San José State sports teams have won NCAA national titles in track and field, cross country, golf, boxing, fencing and tennis.

The track team coached by "Bud" Winter earned San Jose State the nickname "Speed City", and produced Olympic medalists and social activists Lee Evans, Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

Smith and Carlos are perhaps best remembered for giving the raised fist salute from the medalists' podium during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

San José State University sponsors teams in eight men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

[11] From 1997 to 2013, the SJSU baseball team competed in the Western Athletic Conference, earning three WAC pennants in 1997, 2000 and 2009.

[12] The SJSU men's basketball team has made one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearance (1981), but was defeated in the first round.

[15] The San Jose State men's cross country team has appeared in the NCAA tournament six times, finishing first in 1962 and 1963.

[17] San Jose State first fielded a football team in 1893 and has won 17 conference championships dating back to 1932.

The San Jose State Spartans football team served unexpectedly with the Honolulu Police Department during World War II.

The team had just arrived in Honolulu to play the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Shrine Bowl, but was stranded on the islands after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Notable alumnae include Danielle Ammaccapane, Dana Dormann, Pat Hurst and Juli Inkster.

[30] The San Jose State men's indoor track and field team appeared in the NCAA Division I national tournament six times, finishing as high as 3rd in 1969.

As of 2023, the third and final phase is under construction and will add permanent bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand and press box.

The state-of-the-art facility includes six competition courts with lighting, sound system, spectator seating and viewing areas, and a full scoreboard.

[40] Since first being recognized as a varsity sport in 1974, The San Jose State women's volleyball team has made 12 NCAA Division I tournament appearances, with an 8–12 record.

Four Mountain West Conference teams and one non-conference opponent forfeited games against the Spartans, and an assistant coach was suspended after bringing a Title IX lawsuit against the university.

[52] The SJSU hockey team has qualified for the ACHA national championship tournament nine times, finishing as high as 10th in 2010.

The San Jose State men's ice hockey team posted 26 consecutive winning seasons from 1991 to 2017.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Uchida and University of California, Berkeley coach Henry Stone established rules to allow their students to compete with each other, including a weight class system.

Uchida and Stone persuaded the Amateur Athletic Union to sanction judo as a sport, and San Jose State hosted the first AAU national championship in 1953.

San Jose State's salsa team, "Spartan Mambo", was established in 2010 and competes at amateur and collegiate competitions across the country.

[66] Eddie Baza is one of three two-time All-America wrestlers in San Jose State University history and was inducted into the Spartan Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

[68] Men's (110) Women's (60) The San José State Spartans have earned 10 NCAA national Division 1 team championship titles.

Additionally, San Jose State and Stanford are each known for having a large alumni workforce presence in Silicon Valley.

Additional athletics facilities, including CEFCU Stadium (formerly known as Spartan Stadium), administrative offices, and multiple training and practice facilities, are located on SJSU's 62-acre (25.1 ha) south campus approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) south of the main campus.

The north end zone bleachers were removed to make way for construction of a new state-of-the-art video scoreboard and outdoor bar and lounge area.

The third and final phase of the softball stadium will add permanent bleachers, restrooms, a concession stand, and a press box.

The second phase of the new baseball facility will add stadium seating, restrooms, a concession stand, and a press box.

Located on the main SJSU campus, the Spartan Complex houses open recreation spaces, gymnasia, an indoor aquatics center, the kinesiology department, weight rooms, locker rooms, dance and judo studios, and other classroom spaces.

At a cost of $132 million, the new facility houses a gymnasium, weight and fitness center, exercise rooms, rock climbing wall, sports club organizations, and competition and recreation pools with support spaces.