Fresno State Athletics
Bulldog Football Team Achieving Academic Excellence
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 6, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - As Fresno State's football team continues to make great strides on the football field, the Bulldogs are continuing to reach unprecedented academic success.
The Bulldogs are coming off their best semester of academic achievement in the Pat Hill era, as 49 players achieved a 3.0 Grade Point Average or higher, 10 more than the fall semester of 2002.
As a team, the Bulldogs posted a composite GPA of 2.87, which equates to a B- average. GPAs are calculated in the following manner: A=4.0; B=3.0; C=2.0; D=1.0; F=0.0 points.
The Bulldogs produced eight players who earned Academic All-WAC honors for the fall, second-most in the conference. A student-athlete must carry a 3.2 cumulative GPA and play in over 50% of a team's games to qualify. Rice led the WAC with 13 selections, snapping a three-year stretch in which Fresno State led the WAC in selections. Earning Academic All-WAC honors for 2003 were: Jordan Christensen, Tyrone Culver, Jaron Fairman, Joe Fernandez, Kyle Goodman, Nathan Ray, Josh Sherley and Stephen Spach.
Since the hiring of Hill, the Bulldogs rank second to Rice with 57 Academic All-WAC selections. During that time, Rice has produced 58. In the five years prior to Hill's arrival, Fresno State produced a total of nine academic All-WAC selections, never more than two in a year.
On the field, the Bulldogs have had similar unprecedented success. The Bulldogs have appeared in bowl games in each of the last five seasons, winning each of the last two. At no time in Fresno State history have either of those feats been accomplished. Fresno State's 29 wins since 2001, ranks sixth-best in the nation amongst NCAA Division I-A programs. The Bulldogs also own seven wins over BCS opponents, more than any non-BCS program. Fresno State defeated UCLA 17-9 in the 2003 Silicon Valley Football Classic and Georgia Tech 30-21 in the 2002 SVFC.
A significant contributor to the academic success of the team has been the Academic Gameplan, instituted by Associated Head Coach John Baxter.
"This is a tribute to the hard work of all of our coaches, players and the academic personnel on campus," Hill said. "We have made a great commitment to succeeding as a football team on the field and in the classroom. This past semester is a great snapshot of the accomplishments we have made and the direction we will continue to head."
After coming to Fresno State from the National Football League, Hill's philosophy was geared toward the graduation of student-athletes.
"My time in the NFL taught me the importance of a college degree," Hill said. "I saw so many guys there without degrees and once they got cut or got hurt and couldn't play anymore, they literally had nowhere to go. I learned quickly the value of higher education."
One of Hill's first hires was Baxter, whose patented Academic Gameplan has received national acclaim. The Academic Gameplan is designed for all freshmen and transfer student-athletes and any student-athlete whose GPA dips below a 2.3. Hundreds of junior highs, high school and college programs have adopted the program.
This program has worked, as shown not only in the recent rises in the team GPAs and scholar-athletes honored, but in the number of players who have earned their diplomas at Fresno State.
The 2003 football season senior class of 13 players, produced four players who have already graduated and the remainder are two semesters or less from receiving their degrees. Over the previous two years, Fresno State graduated 24 of 31 senior players.
Several Bulldogs have gone on to earn unprecedented nation scholastic awards in recent history:
Former Bulldog captain Juan Bautista, an Academic All-WAC performer, was accepted to the Columbia University Medical School.
Former Academic and All-WAC performer Vernon Fox was one of 18 student-athletes honored by the National Football Foundation as an outstanding scholar-athlete. Fox, who is pursuing a Master's degree in Victimology, is currently playing for the San Diego Chargers.
"We are happy with the success we've had," said Baxter. "As I've always said, 'this is college football, not football college.' We are working to ensure that every Bulldog has the opportunity to earn their degree and achieve academic success at an equally high level as we play on the football field."
2003 Academic All-WAC Selections
1. Rice 13; 2. Fresno State 8, Tulsa 8;
4. Louisiana Tech 4, San Jose State 4;
6. Nevada 3, UTEP 3, Boise State 3, Hawaii 3;
10. SMU 0
Academic All-WAC Selections Since 1997
1. Rice 58; 2. Fresno State 57; 3. Tulsa 56;
4. SMU 29; 5. Hawaii 25; 6. UTEP 22; 7. San Jose State 14
*- Only counting schools in the WAC since 1997
