Big challenges await new Fresno State athletics director. Here’s the list of priorities
Fresno State athletics director Garrett Klassy starts on July 23, moving an office in the Duncan Building where there are a lot of key projects waiting for him.
The most obvious is the largest — Valley Children’s Stadium, and what to do with a broken down venue long overdue for renovation. That’s a big ask on the first day, but there are some smaller items that can be attacked immediately and if completed would set the Bulldogs’ 18 sports programs collectively on a better course.
He must answer key questions. What is possible, what is not? Where is there revenue potential, where is there none?
Klassy has a background in development, but it will take time to meet the players in the valley, to develop a plan for the future to put in front of major donors. But the single largest source of athletics revenue at Fresno State has been the university. Will it continue to cut back institutional support to athletics, which was slashed to $15.5 million in 2022-‘23 from $18.2 million the previous year? Is there room to generate some revenue from the Save Mart Center, where athletics is basically a tenant on its own campus?
Yes or no, Klassy needs answers to move forward.
Here is a look at some of the meat and potatoes on that plate …
Can basketball be saved?
The Save Mart Center has been draining the life out of Fresno State basketball since the building opened more than 20 years ago.
The athletics department receives no revenue from signage, suite leases, parking or concession sales and it also pays for its use of the arena. It does receive revenue from ticket sales, but interest in the Bulldogs’ basketball programs has been on a steady decline and women’s basketball and volleyball have not been big draws. Fresno State averaged just 3,471 tickets last basketball season, as many as 6,000 just once in the past six years and winning hasn’t made much of a difference. The Bulldogs won 20-plus games in 2021-’22 and 2018-’19 under former coach Justin Hutson and averaged 4,183 and 5,807, respectively.
As a result, Fresno State basketball spending has remained toward the bottom of the Mountain West, a conference with schools investing in the sport. Here is Fresno State basketball spending, and where it ranked in the conference, over the years:
2023: $3.8 million, ninth
2022: $3.7 million, ninth
2021: $2.4 million, ninth
2020: $3.2 million, ninth
2019: $3.6 million, ninth
That only tells part of the story. Also illustrating how far behind Fresno State is within the conference: San Diego State in 2023 invested $9.1 million in athletics, compared to $3.8 million for the Bulldogs.
But, what’s easier, gaining financial concessions from the Save Mart Center or resuscitating the fan base?
Student fees?
Fresno State competes at a significant disadvantage compared to the other two California State University schools in the Mountain West. San Diego State receives $13 million from student fees and San Jose State $8.8 million, while Fresno State in 2022-23 banked only $4.2 million.
That is a significant gap in athletics funding, but how aggressive can Klassy be in pushing for increased student fees when students throughout the California State University system already are facing higher tuition costs?
He can and should be very aggressive. Fresno State could add a $150 fee per semester and, based on 2023 tuition and mandatory fees in the CSU, it still would rank as the eighth most affordable school in the 23-campus system.
It also would still be the most affordable option in the San Joaquin valley when including Sacramento State, Stanislaus State and Cal State Bakersfield.
The athletics department could bank around $7 million in additional revenue through student fees, and be more competitive with its CSU and conference peers. Incremental steps would be a much easier sell, but athletics is in a hole and its revenues have been slipping within the conference.
The adidas apparel deal
Fresno State has two years remaining on its apparel contract with adidas, which is worth an average of $1.275 million per year. That deal, signed under former athletics director Terry Tumey, is more than double the value of the athletics department’s long-standing deal with Nike and ranks in the top half of the Mountain West Conference.
Fresno State was with Nike from 2004 to 2020 and received $575,000 in the final year.
The contract runs through the end of May in 2026, but under terms adidas has rights of first dealing and first refusal between April 1 and June 30 in 2025.
There could be additional revenue there — Boise State is among schools in the Mountain West with apparel deals worth more than $2 million a year.
The coaching contracts
Here is a rundown on the coaching contracts in the Bulldogs’ ticketed sports.
Football: When coach Jeff Tedford returned following a health-related hiatus in 2022, he signed a very university-friendly contract through 2026 that included a cap on bonuses and last season ranked as just the sixth highest paid coach in the Mountain West Conference. The Bulldogs are 19-8 the past two seasons and 45-22 in the five seasons Tedford has coached his alma mater. That contract should be revisited.
Basketball: Vance Walberg, hired in March to replace Hutson, signed a three-year contract through 2027 with an option for two more years at the sole discretion of the university president in consultation with the athletics director. Walberg has a chance to make that a very easy decision by winning a lot of basketball games, but that also could become an interesting dynamic and discussion.
Women’s basketball: Jaime White is headed into the final year of her contract at an interesting time with the sport grabbing more attention at the college and professional levels. The Bulldogs at one time advanced to the NCAA Tournament in seven consecutive seasons, but they not made it in nine seasons under White. Fresno State also has posted losing records the past three seasons. The Bulldogs do rank only sixth in the Mountain West in women’s basketball spending.
Baseball: Ryan Overland led the Bulldogs through a tough stretch toward the end of the regular season and to a Mountain West Tournament championship in the first of a five-year contract that runs through 2028. In winning the tournament the Bulldogs advanced to a NCAA Regional for the first time since 2019.
Softball: Stacy May-Johnson just completed the third year of a five-year contract that runs through 2026, rebounding from two rough seasons to go 33-19 and in fourth place in the Mountain West. This is not a sport the Bulldogs are used to finishing in the middle of the pack. Since joining the conference in 2013, they have won the regular-season championship four times and finished in the top three in the standings eight times.
Women’s volleyball: Leisa Rosen made an immediate impact at Fresno State, leading the Bulldogs to a conference tournament title in her first season. Rosen is signed through 2028. Fresno State before her arrival had a winning record just five times in 17 seasons.
