On September 15, 1967, the San Diego State University football team first stepped onto the turf of what Sports Illustrated would later call the finest multi-purpose stadium in America - San Diego Stadium. That night, the Aztecs, led by head coach Don Coryell and players like Haven Moses, Fred Dryer, Tom Nettles and Nate Wright, defeated Tennessee State 16-8 in front of 45,822 fans.
In an effort to prepare the Stadium for the next century, a $66.4 million renovation project was undertaken in 1997 which increased seating to 71,400; added 31 luxury suites; created 7,600 club seats; and added a second Sony Jumbotron video board in the West end zone.
To help in financing the renovation project, Qualcomm, a local communications company, agreed to provide $18 million for the naming rights of the Stadium, which expired after 20 years in June 2017. The facility was renamed SDCCU Stadium in September 2017 after San Diego County Credit Union won the new naming rights bid for $500,000, which was extended through December 2018.
SDCCU Stadium is located at the intersection of Interstates 8 and 15 in Mission Valley, less than five miles from the university. With the relocation of the National Football League’s Chargers to Los Angeles, San Diego State is the facility's lone remaining charter tenant.
In the 50-plus years since that opening night, some of the greatest names in Aztec football history have displayed their talents there - Dennis Shaw, Brian Sipe, Isaac Curtis, Willie Buchanon, Todd Santos, Webster Slaughter, Rob Awalt, Don Warren, Dan McGwire, Henry Allison, Claudie Minor, Jesse Freitas, Craig Penrose, David "Deacon" Turner, Darnay Scott, Marshall Faulk, Kirk Morrison, Ryan Lindley, Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny - to name a few.
In addition to the Aztecs, the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl has come to call it home. The Stadium has a;sp been the site of such renowned events as the Super Bowl, the World Series and baseball's All Star Game.
Constructed at a cost of $27 million, San Diego Stadium opened August 20, 1967, with an exhibition game between the Chargers and Detroit Lions. Since that game, the facility has been the stage for some of the most memorable events in San Diego State football history. A then-record attendance of 53,611 was on hand November 8, 1975, when the unbeaten Aztecs entertained and in one of the most dramatic games ever played in San Diego, the Arizona Wildcats prevailed 31-24.
In 1975, average attendance for six home games was 42,040. Two years later in 1977, a crowd of 50,453 saw the Aztecs hammer 15th-ranked Florida State, 41-16. On Jan. 6, 1981, the name of the facility was changed officially to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Murphy, a nationally-known columnist and the sports editor of the San Diego Union Tribune, had led the campaign to have the stadium constructed. He had died in 1980.
In 1984, 49,220 fans nearly carried SDSU to an upset of UCLA, as the Bruins hung on to an 18-15 victory. The Aztecs clinched their first Western Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the Holiday Bowl with a 10-3 victory over Brigham Young on Nov. 29, 1986 in front of a Stadium crowd of 45,062. SDSU then played host to Iowa in one of the most memorable Holiday Bowls ever.