‘Dream teams’: New SF State Magazine highlights Gator athletics past and present

The Spring/Summer 2023 issue looks back at legendary football coach Vic Rowen and the support that today’s student-athletes get from the University

As thousands of newly minted Gator graduates wind down from Commencement and begin life’s next chapter, San Francisco State University’s alumni magazine is back with a new issue. The semiannual, award-winning publication is mailed to 80,000 alumni and friends of San Francisco State. It can also be found throughout the campus. 

The cover story explores how the University’s sports programs produce successful student-athletes who don’t just win games and make the Dean’s List but also learn to become champions in a holistic and healthful sense as well. It also takes a nostalgic look at the career of former Gators football coach Vic Rowen, who helped invent an approach to the game that would influence the long careers of his players and assistants — among them Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Online exclusive bonus content includes Rowen’s coaching universe, action photos from recent Gator sporting events and a dedication to a late colleague. 

The issue also includes interviews with: 

• Vitka Eisen, an alumna who overcame addiction and now is CEO of the same nonprofit that helped save her life 

• John Logan, the chair of SF State’s Labor and Employment Studies Program, discussing the reinvigorated union movement 

• Chanda Daniels, an alum whose wedding planning skills emphasize the unique considerations of LGBTQ+ couples and people of color on their special day 

• Ben Fong-Torres, the alumnus, famed music journalist and now SF State Magazine columnist

• And much more! 

As usual, the Class Notes section is filled with achievements of alumni spanning seven decades. The issue closes with Associated Students President (and now alumna) Karina Zamora sharing her SF State story.  

Check out the full issue of SF State Magazine and exclusive online content.