On Wednesday, Stanford and San Jose State announced the return of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game, a classic rivalry game played between the two Bay Area programs that was put on pause after their last meeting in 2013 (Stanford 34 San Jose State 13). The two programs have agreed to play four games, two at Stanford and two at San Jose State:
Sept. 13, 2025 (San Jose State); Nov. 28, 2026 (Stanford); Nov. 25, 2028 (Stanford); Sept. 1, 2035 (San Jose State).
Per the Stanford release, BYU moving to the Big XII in 2023 paved the way for these games to be made possible as Stanford was able to get out of four games they previously had scheduled with BYU.
From 1948 to 2013, Stanford and San Jose State faced off every season with the exception of a handful of years. And then after 2013, an agreement to keep the rivalry going could not be reached until now. Stanford leads the rivalry with a record of 52-14-1.
A major reason for the hiatus had to do with location. San Jose State obviously was not content in playing the majority of games at Stanford. They wanted a fairer shake and a chance to have games played at their field as well. That’s why an agreement was reached on the condition that San Jose State gets to host the same number of games.
Another reason for the hiatus had to do with the fact that Stanford is a Pac-12 (Power Five) program while San Jose State is a Mountain West (Mid-major/Group of Five) program. Stanford’s status as being in the highest tier of college football has made this not much of a rivalry from a wins/loss perspective. Stanford has dominated because they have more resources competing in a more competitive conference.
In 2007, the rivalry game was named the “Bill Walsh Legacy Game” after the passing of Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh. Walsh has ties to both programs. He played tight end and defensive end at San Jose State, where he graduated with a degree in physical education in 1955. Walsh also was a defensive backs coach at Stanford from 1963-65 and head coach from 1977-78 and 1992-94. In between his two stints as head coach at Stanford, Walsh was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers (1979-88), where he had a legendary run, winning three Super Bowls (XVI, XIX, XXIII).
The return of this game is great for both programs. For one thing, there’s a lot of history behind the game. The two schools have played each other many times and at least judging from the initial reactions of CardinalSportsReport.com subscribers, most Stanford fans seem excited to have it back. Local rivalries are always fun.
Secondly, both schools can serve each other’s interests. Being realistic, Stanford needs to have at least one game on its schedule every year that isn’t against a Power Five opponent. San Jose State checks off that box. And then for San Jose State, they want to face at least one Power Five opponent every year. Stanford checks off that box.
"We are excited to announce this series with Stanford," San Jose State Director of Athletics Jeff Konya said in the San Jose State release. "It fits well with our scheduling philosophy of playing quality regional opponents and bolstering our home non-conference contests for One Spartan Nation to experience."
Third, by being in close proximity, both programs can limit travel for each other. It’s much more convenient to hop on a bus ride down the street than it is to hop on a plane out of state. There’s a convenience factor to this as well.
Lastly, San Jose State’s football program has been getting better. Under head coach Brent Brennan, the Spartans won the Mountain West title in 2020 and finished #24 in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. They also recently upgraded their facilities, showing a more serious commitment to putting a quality product on the field. With San Jose State stepping up their game, that makes the renewal of this rivalry more exciting.
Ironically, I was thinking of writing up something on this rivalry later in the summer explaining why I think it should return. With it now officially returning, I now have an even better reason to write about it. It’ll be interesting to see how these four games go and whether or not more games will be added in future seasons.
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