Sept. 16, 2013

Three of the best quarterbacks to play for the San Jose State University football program, Jeff Garcia, Mike Perez and Chon Gallegos, represent multiple generations of Spartans with a Hispanic heritage. 

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of National Hispanic Heritage Month, San José State is teaming with local Hispanic businesses, on-campus organizations like SOLES (Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists) and the Chavez Supermarket chain in five Bay Area cities to sponsor the first Los Spartans Night. 

This year’s festival is Friday, September 27, at Spartan Stadium and is in conjunction with the nationally-televised San Jose State-Utah State football game on ESPN. Festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. on the San Jose State football practice field next to Spartan Stadium. 

Tickets are $25.00 each and cover admission to the pregame festival, a meal catered by Chavez Supermarkets, a Los Spartans Night t-shirt and a reserved seat for the football game that matches two teams that won 11 games each in 2012. 

San Jose State students with a valid Tower ID card must purchase a Los Spartans Night ticket to participate in the pregame festival and receive one of the limited edition t-shirts. 

Los Spartans festival tickets are available at www.sjsuspartans.com and www.ticketmaster.com by phone by calling (408) 924-SJTX and at any of the Chavez Supermarkets located in San Jose, Sunnyvale, Menlo Park and Hayward. Adult fans that purchase their Los Spartans Night tickets at a Chavez Supermarket also will receive two free tickets to Los Spartans Night for children 12-years-old and under. 

For more information on Los Spartans Night, contact Denis Cajina, Jr., of San Jose State’s IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions, at 408-924-SJTX. 

ABOUT NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH 
Originally known as Hispanic Heritage Week during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s term in office, Hispanic Heritage Month was enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and covers the 30-day period from September 15 through October 15. 

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE FOOTBALL 
Since 1893, San Jose State has sponsored a college football program. The Spartans compete in the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) – the highest possible level and are one of 12 football-playing schools in the Mountain West Conference. Current San Jose State players of Hispanic heritage include freshman offensive lineman Oscar Barron (Buena Park, Calif.), freshman defensive linemen Chris Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Fernando Villanueva (San Jose, Calif.), sophomore placekicker Austin Lopez (Euless, Texas), freshman linebacker Moses Saucedo (Los Angeles, Calif.) and freshman wide receiver Jourdan Soares (Gilroy, Calif.). 

ABOUT CHAVEZ SUPERMARKETS 
Nearing its 30th year serving the Bay Area, Chavez Supermarkets is a full-service, family-owned grocery store chain specializing in Mexican and Latin American grocery store products. Supermarkets are located in Redwood City, Menlo Park, San Jose, Hayward and Sunnyvale.