Fresno State Athletics
Update from Jim Bartko to the Red Wave
4/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
April 16, 2015
Hello Red Wave!
It's been a while since I last reached out to you, so I wanted to reconnect and update you with the happenings over here in Fresno State Athletics.
Some changes to our football schedule were announced yesterday with three of our home games moving off of Saturdays. One of those was our decision; the other two were decided by the conference. The decision to move the Abilene Christian game to a Thursday was made because of the Holiday Weekend the game is played on and it gives our team a couple more days to prepare for Ole Miss that we play the following week. The two conference games were moved off of Saturday's because of television selection. We will be receiving $600k total for those two games from the conference TV package, which will help our bottom line this year. We know that non-Saturday games are not always the best option for our fans, so I wanted to let you know the reasoning behind the moves of these games. We will always look to limit the inconvenience to our fans to the best of our control.
Along with that, a lot else has happened since I last wrote. I appreciate everyone who took the time to fill out our fan survey. We received some great feedback and areas that we can improve upon, so it was very beneficial and informative. We'll be sharing results with you in the next few weeks and incorporate some action items from it that we plan to act upon. We've also been honing our facilities campaign. Consultants and architects have been on campus to help us formulate our vision. We are getting close to being able to share more of that with you. I'm excited and hopeful to disclose those details with you this summer.
The renewal period to secure your seats in Bulldog Stadium for next football season has come and gone. If you missed your renewal, we would still love to help you get your season tickets for the upcoming year. It is of the upmost importance that we fill Bulldog Stadium this fall to give our team the winning edge. We've led the Mountain West in attendance the past two seasons and I'd like to make that a benchmark here at Fresno State. We are 17-2 at home over the last three seasons and a big part of that is because of the great backing we get from the Red Wave.
The spring sports season is moving fast. A big congrats to our equestrian team on winning the United Equestrian Conference championship! They have climbed up to a No. 5 national ranking and we wish them the best of the luck as they are at Nationals this weekend. Baseball had a big series win over nationally-ranked Nevada last weekend and softball is in the hunt for the Mountain West title. Our tennis teams keep picking up big wins over ranked opponents, lacrosse had an exciting last-second victory over Cal on senior day last weekend and our golf teams are gearing up for the Mountain West championships. The track & field programs host their final home event of the year on April 25 at Buchanan High School. Be sure to get out there and support the `Dogs at the Bulldog Invitational.
Also be on the lookout for the Night of Champions on May 4, which is the end-of-the-year awards gala put on by the student-athletes for the student-athletes.
Again, thank you for all of your support during this transition.
Best,
Jim Bartko
Fresno State Director of Athletics
@JimBartko1
