Fresno State Athletics
Bennett's Contract Renewed to Coach 2001 Season
5/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 30, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Bob Bennett, the head baseball coach at Fresno State for the past 32 seasons, will be offered a one-year contract renewal to coach the 2001 season, according to athletics director Al Bohl. Bennett's current contract runs through the month of June.
"While Coach Bennett did not meet or surpass any of the goals in his 2000 contract, there was some improvement in our baseball program," Bohl said. "With the improvement shown this season, I believe it is fair to renew Bob Bennett's contract. I met with Coach Bennett and we agree that we should have high expectations for the Fresno State baseball program. Making the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years was a step in the right direction."
Bennett guided the Bulldogs to a 40-21 record, a third place finish in the WAC and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Fresno State's winning percentage of .656 was the highest since 1989.
"I am pleased to sign my 33rd contract to be the baseball coach at Fresno State, " said Bennett. "I am looking forward to next season with great anticipation and enthusiasm. I am happy with the terms of the contract and I'm sure Al Bohl is also."
The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA tournament for 10 consecutive seasons from 1988-97, but have had just one appearance since. Fresno State is 4-10 in its last five NCAA regional appearances with the last College World Series appearance in 1991.
"We will continue to have high expectations for the Fresno State baseball program," Bohl said. "We expect Fresno State to be one of the nation's premier programs, to be competitive not only within the WAC but in the NCAA tournament, and to contend for a spot in the College World Series. We have the facilities, resources and recruiting base to accomplish those goals."
Another performance goal was a final top 25 national ranking. The Bulldogs did not finish the season ranked in the nation's top 25, but were ranked in the top 25 for most of the season, including a high of No. 16 in the Baseball Weekly poll of March 13.
"We expect Fresno State be a team that is annually in the top 25," Bohl said. "Even though we won't likely finish the season ranked in the top 25, we were ranked for much of the season, giving us some national recognition."
While Fresno State's average attendance improved from 2,922 in 1999 to 3,264 fans per game in 2000, it fell short of the goal of 3,500 average attendance. Prior to this season, Fresno State's average attendance had steadily fallen since 1992. The Bulldogs led the nation in attendance in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1992.
"We had a realistic goal of 3,500 fans per game," Bohl said. "The fact that we didn't reach that figure, plus our attendance decline since 1992, shows me that we have lost a lot of good baseball fans in recent years. We must work to get them back in the program."
Fresno State failed to land an NCAA regional bid despite submitting a very lucrative proposal. Fresno State last hosted an NCAA regional in 1995.
"We must address our non-conference schedule because of the NCAA committee's comments about our low RPI rating," Bohl said. "I was very pleased in our effort to put together a very attractive regional bid, but due to our poor strength of schedule, the committee did not feel we deserved to host. With our facilities and past history of hosting successful NCAA regional events, we should be in position to host nearly every year."
Under Bennett, the Bulldogs have had 24 consecutive winning seasons and won 17 conference championships. He began his college coaching career at Fresno State in 1967, taking over for Pete Beiden for one season, and returned in 1970 as the full-time coach. His career record is 1,229-707-4 and ranks ninth all-time on the NCAA career coaching victories list.
