List of San Jose State University people

The following is a list of notable persons (students, alumni, faculty or academic affiliates) associated with San José State University, located in the American city of San Jose, California.

Academia

 * Bettina Aptheker — author, professor, political activist
 * Marshall Drummond — former chancellor, California Community College System
 * Harry Edwards — Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley; author of The Revolt of the Black Athlete
 * Terry Erwin — entomologist, Smithsonian Institution
 * Lawrence H. Keeley — archaeologist; professor, University of Illinois Chicago; author of War Before Civilization
 * Mary Lyons — President, University of San Diego
 * Sidney Siegel — psychologist and economist, known for the Siegel–Tukey test and considered a founding father of experimental economics
 * Henry Suzzallo — former president, University of Washington
 * Jennifer Wilby — Director of the Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull
 * Hamza Yusuf — Islamic scholar

Artists and musicians

 * Amber Aguirre — ceramic sculptor
 * Bernd Behr — artist
 * Mary Blair — artist and illustrator who helped create Disney's Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953)
 * Lindsey Buckingham — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
 * Doug Clifford — rock drummer best known for his work as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival
 * Stu Cook — bass guitarist best known for his work with Creedence Clearwater Revival (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
 * Binh Danh — photographer noted for chlorophyll leaf prints and dauggerotypes of National Parks
 * Irene Dalis — New York Metropolitan Opera star and founder of Opera San Jose
 * Allan Graham — visual artist (studied at SJSU; graduated from University of New Mexico)
 * Robert Graham — internationally acclaimed sculptor whose work includes the Olympic Gateway in Los Angeles (attended SJSU before transferring to San Francisco Art Institute)
 * PJ Hirabayashi — co-founder of San Jose Taiko, recipient of National Heritage Fellowship
 * Roy Hirabayashi — co-founder of San Jose Taiko, recipient of National Heritage Fellowship
 * Tom Johnston — rock guitarist and vocalist best known for his work as a founding member of The Doobie Brothers
 * Paul Kantner — rock guitarist best known for his work as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane
 * Titus Kaphar &mdash; contemporary painter and 2018 MacArthur Fellows Program Genius Award recipient
 * David Kuraoka — ceramic artist
 * Peter Wayne Lewis — Jamaican-American contemporary artist known for his large-scale abstract paintings
 * Sal Maccarone — nationally acclaimed woodworker and sculptor whose work includes "The Spirit of Tenaya" in Yosemite National Park
 * Bryan "Brain" Mantia — drummer, Primus, Guns N' Roses, Tom Waits, Buckethead
 * Ann Millikan — musician and composer
 * Stevie Nicks — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
 * Larry Norman — Christian rock musician, singer and songwriter; founding member of the '60s rock band People! (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
 * Fred H. Roster — sculptor
 * Na Omi Judy Shintani — artist known for works about Japanese internment during WWII; CAAIAF 2023 (BS in Graphic Design)
 * Patrick Simmons — rock guitarist and vocalist best known for his work as a founding member of The Doobie Brothers
 * Gordon Smedt — pop artist and painter (studied graphic design and illustration at SJSU from 1982–1984; graduated from Art Center College of Design)
 * Wayne Thiebaud — painter (studied at SJSU from 1949–1950; graduated from Sacramento State University)
 * Jacqueline Thurston — visual artist and writer, professor emerita of Art SJSU
 * Cal Tjader — Grammy Award-winning jazz musician (studied at SJSU; graduated from San Francisco State University)
 * Michael Whelan — artist and illustrator specializing in imaginative realism; Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee

Authors

 * Lorna Dee Cervantes — poet, Pulitzer Prize nominee
 * William J. Craddock — novelist, author of Be Not Content and Twilight Candelabra
 * Carmen Giménez Smith — poet, American Book Award winner
 * James D. Houston — co-author of Farewell to Manzanar; author of Continental Drift, Snow Mountain Passage, and others; Lurie Distinguished Visiting professor of Creative Writing at SJSU in Spring 2006
 * Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston — co-author of Farewell to Manzanar
 * Jayne Ann Krentz — New York Times bestselling author
 * Ella Leffland — novelist (Rumors of Peace) and short story writer (Last Courtesies and Other Stories)
 * Edwin Markham — poet
 * Patricia A. McKillip — novelist
 * Sandra McPherson — poet
 * Robert Scoble — blogger, author, and social media pioneer
 * Amy Tan — novelist; author of The Joy Luck Club

Aviation

 * Jason Dahl — airline pilot and United Airlines Flight 93 captain who died in the September 11 attacks

Business

 * Terry Alderete — businesswoman
 * Helder Antunes — Senior Director, Cisco Systems; chairman of the board, OpenFog Consortium
 * James F. Boccardo — trial lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
 * Finis Conner — founder, Conner Peripherals and co-founder of Seagate Technology
 * Ron Conway — billionaire angel investor and philanthropist; co-founder and former CEO of Altos Computer Systems
 * Robert Frankenberg — former CEO, Novell
 * Carl Guardino — President and CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
 * Omid Kordestani — Senior Vice President, Google
 * Brian Krzanich — CEO, CDK Global and former CEO, Intel Corporation
 * Jenny Ming — CEO, Charlotte Russe; former CEO of Old Navy
 * Gordon Moore — co-founder, Intel Corporation (studied two years at SJSU; graduated from U.C. Berkeley)
 * Louis Nguyen — Chairman and CEO, Saigon Asset Management
 * Ed Oates — co-founder, Oracle Corporation
 * Daniel R. Scoggin — founder and CEO, TGI Fridays
 * Mike Sinyard — founder and CEO, Specialized Bicycle Components
 * James E. Thompson — founder and chairman, Crown Worldwide Group

Film, theatre, and TV

 * Coby Bell — actor; best known for his role as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch
 * Danny Lee Clark — actor, writer and producer; played Nitro on American Gladiators
 * Rosanna DeSoto — film actress, best for her role of Connie Valenzuela in the 1987 film La Bamba
 * Yousef Erakat — actor, comedian, vlogger
 * Debrah Farentino — film and television actress; model (attended SJSU; transferred to UCLA)
 * Jerry Juhl — head writer and producer for The Muppets and Fraggle Rock
 * Omar Benson Miller — actor
 * Steve Silver — founder of Beach Blanket Babylon, a popular cabaret show in San Francisco
 * Kurtwood Smith — actor, best known for the role of Red Forman on That '70s Show
 * The Smothers Brothers — comedians
 * Bobbi Starr — pornographic actress
 * Luis Valdez — Chicano playwright, screenwriter and director best known for his movie La Bamba

Journalism

 * Chauncey Bailey — Oakland Post editor-in-chief; murdered in 2007
 * Grant Brisbee — San Francisco Giants writer for The Athletic
 * Earl Dotter — photojournalist documenting America's most dangerous jobs
 * Kim Komenich — photojournalist, filmmaker and teacher; Pulitzer Prize winner (1987)
 * John Kouns — photojournalist during the Civil Rights Movement
 * Tony Kovaleski — broadcast journalist (KNTV-TV); multiple Emmy awards; winner of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award (2010)
 * Hassina Leelarathna — Sri Lankan-American journalist
 * Steve Lopez — newspaper columnist, Los Angeles Times; novelist
 * Dave Meltzer —editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Anacleto Rapping — photojournalist and teacher; three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
 * Marcio Sanchez — photojournalist; Pulitzer Prize winner (2021)
 * Steve Starr — photojournalist; Pulitzer Prize winner (1970)
 * David Willman — reporter; Pulitzer Prize winner (2001)

Miscellaneous

 * Christopher Darden — prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case
 * Dirk Dirksen — godfather of San Francisco punk; tour manager for The Doors, Iron Butterfly, The Supremes and Ray Charles; owner of the Mabuhay Gardens punk club in San Francisco (attended SJSU, but did not graduate
 * Rob Janoff — graphic designer best known for his creation of the Apple logo
 * Harry W. Jenkins — Major General, U.S. Marine Corps
 * Jessica McClintock — fashion designer
 * Anthony Poshepny, aka Tony Poe — legendary CIA paramilitary officer
 * Edward Soriano — Lieutenant General, United States Army;, highest ranking Filipino American in the United States military

Politics and government

 * Richard C. Baldwin — Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
 * James T. Beall Jr. — California Assemblyman, 24th district, and former Santa Clara County Supervisor
 * Lee P. Brown — former Mayor of Houston; former Police Commissioner of New York City; former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
 * Ben Nighthorse Campbell — former U.S. Senator from Colorado
 * Albert E. Carter — former U.S. Congressman
 * David C. Casas — former mayor of Los Altos and Los Altos city council member
 * Cindy Chavez — former member of San Jose City Council and former vice mayor of San Jose
 * Judy Chirco — San José City councilmember, District 9
 * William Clark, Jr. — former U.S. Ambassador to India
 * Michael Deaver — Deputy White House Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan
 * Robert Doerr — former Mayor of San Jose, California (1956–1958)
 * Paul Fong — California Assemblyman, 22nd district
 * Robert "Bob" Foster — Mayor of Long Beach, California; former president, Southern California Edison; former CSU Trustee
 * Mike Honda — U.S. Representative from California
 * Lou Henry Hoover — former First Lady of the United States Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover (Lou Henry Hoover) by Harris & Ewing.jpg (DipEd, 1893), philanthropist and former First Lady of the United States]]
 * Johnny Khamis — Councilmember on the San Jose City Council
 * Linda J. LeZotte — San Jose City councilmember, District 1
 * Evan Low — California State Assemblyman; member of California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus
 * Gus Morrison — Mayor of Fremont, California (1985–1989; 1994–2004; since January 2012)
 * Gaylord Nelson — former U.S. Senator; Governor of Wisconsin; founder of Earth Day
 * Lyn Nofziger — White House advisor to presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan
 * Robert Rivas — California State Assemblyman
 * Ed Rollins — National Campaign Director for Reagan–Bush (1984) and Mike Huckabee (2007); regular guest political analyst on CNN (attended SJSU; graduated from CSU Chico)
 * Jim Silva — California State Assemblyman; former mayor of Huntington Beach
 * Laurie Smith — Sheriff, Santa Clara County; first female county sheriff in the history of the state of California
 * Fernando Torres-Gil — first assistant secretary for aging at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration; associate dean of the School of Public Affairs at UCLA
 * Joe Trippi — presidential campaign manager for Howard Dean (2004)
 * Sim Tze Tzin — Malaysian politician
 * Carole Ward Allen — former BART board director, District 4; former Oakland port commissioner
 * Kent Wiedemann — former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia
 * Ken Yeager — politician, member of Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

Science and technology

 * Barbara Bekins — hydrologist and National Academy of Engineering fellow
 * Daniel W. Bradley — co-discoverer of Hepatitis C
 * Sarah Clatterbuck — computer engineer
 * Ray Dolby — engineer, founder of Dolby Laboratories (studied two years at SJSU; graduated from Stanford University)
 * Dian Fossey — ethologist and gorilla expert
 * Charles Ginsburg — engineer, inventor of the videocassette recorder; National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee
 * Jan Koum — billionaire entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp; managing director at Facebook, Inc. (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
 * Gordon Moore — scientist, author of Moore's Law
 * Roger Wakimoto — atmospheric scientist, tornado expert, director of NCAR and NSF
 * James Lewis Wayman — 2013 Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Baseball

 * Jeff Ball — former Major League Baseball player, San Francisco Giants
 * Aaron Bates — Major League Baseball player, Boston Red Sox
 * Mike Brown — former Major League Baseball player, California Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates
 * Ken Caminiti — former Major League Baseball player, Houston Astros et al.
 * Anthony Chavez — former Major League Baseball player, California Angels
 * Chris Codiroli — former Major League Baseball player, Oakland Athletics
 * Kevin Frandsen — Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies
 * Gary Hughes — former Major League Baseball assistant coach, Chicago Cubs
 * Pat Hughes — play-by-play radio broadcaster for Chicago Cubs
 * Jason Jimenez — former Major League Baseball player, Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays
 * Randy Johnson — former Major League Baseball player, Atlanta Braves
 * Brad Kilby — Major League Baseball player, Oakland Athletics
 * Hal Kolstad — former Major League Baseball player, Boston Red Sox
 * Mark Langston — former Major League Baseball player, Seattle Mariners, California Angels, et al.
 * Larry Lintz — former Major League Baseball player, Montreal Expos et al.
 * John Oldham — former Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds
 * Jason Simontacchi — former Major League Baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals
 * Anthony Telford — former Major League Baseball player, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, et al.
 * Carlos Torres — Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox

Basketball

 * Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Olivier Saint-Jean) — former NBA player (Sacramento Kings)
 * Jack Avina — former men's basketball coach for the Portland Pilots
 * Ricky Berry — former NBA player (Sacramento Kings)
 * Wil Carter — former basketball player who played professionally in the Netherlands, Cyprus, France, and Japan
 * Marquin Chandler — former professional basketball player
 * Brandon Clarke — NBA player (Memphis Grizzlies)
 * Rick Darnell — former ABA player
 * Coby Dietrick — former NBA player (San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors)
 * Tony Farmer — former NBA player
 * Justin Graham — former professional basketball player
 * Dick Groves — former NBA player (San Diego Rockets)
 * Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman — former NBA player (Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets et al.)
 * Ed Hughes — former BAA player (Washington Capitols)
 * Stu Inman — former NBA player and coach (Chicago Stags, Portland Trail Blazers, et al.)
 * James Kinney — professional basketball player
 * Steve McKean — former basketball coach for the New Zealand men's national basketball team
 * Chris McNealy — former NBA player for the New York Knicks
 * Walt McPherson — former San Jose Spartans head coach
 * Omari Moore — current NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks
 * Adrian Oliver — former professional basketball player
 * Wally Rank — former NBA player (San Diego Clippers)
 * C. J. Webster — former professional basketball player
 * Sid Williams — former NBA player (Portland Trail Blazers)

Football

 * Courtney Anderson — former NFL tight end, Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders
 * Marcus Arroyo — head football coach, UNLV
 * Stacey Bailey — former NFL wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
 * Keith Birlem — former SJSU quarterback, NFL player, member of San Jose State Hall of Fame
 * Kim Bokamper — former NFL linebacker, Miami Dolphins
 * John Broussard — NFL wide receiver, Jacksonville Jaguars
 * Gill Byrd — former NFL defensive back, San Diego Chargers; two NFL Pro Bowl appearances
 * Jim Cadile — former NFL guard, Chicago Bears
 * Sheldon Canley — former NFL running back, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets
 * Matt Castelo — former NFL linebacker, Seattle Seahawks; former CFL linebacker, Hamilton Tiger-cats
 * Steve Clarkson — nationally renowned quarterbacks coach; founder of Steve Clarkson Dreammaker quarterback camp
 * Sherman Cocroft — former NFL defensive back, Kansas City Chiefs
 * Clarence Cunningham — former AFL wide receiver, defensive back, running back, and kick returner; former AF2 starter, Stockton Lightning; IFL free safety, Catania Elephants
 * Neal Dahlen — former SJSU quarterback, NFL manager and scout; holds the record for the most earned Super Bowl rings at seven
 * Rashied Davis — NFL wide receiver, Chicago Bears
 * Yonus Davis — CFL running back, BC Lions
 * Steve DeBerg — former NFL quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
 * David Diaz-Infante — former NFL and CFL offensive guard, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Sacramento Gold Miners
 * Oscar Donahue — former NFL wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings
 * Terry Donahue — UCLA head football coach; College Football Hall of Fame inductee (attended SJSU for one year)
 * Leon Donohue — former NFL offensive lineman, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys
 * Carl Ekern — former NFL linebacker, Los Angeles Rams; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance
 * David Fales — NFL quarterback, New York Jets
 * Mervyn Fernandez —former NFL wide receiver, Los Angeles Raiders
 * Coye Francies — NFL defensive back, Cleveland Browns
 * Jeff Garcia — NFL quarterback, San Francisco 49ers et al.; four NFL Pro Bowl appearances
 * Trestin George — CFL defensive back, BC Lions
 * Jarron Gilbert — NFL defensive tackle, Chicago Bears
 * Charley Harraway — former NFL running back, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns
 * Paul Held — former NFL quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers
 * Willie Heston — former SJSU halfback; College Football Hall of Fame inductee (attended SJSU from 1898–1900; graduated from University of Michigan)
 * James Hodgins — former NFL fullback, St. Louis Rams et al.
 * Duke Ihenacho — NFL safety, Denver Broncos
 * Johnny Johnson — former NFL running back, New York Jets; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance; consensus choice for Rookie of the Year (1990)
 * Cody Jones — NFL defensive tackle, Los Angeles Rams; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance
 * James Jones — NFL wide receiver, Oakland Raiders
 * Rick Kane — former NFL running back, Detroit Lions
 * Bob Ladouceur — among winningest high school football coaches in U.S. history; coached De La Salle High Spartans to 151 consecutive wins from 1992 to 2003
 * Bill Leavy — NFL referee; officiated Super Bowl XL
 * Dwight Lowery — NFL defensive back, New York Jets and two-time All-American at SJSU
 * Joe Nedney — NFL kicker, San Francisco 49ers
 * William Yaw Obeng — Arena Football League lineman, San Jose Sabercats
 * Chris Owens — NFL defensive back, Atlanta Falcons
 * Tom Petitthome — former AFL player, San Jose Sabercats
 * Art Powell — NFL wide receiver, Oakland Raiders; Raiders' 7th all-time leading receiver
 * Waylon Prather — former NFL punter, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals
 * Jim Psaltis — former NFL defensive back
 * David Richmond — NFL wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
 * Scott Rislov — AFL quarterback, San Jose Sabercats
 * Al Saunders — former NFL head coach for the San Diego Chargers
 * Rufus Skillern — CFL and NFL wide receiver, BC Lions and Baltimore Ravens
 * Gerald Small — former NFL defensive back, Miami Dolphins
 * Carl Sullivan — former NFL defensive end, Green Bay Packers
 * Adam Tafralis — CFL quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
 * Tyson Thompson — NFL kick returner, Dallas Cowboys
 * Bob Titchenal — former NFL linebacker, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Dons; one Pro Bowl appearance; former head football coach, University of New Mexico and SJSU
 * Paul Varelans — retired professional MMA fighter formerly with the UFC
 * Dick Vermeil — NFL head coach; winning coach, Super Bowl XXXIV
 * Bill Walsh — NFL head coach; winning coach, Super Bowl XVI, Super Bowl XIX, and Super Bowl XXIII; Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
 * Gerald Willhite — former NFL running back, Denver Broncos
 * Billy Wilson — former NFL receiver, San Francisco 49ers; six NFL Pro Bowl appearances
 * Louis Wright — former NFL defensive back, Denver Broncos; 1st round NFL draft pick; five NFL Pro Bowl appearances
 * Roy Zimmerman — former NFL quarterback, Washington Redskins; one Pro Bowl appearance

Golf

 * Ron Cerrudo — PGA golfer and tour winner
 * Bob Eastwood — PGA golfer and tour winner
 * Pat Hurst — LPGA golfer and tour winner; #16 on the all-time LPGA money list
 * Juli Inkster — LPGA golfer; two-time U.S. Women's Open winner (1999 and 2002); #4 on the all-time LPGA money list
 * Mark Lye — PGA golfer and tour winner
 * Roger Maltbie — PGA golfer and tour winner
 * Janice Moodie — LPGA golfer and tour winner
 * Arron Oberholser — PGA golfer; AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner (2006)
 * Patty Sheehan — LPGA golfer; two-time U.S. Women's Open winner (1992 and 1994)
 * Ken Venturi — PGA golfer; 1964 U.S. Open winner and Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year"
 * Mark Wiebe — PGA golfer and tour winner

Olympic Games

 * Charles Adkins — 1952 Olympian (boxing); gold medalist
 * Kevin Asano — 1988 Olympian (judo); silver medalist; USA Judo Hall of Fame inductee
 * Bob Berland — 1984 Olympian (judo); silver medalist
 * Felix Böhni — 1980 and 1984 Olympian (pole vault)
 * Vinnie Bradford — 1984 Olympian (fencing)
 * Suzannah Brookshire-Gonzales — 2020 Olympian (softball)
 * Colton Brown — 2016 and 2020 Olympian (judo)
 * Ed Burke — 1964 and 1968 Olympian (track and field), U.S.A. Flagbearer at the 1984 Opening Ceremonies in Los Angeles
 * Russ Camilleri — 1960 and 1964 Olympian (freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling)
 * Robin Campbell — 1984 Olympian (track and field – 800 metres)
 * John Carlos — 1968 Olympian (track and field – 200 meters); bronze medalist; best known for giving raised fist salute from the medalists' podium during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City
 * Dedy Cooper — 1980 Olympian (track and field – 110 meter hurdles)
 * Michelle Cox — 2020 Olympian (softball)
 * Jim Doehring — 1992 Olympian (track and field – shot put); silver medalist
 * Emma Entzminger — 2020 Olympian (softball)
 * Clara Espar Llaquet — 2020 Olympian (water polo); silver medalist
 * Lee Evans — 1968 Olympian (track and field – 4x400 meters and 400 meters); two-time gold medalist and world record holder
 * Jeff Fishback — 1964 Olympian (track and field)
 * George Haines — swim coach for seven U.S. Olympic teams; head swim coach at UCLA and Stanford University
 * Steve Hamann — 1980 Olympian (water polo)
 * Mike Hernandez — 1972 Olympian (soccer)
 * Mitch Ivey — 1968 and 1972 Olympian (swimming); silver and bronze medalist
 * Margaret Jenkins — 1928 Olympian (track and field)
 * Stacey Johnson — 1980 Olympian (fencing)
 * Russ Lockwood — 1976 Olympian (Greco Roman wrestling)
 * Marti Malloy — 2012 Olympian (judo); bronze medalist
 * Keith Nakasone — 1980 Olympian (judo)
 * Ben Nighthorse Campbell — 1964 Olympian (judo)
 * Ray Norton — 1960 Olympian (track and field)
 * Christos Papanikolaou — 1968 Olympian (track and field – pole vault); world record holder (first man over 18 feet)
 * John Powell — 1976 and 1984 Olympian (track and field – discus); two-time bronze medalist
 * Raju Rai — 2008 Olympian (men's singles badminton)
 * Ronnie Ray Smith — 1968 Olympian (track and field athlete – 4 × 100 meters); gold medalist and world record holder
 * Tommie Smith — 1968 Olympian (track and field athlete – 200 meters); gold medalist; best known for giving raised fist salute from the medalists' podium during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games
 * Willie Steele —1948 Olympian (track and field – long jump); gold medalist
 * Robyn Stevens — 2020 Olympian (20k race walking)
 * Jill Sudduth — 1996 Olympian (synchronized swimming): gold medalist
 * Mike Swain — 1988 Olympian (judo); bronze medalist; first American male to win the World Judo Championships
 * Lynn Vidali — 1968 and 1972 Olympian (swimming); silver and bronze medalist
 * Jim Zylker — 1972 Olympian (soccer)

Other

 * Isai Alvarado — professional Super Smash Bros. player
 * Joey Chestnut — competitive eater; world record holder
 * Shane Golobic — dirt track racing driver
 * Krazy George Henderson — professional cheerleader and self-proclaimed inventor of the audience wave
 * Ryan Suarez — former MLS soccer player (Los Angeles Galaxy and Dallas Burn)
 * Yoshihiro Uchida — head coach, SJSU judo team; team coach, 1964 U.S. Olympic judo team; instrumental in developing organized intercollegiate judo competition in the U.S.
 * Peter Ueberroth — Major League Baseball Commissioner (1984 –1989); U.S. Olympic Committee chair; Time magazine's "Man of the Year"
 * Robert Wall — actor and martial artist
 * Justin Willis — professional mixed martial artist, current UFC heavyweight

Faculty and staff

 * James J. Asher — Professor Emeritus of psychology; inventor of Total Physical Response (TPR)
 * Dwight Bentel — driving force behind the development of the SJSU School of Journalism and Mass Communications
 * Elbert Botts — former chemistry professor; California Department of Transportation employee; inventor of Botts dots
 * Celia Correas de Zapata — former Spanish professor; world expert on Latin American women's fiction; widely published author
 * Paul Douglass — English professor; renowned literary scholar; winner of the 2007 Elma Dangerfield award for his publication of new and original work related to the life and times of the poet Lord Byron;
 * Bob Gliner — emeritus faculty of sociology
 * Daniel Goldston — mathematics professor; developed breakthrough methods for proving there are arbitrarily large primes that are unusually close together
 * Lou Harrison — former composer-in-residence; world-renowned composer
 * Fred Iltis — Holocaust emigre and entomologist
 * Persis Karim — former co-director of the Persian Studies Program, and professor
 * Jessica Mitford — former sociology professor; renowned muckraking journalist; author of The American Way of Death
 * Bruce Ogilvie — psychology professor; renowned sports psychologist
 * Rudy Rucker — former computer science professor; renowned science fiction author; often credited as a founding father of cyberpunk
 * Frederick Spratt — art professor (1956–1989) and art department chair; known for his Color Theory paintings; founder of the Frederick Spratt Gallery in San Jose
 * Shelby Steele — former English professor; writer; documentary filmmaker; author of The Content of our Character; Emmy Award winner; National Book Critics Circle Award winner
 * Allen Strange — Professor Emeritus of music; renowned musician and composer; author of Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques, and Controls, a key text on modular analog synthesis; author of other texts on modern music practices
 * Lloyd (Bud) Winter — track coach; produced over 100 All-Americans and nine Olympians at SJSU; coached SJSU track team to two NCAA national titles; National Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee; author of So You Want to be a Sprinter