The 1986 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

during the

1986 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the na ...

as a member of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC). The team was led by head coach

Denny Stolz Dennis Earl Stolz (born September 12, 1934) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Alma College (1965–1970), Michigan State University (1973–1975), Bowling Green State University (1977–1985), and San ...

, in his first year. They played home games at

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium ...

San Diego County Credit Union Stadium (SDCCU Stadium) was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 through 1997. in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. They completed the regular season as Champions of the WAC, with a record of eight wins, four losses (8–4, 7–1 WAC). The year finished with their first post-season bowl game in 17 years, the

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

against the 19th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.

Schedule

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the

1987 NFL Draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

. The following finished their college career in 1986, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.

Team awards

Notes

References

{{Western Athletic Conference football champions

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

San Diego State Aztecs football seasons Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons

San Diego State Aztecs football : ''For information on all San Diego State University sports, see San Diego State Aztecs'' The San Diego State Aztecs football team represents San Diego State University in the sport of American football. The Aztecs compete in the NCAA Division ...