The SDSU football team is presently being overhauled in terms of philosophy, but the squad has yet to draw the major attention of San Diegans. What will it take for the citizens of the area to support Aztec football moving forward? Is it even possible? 

Since the loss of the Chargers in January 2017, San Diego has been starving for professional football.

At least, I’d like to think that.

For over 50 years, the Chargers were at the heart of San Diego.

That ship has sailed, though, and with no likely reunion in sight, San Diego has no professional football. America’s Finest City remains the 8th most populated city in the United States, but only one professional sports team out of the big four (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey).

San Diego FC begins play next season as MLS is quickly becoming an elite professional league. San Diego Wave FC is considered one of the prized franchises in the women’s professional leagues, and the organization is in its infancy. Their attendance records at Snapdragon Stadium are impressive and the envy of the league.

There are relevant sports in the city, though the honest truth is San Diego lacks the history to be considered a sports town.

For whatever reason, the city has yet to hoist a championship in any sport (other than indoor soccer).

The Rockets and the Clippers both started play in San Diego with the NBA to no success. The Chargers played for over 50 years and only made the Super Bowl once (A loss to SF in 1994). The Padres played in the World Series twice in their existence but only earned one win out of the nine games played in the Fall Classic.

San Diego is still searching for professional sports relevancy.

Collegiate sports in San Diego 

Professional sports leave a bad taste in most San Diegans’ mouths, but the local universities are hoping to improve the pallet.

The University of San Diego (USD), San Diego State University (SDSU), and the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) are widely regarded as excellent academic universities. And like the professional sports organizations of the area, they’ve failed to gain ultimate success in terms of national championships. SDSU is commonly considered the powerhouse in the area when it comes to sports, as the school produced multiple hall-of-fame-type players in three sports (basketball, football, and baseball). UCSD just earned Division-1 status, and USD is a wealthy private school in the area with a deep history of sports in itself.

There is some success for these schools in terms of sports, but nothing to celebrate greatly. At least nothing yet.

Two years ago, the SDSU men’s basketball team made it all the way to the NCAA Championship game. If they won, it would have easily been the greatest accomplishment in the history of San Diego sports. The team lost, but their run is widely considered a success as SDSU became a relevant school around the nation. It energized the city. San Diego caught Aztec fever. This run showed that even the most timid San Diego sports fan will come out of the woodwork when it comes to winning and success.

NCAA basketball is organized in a way that anyone can be a Cinderella team and upset big names. The football side of the NCAA is not laid out the same way. There are several variables that limit teams outside the traditional powerhouse schools. This season, there will be a college football playoff system like we have never seen before. The top 12 teams will play in a tournament for the title. That is exciting, and suddenly, more than the top-4 teams will be considered for a championship. Maybe, just maybe, a team with an impressive record outside the large conferences will be given a chance to compete with the big boys in this tournament.

SDSU Football (building a culture) 

That brings us to the San Diego State Aztecs football program.

SDSU is striving for major relevancy and recently brought in a coach who is committed to long-term success for the program. Sean Lewis is capable of putting SDSU on the map. He brings an exciting look to the offense and provides plenty of energy. The young coach brings it every single day.

The Aztecs possess plenty of alumni in the NFL. The program continues to produce talent in several areas of the game. Marshall Faulk is hardly the only Aztec to have sustained success in the NFL. There are currently ten players in the NFL who played football at SDSU. Each year, the school produces NFL-talent for the league.

Individual success is one thing, but the team lacks the ultimate goal of national relevancy when it comes to the football program.

For years and years, local high school talent in the area has left town to go to school elsewhere. Four and five-star recruits go on to play at USC, Texas, Alabama, Ohio State, and any other school that comes with a history of success in its overall program. That is the sad truth. SDSU may pull some of the local stars to its program, but it is only a fraction of the players who are available each season.

Adding SDSU to the Pac-12 will help the overall product on the field. But, let’s be honest, the conference is only a shadow of what it once was. The construction of the entity is early, so we will wait and see who else is added to the conference. Moving to the Pac-12 is a step in the right direction, but SDSU still has a long way to go in terms of gaining national respect and relevancy.

So, what will it take to support SDSU football?

Respect is not given. It’s earned.

The SDSU football program will need sustained success and dominance in all facets of the game to build fandom.

That’s easier said than done. But, with the right people in the correct situation — it may result in a powder keg in terms of collegiate athletics for SDSU. The fan base in San Diego could easily pull talent to the area and not just local players. The city is beautiful and sells itself. Now, imagine an athletics department that is the envy of the West Coast. With USC and UCLA spinning their wheels in terms of finding a conference identity, SDSU has an opportunity to poach West Coast talent.

Winning solves all problems. The Aztecs must win. And not just a seven or eight-win season. They must be a consistent 10-win team that wins Bowl Games each season. It will take consistency and it will take winning for the natives of the area to jump on board.

The basketball program laid out the groundwork for building a successful fan base in San Diego. I am old enough to remember the dark days of SDSU basketball when hardly anyone went to the games. Coach Steve Fisher was brought in to energize the campus. His reputation preceded him, but the coach also worked in the trenches to grow a fan base. He often went onto campus and handed out tickets to the game. The head coach talked to the students and personally asked them to come out.

It took a few years, but the basketball program is now one of the best in the nation. The football program can achieve these heights. Don’t buy into the hype that it isn’t possible. It will take a lot of hard work.

Snapdragon Stadium is practically brand new. The Aztecs play in one of the newest stadiums on the West Coast for collegiate athletics. It has state of the art electronics throughout and all the amenities of a powerhouse Division-1 school. Playing in Snapdragon is a selling point for recruits as SDSU constantly searches for new talent.

Filling Snapdragon for an SDSU football game has not been easy. The venue sits over 40,000 people and quite often looks empty when 20,000 plus are at an Aztec game. There are complaints about no shade, but the school plays the majority of its games at night. San Diegans can surely handle some heat if the kickoff is in the afternoon. They certainly could if they were diehard fans who live and die for SDSU football. That seems to be the problem — cultivating a fan base.

Ticket prices are through the roof right now for what we are seeing on the field. SDSU needs to take a page from local sports franchise. The San Diego Padres drew 3,314,593 fans to their 80 home games this season. A new franchise record. A total of 56 games were completely sold out. That is an outrageous amount of money generated by an organization that was once considered a small-market team. How did the Padres do this? Yes, they spent money on players. But the real answer is that they built trust in their fans and produced an exciting product on the field. Ticket prices for a Padres game slowly increased through the years. They did not charge outrageous prices as the team was building. Fans now come to Petco Park in droves. The organization will never be the same.

The bottom line is it will take lower ticket prices now and an entertaining, productive football team for San Diegans to pay attention and fully support the Aztecs.

Playing in a better conference would definitely help, but there is no invitation to the SEC or Big Ten incoming. Instead of trying to squeeze into one of those conferences and having that thought process, the Aztecs and their fans should fully embrace the Pac-12 and build it to the relevancy it once held. Take on the mindset that SDSU will be the prized jewel of the developing conference. Bring that attitude and cultivate a fan base. The sky is the limit.

Make SDSU football relevant, and they will come.

This is an exciting time for SDSU football as we are about to witness the development of something special. A new stadium, a new conference, and a new attitude will bring SDSU sports to a kind of applicability that we have never witnessed before. And with that, San Diego sports will grow in respect and relevancy.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.