Fresno State Athletics
Hill Featured in National Football Magazine
7/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 31, 2003
The following is an excerpt from Aaron S. Lee's story titled "A Look Inside College Football's Most Underrated Programs," appearing in this month's edition of American Football Monthly. For the complete story, log onto www.americanfootballmonthly.com.
A Look Inside College Football's Most Underrated Football Programs
By Aaron S. Lee
American Football Monthly
Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. ... This is not just a slogan for the University of Southern Mississippi, located in the piney woods of Hattiesburg, Miss., it is a way of life that has defined the character and grit of Southern Miss football for all of its 86-year existence.
Schools like Southern Miss have embodied the pure essence of competition that envelops college football and all those that stand outside the BCS. Schools that constantly fight against the powers that control the destinies of all Division I football, schools like Colorado State and Fresno State. Schools that stand where the Florida States and Virginia Techs have stood years earlier before positioning themselves among the nation's elite.
These are schools with smaller budgets, enrollments and facilities, but don't make the mistake of calling them the giant killers, mid-majors or the have-nots. This is not a story about David and Goliath. No, this is a story about three coaches who lead programs that stand eye-to-eye with any football program in the nation, programs that routinely bloody the nose of the Alabama's, Colorado's and Michigan State's of the world.
Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. ... It is not just a ticket sales promotion, it is a national identity that highlights how schools like Southern Miss approach the game of college football.
Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. ... This is not a false belief, but a true statement of what lengths these schools will go to in order to gain national respect.
Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. ... Are you willing to accept the challenge?
When Fresno State opens its 2003 football season on the road against Tennessee, it will mark the fourth consecutive year that ESPN will televise the Bulldogs' season opener. In fact, Fresno State has become an ESPN fixture over the last two seasons with 14 television appearances, more than any other college football program in thenation. Not bad for head coach Pat Hill's squad from the "Valley."
In a day of glitz and glam in college football, Hill is a throwback to the great, stoic football coaches of the past. He is simply going to do it his way and - by the looks of it - his way works just fine.
In just six seasons, Hill has transformed Fresno State into a college football powerhouse with four straight winning seasons, four consecutive bowl berths, one Western Athletic Conference title and a 35-18 record, including 28-5 at home.
"When I took this job, with what's happening in the NCAA, I figured that if we wanted to have a chance to play big time football we have to play a big time schedule," said Hill. "After our upcoming season we would have played 24 BCS conference schools and all but three of them have been on the road."
Hill's Bulldogs have created interest and buzz throughout the country with his rugged style and no-nonsense approach to the game, including Sports Illustrated naming him its 2000 Bowl Coach of the Year, which stated: "Fresno State's Pat Hill kept his players focused after they fell behind Air Force 34-7 in the Silicon Valley Bowl, and when the Bulldogs pulled to within 37-34 he disdained a 33-yard field goal attempt with 14 seconds to go and called for a fake kick. The ensuing pass fell incomplete, but what kid wouldn't want to play for a coach like that?"
 Behind the coaching of Pat Hill and players like Bernard Berrian (above), Fresno State has made an appearance in four consecutive bowl games.  | |
Fresno State's program was on life support when Hill, a native of Los Angeles, took the job in 1997. The program had suffered three straight losing seasons, and only had 61 scholarship players on campus. But Hill, who was the recruiting coordinator and line coach under Jim Sweeney at Fresno State during the late-80s before spending time in the NFL as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns (1992-95) and the Baltimore Ravens (1996), had a vision.
"Football was big before I got here," said Hill. "But it was big regionally and not nationally because they never left the western part of the country to play. When I came in they had suffered through three straight losing seasons and now we've been here six years and we are averaging nine wins per year. Our attendance is averaging a little over 40,000 in a 41,000-seat stadium. So, it has really gone to another level.
"In 2001, we were probably two plays away from going to a BCS bowl, but we ended up going to the Silicon Valley Bowl and finishing the season ranked No. 8 in the nation. Last year, we started off with a last second loss to Wisconsin and a last minute loss to Oregon to start the season. We then lost to Oregon State, but won eight of our last 10, including a win over Georgia Tech in the bowl game. So our team came on strong at the end."
This upcoming season will be Fresno State's fifth straight year of seven road games, which is not a situation that Hill particularly likes, but nevertheless, a situation that he is forced to deal with.
"The way we are doing it is the hard way, but it is the only way I know to really become a team that is respected throughout the country. The only way to get respect is to play the best and win."
The Bulldogs record the first three years against BCS schools was 0-10, but every game, except for a couple, was either an overtime loss or losses by seven points or less. Fresno State has scheduled and defeated some of the top schools in the nation, including wins over Oregon, Georgia Tech, Colorado and Colorado State.
| We are going to do everything we can, even if it means that we have to go on the road and play every BCS team on the planet -- we'll do it." - Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill |
"We are always faced with an uphill climb in the month of September," said Hill. "But the theory is that as the television contracts come up for the BCS in three years, I want to make sure that Fresno State is one of the schools that people are considering to be part of the future of Division I football. Because of the people we play and because of the 5 million people within the 150-mile radius of the school, we believe that this school is as valuable as any other in the country. I think that it is real important that the rest of the nation know about the San Joaquin Valley, which supplies about 80 percent of the nations agriculture."
Overall, the future for Fresno State football looks bright with Hill at the helm. With road trips to Tennessee, Oklahoma and Colorado State, along with a home game against Oregon State, the road will not be easy for the Bulldogs, but Pat Hill wouldn't have it any other way.
"I came to Fresno State to bring big time football to the San Joaquin Valley. I can see that we are pushing a very big boulder up a very steep mountain and if I let go our program will get run over. The future of Fresno State football is to put ourselves in a position to be part of the realignment of Division I-A football. If we have to fund it ourselves, then we'll fund it ourselves, but we are going to be a part of Division I-A football and that's the bottom line ... we are not going to make excuses, we are going to do everything we can even if it means that we have to go on the road and play every BCS team on the planet - we'll do it."
