History of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game

Coming off of a loss to Virginia, the Stanford Cardinal (1-3, 1-1 ACC) are gearing up for another big game this week, this time returning home to face San Jose State, where a win would give the Cardinal some momentum and confidence ahead of the rest of their ACC schedule.

Dubbed the 'Bill Walsh Legacy Game,' Stanford and San Jose State used to face each other very frequently—either every season or every other season—but after the 2013 edition, the two teams did not play each other again until 2024, where Stanford lost 34-31 in upset fashion.

But now, after an agreement was reached in 2022, the Bill Walsh game has restarted, with the Cardinal and Spartans slated to meet five more times over the course of the next 10 years or so. And while the game is significant given the proximity of the two schools, the connection that it has with former NFL legend, Bill Walsh, hence the name of the game, is what makes this matchup so special.

Walsh, a three-time Super Bowl winning coach with the San Francisco 49ers and the 1981 AP NFL Coach of the Year, built an elite reputation for himself in the Bay Area while he was an NFL coach. But before becoming the 49ers head coach prior to the 1979 season, Walsh had already achieved legendary status in the area.

Born in Fremont, Walsh attended and played football at Hayward High School before going the JUCO route and playing two seasons at the College of San Mateo as a quarterback. After JUCO, Walsh transferred to San Jose State to play football and finish school, ultimately earning his undergraduate degree in 1955.

Following his college career and a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, Walsh got into coaching and held various roles at different levels for many years, before becoming the head coach at Stanford in 1977.

After spending two seasons at Stanford in 1977 and 1978, guiding the Cardinal to two straight bowl wins and two straight finishes ranked in the top 25, Walsh took the 49ers job and spent 10 seasons there, winning the three Super Bowls and leading the 49ers to seven playoff runs. Following the 1988 season, Walsh resigned and took a few years off from coaching football.

In 1992, Walsh returned to Stanford as the program's head coach in what would be his final coaching job. But after a successful 1992 season that saw Stanford go 10-3, win the Blockbuster Bowl and finish ranked as the No. 9 team, the final two seasons of Walsh's second tenure were not as successful, going 4-7 in 1993 and 3-7-1 in 1994.

Walsh then left the school again after the '94 season and retired from coaching. Prior to his death in 2007, Walsh's final roles in the football world included serving as the 49ers vice president and general manager from 1999 to 2000 and a consultant for the team from 2002-2004.

The Bill Walsh Legacy Game may not be the biggest game in college football, but the weight that it holds in the Bay Area and the legendary status that Walsh has between the two programs makes this game a big deal for Stanford football.