The Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry, also known as the Battle for the Valley is a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Fresno State Bulldogs football The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno, in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symb ...

team of

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

and the San Jose State Spartans football team of San José State University. The two teams currently play annual, regularly scheduled contests as

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

(West Division) opponents. Since 1921, Fresno State and San Jose State have shared conference affiliation in numerous athletics conferences including the California Coast Conference,

Far Western Conference The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was an NCAA Division II college athletic association that sponsored American football that was founded in 1925. It disbanded in 1998 after the majority of its member schools were forced to drop fo ...

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. All of its current m ...

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

, and 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

. The rivalry is likely rooted in the two schools' relatively close proximity to one another in the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The city of

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

is located approximately 150 miles southeast of San Jose. Both institutions are also members of the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

system. Additionally, Fresno State and San Jose State are both located in geographical valleys. Fresno is located in the agricultural

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

while San Jose is located in the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

, which is now more widely known as

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. The locations of the two schools account for the names Valley Cup, Valley Bowl and the Battle for the Valley. As of 2024, Fresno State leads the series 45–39–3.

Historical overview

San Jose State led the series from 1949 to 2001, but Fresno State tied it at 32–32–3 with a victory in 2002 and recaptured the lead in 2003. The Bulldogs and Spartans first played each other in 1921, making the rivalry series the second oldest in the

, behind only Colorado State–Wyoming. The rivalry took a one-year break in 2012 after conference realignment temporarily separated the two schools, with Fresno State moving to the

while San Jose State stayed in the

. It resumed as a conference rivalry in 2013 when San Jose State joined the Mountain West and is assured of being an annual matchup since both schools are in the West Division. Beginning in 2013, the winner of the game is awarded the Valley Trophy. The trophy features a silver letter V, with an electrical transistor pattern down one side, and a grape vine pattern down the other, representing each school's representative geographic region. In 2026, Fresno State will join the revamped

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. However, in February 2025, the two schools reached a contract to extend their series past 2025, now as a non conference matchup.

Statistics

Game results

References

{{Mountain West Conference football rivalry navbox College football rivalries in the United States Fresno State Bulldogs football San Jose State Spartans football 1921 establishments in California Recurring sporting events established in 1921

Historical overview

Statistics

Game results

See also

References