The 1986 San Jose State Spartans football team represented

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the

Pacific Coast Athletic Association The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

.The

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from its founding in 1969 through 1987. The team was led by head coach

Claude Gilbert Claude L. Gilbert (born July 10, 1932) is an American former college football coach. He served as head football coach at San Diego State University from 1973 to 1980, and San Jose State University from 1984 to 1989, compiling a career record of ...

, in his third year as head coach at San Jose State. They played home games at Spartan Stadium in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. The Spartans finished the 1986 season as champions of the PCAA, with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2, 7–0 PCAA). As a result of the PCAA Championship, the Spartans qualified for a postseason bowl game against the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

(MAC) champion Miami Redskins. The

1986 California Bowl The 1986 California Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Miami Redskins and the San Jose State Spartans. Background Miami was champion of the Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a Natio ...

was played in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

on December 13, with San Jose State victorious, 37–7.

Schedule

Team players in the NFL

No San Jose State Spartans were selected in the 1987 NFL Draft. The following finished their college career in 1986, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.

Notes

References

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

San Jose State Spartans football seasons Big West Conference football champion seasons

San Jose State Spartans football The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San José State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. History Early history (1893–1970) San Jose State first fielded a footbal ...

{{collegefootball-1980s-season-stub