Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry in the two schools' relatively close proximity to one another in the state of California. The city of Fresno is located approximately 150 miles south of San Jose. Both institutions are also members of the California State University system. Additionally, Fresno State and San Jose State are both located in geographical valleys. Fresno is located in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley while San Jose is located in the Santa Clara Valley, which is now more widely known as Silicon Valley. The locations of the two schools account for the names Valley Cup and Battle for the Valley Trophy. As of
Almaden Valley, San Jose Almaden Valley, San Jose Almaden Valley, or simply Almaden is a valley and primarily upper middle class residential neighborhood of San Jose, California, in South San Jose. It is named after the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, which were named after the mercury mine in (old) Almadén, Spain, and produced mercury that was used to process ore during the Gold Rush. Like its Spanish namesake, California's Almaden had a number of quicksilver mines. The mercury was used during gold extraction in the California Gold Rush, but the mines were closed in 1975 and have been converted into Almaden Quicksilver County Park.