' historic 35-34 comeback victory over Bay Area rival Stanford. The run capped not only a Spartan turn-around for the game (SJSU was down 34-14 in the first half) but also signified the biggest win of the Dick Tomey era. If living in Spartan football lore wasn't enough, the play was selected by ESPN's SportsCenter as the #1 play of the day. The whole world saw SJSU's winning effort. It doesn't get much bigger than that!

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