Fresno State Athletics
Bartko reflects on first year as AD
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
FRESNO, Calif. - Inscribed on the wall behind Fresno State Director of Athletics Jim Bartko's desk is the quote "this place is a sleeping giant and people really care."
Recently, as Bartko sat in his office over the holiday season reflecting on his first year at Fresno State, he said that quote summarizes what he learned most in his first year as Director of Athletics. The fans are what excite him most about the future and gives him the reason to believe this place is a sleeping giant ready for an awakening.
"We have good people in this community who are passionate about Fresno State, on the good and bad," Bartko said. "When we lose, they are passionate and when we win, they are passionate. Our goal is to not be in the middle of the pack. We must compete for championships, graduate our kids and our staff needs to look at what we do right and what we do wrong. I am excited to be at a place where people demand success."
Bartko spent the first six months out in the community meeting as many people as he could to start the process of building relationships and setting the tone to the Red Wave that the department's motive will be prodigious customer service and to achieve greatness.
Looking back on the first season under Bartko's direction, there was significant progress made moving Bulldog Athletics forward.
Fresno State had a record year in the classroom; posting a department-wide 3.12 GPA last school-year and having 74 student-athletes receive Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors - also a new record. The softball and equestrian programs both won conference championships as well as individual champions in track & field.
Maybe one of the most important pieces to Bartko's puzzle for the future was laying down the framework to enhance the infrastructure of the department.
He implemented paying all scholarship student-athletes the full cost of attendance and funded the training table meal plan in year one, which will pay great dividends moving forward. Bartko began to address the shortfall in necessary support staff throughout the department with key hires. Also important were a number of facility upgrades that have already taken place or are in the works.
Over the last year Fresno State has resurfaced its tennis courts, renovated the soccer and lacrosse locker room, resurfaced the field at the soccer and lacrosse stadium and renovated the floor at the north gym where the basketball and volleyball teams practice. Moreover, construction is currently taking place on the $2.6 million facelift of Warmerdam Field, Fresno State's outdoor track.
That all is in addition to what was arguably his biggest announcement in year one: releasing the renovation plans for Bulldog Stadium.
"It is important to us to take care of all of our sports and student-athletes," Bartko said. "We could not embark on master plans for facilities and bring on new sports without first addressing the needs of the sports we currently have to give them every opportunity to be champions."
Bartko's plans called for upgrades that will improve every fan's experience at Bulldog Stadium as well as give the football program top-notch facilities to help them attract the most talented student-athletes and win championships.
Even after a lackluster season in football, Bartko still feels the community is 100 percent behind the project.
"We know this is not a one-year deal," Bartko said. "The stadium is going to be here for 30 or 40 more years and you can't have one season be a hiccup and say we are giving up on football. That stadium needs to be enhanced for the team and our fans as it helps generate revenue that supports all of our programs."
The plans for year two under Bartko include starting the substantial fundraising campaign to raise the private funds needed to renovate Bulldog Stadium.
The department will be looking to hire head coaches for the wrestling and women's water polo programs this spring in the hopes of getting those programs competing by the 2017-18 season.
He is also looking forward to the second half of the basketball seasons.
"We'll need the fans in the Save Mart Center, getting the student's there involved and engaged to fill up the arena," Bartko said. "That's another revenue source that is untapped."
After a strong first year getting out in the community and listening to the Red Wave, formulating plans with coaches and staff, Bartko feels that he enters year two with momentum that will help raise the athletic department along with the University.
"We've been evaluating what we have been doing so we can get better," Bartko said. "It is a long haul; you can never change things overnight, but we are excited for our future. Our teams know that it is our goal to graduate our student-athletes and compete for championships and that is what we are focused on accomplishing."
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