The San Diego State Aztecs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, primarily as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The Aztecs football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of NCAA football competition.
The women's water polo team participates in the Golden Coast Conference and the women's lacrosse team participates in the Big 12 Conference. The ice hockey team competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association with other western region club teams.
SDSU's athletic teams are called the "Aztecs". The Aztecs nickname was chosen by students in 1925. The mascot is the Aztec Warrior, formerly referred to as "Monty Montezuma". Team colors are scarlet (red) and black. As of 2021, athletes from the university had won 14 medals at the Olympic Games.
History
The first major sport on campus was rowing, but it initially had no coaches or tournaments.Starr, p. 28 Other sports that developed early in the campus's history were tennis, basketball, golf, croquet, and baseball. Early on, the school's football program had such a limited selection of players that faculty had to be used to fill the roster. When the college merged with the junior college in 1921, the college became a member of the Junior College Conference. After the school won most of the conference titles in a variety of sports, the league requested that college leave out of fairness to the smaller schools. For its football program, the team outscored its opponents 249 to 52 in ten games, resulting in the first sales of season tickets in 1923.Starr, p. 60 From 1925 to 1926, the college played as an independent. It then joined the Southern California Conference in 1926, where it did not win a football conference championship until 1936. However, in other sports including tennis and basketball, it excelled. The college remained with the conference until 1939, when it joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association.Starr, p. 102, 105
The basketball team reached and won multiple championship games during the 1930–1940s, including a conference title in 1931, 1934, 1937, and 1939. It reached the national championship in 1939 and 1940, losing in the final rounds. However, in 1941 the college returned and won the college's first national title. In track, the team won conference titles in 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939. The football team won conference titles in 1936 and 1937, and the baseball team won three conference titles and placed second three times between 1935 and 1941.
In 1955, the Aztec Club was established and raised $20,000 a year by 1957. The club worked in increasing athletic scholarships, hiring better coaches, and developing the college's intercollegiate athletic programs. In 1956, students approved through a vote of allowing a mandatory student activity fee, with a portion going to athletics. By the end of the decade the budget had doubled to $40,000. The campus's most successful sports program during the 1950s was cross-country, when the team won eight straight conference titles and AAU regional titles and placed high in national competitions. Basketball teams ranged from last in the conference to multiple conference, regional, and national appearances. The football program had its first undefeated team in 1951, but in the last part of the decade earned the worst records in the school's football program under the direction of head coach Paul Governali.Starr, p. 144-45
Under Governali, the campus's football program suffered due to Governali's policy of not recruiting players. To improve the program, Love hired in 1961 Don Coryell, who led the program win three consecutive championships (1966–68), and 104 wins, 19 losses, and 2 ties by the time he left SDSU. Coryell was assisted by John Madden, Joe Gibbs, and Rod Dowhower, among others. In Coryell's first year, attendance at home games averaged 8,000 people, but by 1966 it had doubled to 16,000. This later jumped to 26,000–41,000 per game with the addition of the new San Diego Stadium. At some games, attendance was larger than at San Diego Chargers games. There were several undefeated seasons and many players broke records for most catches, touchdowns, and passing yards. In 1969, San Diego State College moved into NCAA Division I, leaving the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In 1972, Coyrell left to pursue coaching in the NFL.Starr, p. 159-62
Basketball also did well, with the 1967–68 team being ranked the number one college-level team in the nation, although it did not win a national title. The Aztecs also won the 1960 CCAA baseball title and multiple national championships throughout the 1960s in track, cross country, and swimming.
By 1970–71, the campus had 14 NCAA sports. The 1973 men's volleyball team won the NCAA national championship which was the first NCAA national title since moving to Division I status.Starr, p. 221
SDSU competes in NCAA Division I (FBS). Its primary conference is the Mountain West Conference; its women's rowing team competes in the American Athletic Conference, its women's water polo team participates in the Golden Coast Conference, and its men's soccer team is a single-sport member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). The ice hockey team competes in the ACHA with other western region club teams (www.sdsuhockey.com). The university colors are scarlet (red) and black, SDSU's athletic teams are called the "Aztecs", and its mascot is the Aztec Warrior, formerly referred to as "Monty Montezuma".
Sports sponsored Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Football Cross country Basketball Golf Golf Lacrosse Soccer Soccer Tennis Softball Swimming & diving Tennis Track & field† Volleyball Water Polo
Men's varsity sports
Baseball
Head Coach: Shaun Cole Stadium: Tony Gwynn Stadium Conference regular season championships: 5 (1986 • 1988 • 1990 • 2002 • 2004) Conference tournament championships: 8 (1990 • 1991 • 2000 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2017 • 2018) NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances: 14 (1979 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1986 • 1990 • 1991 • 2009 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2017 • 2018)
1979 2-2 Lost in the Mideast Regional finals to Pepperdine. 1981 0–2 Eliminated by Oral Roberts in the Midwest Regional. 1982 0–2 Eliminated by Houston in the West II Regional. 1983 1–2 Eliminated by UC Santa Barbara in the West I Regional semifinals. 1984 3–2 Lost in the West I Regional finals to Cal State Fullerton. 1986 0–2 Eliminated by Texas-Pan American in the Central Regional. 1990 3–2 Lost in the West I Regional finals to Stanford. 1991 0–2 Eliminated by Portland in the West II Regional. 2009 1–2 Eliminated by UC Irvine in the Irvine Regional. 2013 0–2 Eliminated by San Diego in the Los Angeles Regional. 2014 0–2 Eliminated by Louisiana in the Lafayette Regional. 2015 1–2 Eliminated by USC in the Charlottesville Regional. 2017 1–2 Eliminated by Long Beach State in the Long Beach Regional. 2018 0–2 Eliminated by Northwestern State in the Corvallis Regional.
See: San Diego State baseball and College baseball
Football
Head Coach: Sean Lewis Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium Conference championships: 19 (1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1936 • 1937 • 1950 • 1951 • 1962 • 1966 • 1967 • 1969 • 1970 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1986 • 2012 • 2015 • 2016) NCAA postseason bowl game appearances: 20 (1948 Harbor Bowl • 1952 Pineapple Bowl • 1966 Camellia Bowl • 1967 Camellia Bowl • 1969 Pasadena Bowl • 1986 Holiday Bowl • 1991 Freedom Bowl • 1998 Las Vegas Bowl • 2010 Poinsettia Bowl • 2011 New Orleans Bowl • 2012 Poinsettia Bowl • 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl • 2014 Poinsettia Bowl • 2015 Hawaii Bowl • 2016 Las Vegas Bowl • 2017 Armed Forces Bowl • 2018 Frisco Bowl • 2019 New Mexico Bowl • 2021 Frisco Bowl • 2022 Hawaii Bowl)
San Diego State University's football team is part of the highest level of American collegiate football, the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I (which was formerly known as Division I-A). SDSU is 10–9 all time in post-season bowl games. They first went to a bowl game in 1948 and first won a major-college bowl game in 1969. Until the 2010 season, the Aztec football team had not won a bowl game in the past 37 years. In 2019, the Aztecs reached their 10th straight bowl game.
The Aztecs moved into the new Snapdragon Stadium, located in what had been the parking lot of the team's former home of San Diego Stadium, for the 2022 season. During the construction of Snapdragon Stadium, the Aztecs played the 2020 and 2021 seasons at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The team had played at San Diego Stadium from its opening in 1967 until its closure after the 2019 season; before that, it played in the on-campus Aztec Bowl (now the location of Viejas Arena).
January 1, 1948 Bill Schutte Harbor Bowl Hardin–Simmons L 0–53 January 1, 1952 Bill Schutte Pineapple Bowl Hawaii W 34–13 December 10, 1966 Don Coryell Camellia Bowl Montana State W 28–7 December 9, 1967 Don Coryell Camellia Bowl San Francisco State W 27–6 December 6, 1969 Don Coryell Pasadena Bowl Boston University W 28–7 December 30, 1986 Denny Stolz Holiday Bowl #16 Iowa L 38–39 December 30, 1991 Al Luginbill Freedom Bowl #23 Tulsa L 17–28 December 19, 1998 Ted Tollner Las Vegas Bowl North Carolina L 13–20 December 23, 2010 Brady Hoke Poinsettia Bowl Navy W 35–14 December 17, 2011 Rocky Long New Orleans Bowl Louisiana L 30–32 December 20, 2012 Rocky Long Poinsettia Bowl BYU L 6–23 December 21, 2013 Rocky Long Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Buffalo W 49–24 December 23, 2014 Rocky Long Poinsettia Bowl Navy L 16–17 December 24, 2015 Rocky Long Hawaii Bowl Cincinnati W 42–7 December 17, 2016 Rocky Long Las Vegas Bowl Houston W 34–10 December 23, 2017 Rocky Long Armed Forces Bowl Army L 35–42 December 19, 2018 Rocky Long Frisco Bowl Ohio L 0–27 December 21, 2019 Rocky Long New Mexico Bowl Central Michigan W 48–11 December 21, 2021 Brady Hoke Frisco Bowl UTSA W 38–24 December 24, 2022 Brady Hoke Hawaii Bowl Middle Tennessee L 25–23 December 27, 2025 Sean Lewis New Mexico Bowl North Texas L 47–49
Basketball
Head Coach: Brian Dutcher Arena: Viejas Arena Conference regular season championships: 24 (1923 • 1925 • 1932 • 1934 • 1937 • 1939 • 1941 • 1942 • 1954 • 1957 • 1958 • 1967 • 1968 • 1977 • 1978 • 2006 • 2011 • 2012 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2020 • 2021 • 2023) Conference tournament championships: 9 (1976 • 1985 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 • 2011 • 2018 • 2021 • 2023) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearances: 16 (1975 • 1976 • 1985 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2018 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024)
Aztec basketball alumni who became more famous outside the sport include 1930s player Art Linkletter, who went on to an illustrious entertainment career that spanned more than 70 years, and Tony Gwynn, who also played baseball at San Diego State and opted for that sport professionally, ending up in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In the 2010–11 season, the men's team had a record of 32–2 to capture a share of the Mountain West Conference title. They won the conference tournament outright for the automatic berth to the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The only losses of the regular season were to another top 10 ranked team, BYU, who the Aztecs later beat to win the conference tournament. They earned a 2nd seed in the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16. In the 2013–2014 season, the Aztecs finished 29–4, again reaching the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 round.
The Aztecs reached the Elite Eight, Final Four, and the National Championship for the first time during the 2022–23 season, where they finished runner-up to UConn. The Aztecs returned to the tournament in 2024, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.