Fresno State Athletics
ESPN Ranks Dogs No. 38 in Decade's Best Programs
8/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 1, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - Over the last decade, the Pat Hill era at Fresno State, the Bulldog program has made strides. With seven bowl appearances, including wins over nationally prominent programs Georgia Tech, UCLA and Virginia, the Dogs have earned a reputation for being one of the best "coalition" programs in the nation.
Fresno State's win over No. 18 Virginia in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl launched the Dogs into the Top 25 and is recognized by many as one of the most significant wins in the school history. Under Hill, the Dogs have earned wins at Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas State and Washington, all considered tough venues for visiting teams to play. In 2005, Hill's team took No. 1 USC to the wire in a thrilling game in front of a sold out Los Angeles Coliseum.
 Pat Hill has guided the Bulldogs to seven bowl games and more than 50 national television appearances in his 10-year run as head coach.  | |
While the Dogs are eager to taste the experience of a BCS bowl game, few will argue that Fresno State's success this decade paved the way for Utah and Boise State to reach the Fiesta Bowl. Showing that there's good football in the west and in the WAC, Fresno State has been recognized as a national leader. ESPN recently recognized the same in its rankings of all Division I-A programs over the last decade. According to ESPN.com, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 38 out of 119 programs.
When compared to other schools in the west, the Bulldog football team favors well. The Dogs were the second-highest ranked team from the WAC (Boise State was ranked No. 16), and only Utah at No. 28 was a higher ranked non-BCS team from the west.
Fresno State's ranking was higher than five schools from the Pac-10 Conference, BYU, Colorado State and Air Force from the Mountain West Conference.
The Dogs are also among the national leaders in national television appearances this decade, with 50 heading into this season. During the 2007 season, at last four Bulldog games will be shown live nationally.
In evaluating the Bulldogs over the last 10 years, ESPN said: "During much of coach Pat Hill's tenure at Fresno State, the Bulldogs haven't been afraid to take on big-name opponents. But after narrowly losing to USC during the 2005 season, Fresno State has struggled mightily since. The Bulldogs won only 12 games in the last two seasons combined, losing eight of their last 12 games. But Hill set the standard for mid-major teams trying to break through, winning 38 games in four seasons until the recent struggles."
ESPN National Ranking of Top Football Programs of the Last Decade
Top Schools from the West (teams from Pacific, Mountain and Hawaii time zones)
1. USC
16. Boise State
17. Oregon
27. UCLA
28. Utah
35. Cal
37. Oregon State
38. Fresno State
41. Arizona State
44. BYU
45. Washington State
48. Colorado State
49. Colorado
52. Washington
56. Air Force
59. Hawaii
71. Arizona
72. New Mexico
79. Nevada
82. Stanford
88. UTEP
91. Wyoming
100. San Diego State
102. San Jose State
104. UNLV
106. Idaho
110. New Mexico State
114. Utah State
"It's nice to be recognized like this," said Hill. "With what we've done on the field and with our strong Academic Progress Rate and improved academic accomplishments, I love going into the homes of our recruits and tell their parents they are playing for a program that has built a national reputation for success on the field while playing a tough non-league schedule and that our young men are earning degrees and doing well in the class. We are very proud that an extremely high percentage of our seniors from last year graduated l and for two years in a row, a Bulldog football player has been recognized on our campus as President's and Dean's Medal winners as the top students on our campus."
Several teams ranked high on the ESPN list are schools on Fresno State's 2007 schedule, including No. 16 Boise State, No. 17 Oregon and No. 20 Kansas State. The Dogs host Boise State on Oct. 26 and the Wildcats Nov. 24. The Dogs were the last WAC team to beat Boise State, which has won 38 of its last 39 conference games.
The Bulldogs open fall camp on Monday with their first practice. The team will meet the media on August 8 for its annual Media Day.
Fans can get a sneak preview of the 2007 edition of the Fresno State football team at the open scrimmage in Bulldog Stadium on August 11. The scrimmage will begin at 7:30 p.m.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - For ticket information for the 2007 season click the tickets icon at the top of the page.
