Fresno State Athletics
Dear Red Wave
7/31/2019 10:00:00 AM | General
Dear Red Wave,
As I approach the first anniversary of my arrival at Fresno State, I am energized about the incredible passion that I have witnessed from the Red Wave. During many home and away games, I marveled at how you supported our teams. Our student-athletes continue to be extremely grateful for your support and proud to don the Fresno State uniform and represent our Valley.
We cherished many memorable moments during the 2018-19 season. I was especially proud of our students who battled in frigid conditions to capture the Mountain West Football Championship on the blue turf in Boise. When Ronnie Rivers crossed the goal line, it was a moment of sheer elation; watching the team and coaches celebrate was truly special. Coach Jeff Tedford has re-established an outstanding program, forged on hard work and discipline, the same ideals that have helped make so many of our Valley residents successful.
We also celebrated our men's tennis team who won the conference championship on our home courts. Throughout the championship, the team consistently displayed an approach of immense fortitude with their never give up attitude. That fight was displayed in the championship match as Angus Bradshaw dropped his first set 6-0 and rallied to win the next two to clinch the trophy for his team. Many of you witnessed the unfettered celebration as the team rushed the court and later as each student-athlete hoisted the trophy. Great times, indeed.
Our baseball program, under the steadfast leadership of Coach Mike Batesole, had an outstanding campaign, winning both the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles. In similar fashion as our other championship teams, they battled throughout the year, advancing to the final game of the NCAA Regional in Stanford. Our team shared a tight bond and handled adversity, including a heartbreaking final game loss to Stanford, with great aplomb and dignity. They have re-established a foundation for success that we will continue to build upon.
We experienced many other individual highlights during 2018-19. Men's tennis junior Zdenek Derkas was named the 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year. Josh Hokit, a two sport student-athlete in wrestling and football, finished fifth at 197 pounds to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championship. Ryan Jensen, who was the MW Pitcher of the Year, was selected 27th overall by the Chicago Cubs and McCarthy Tatum was the MW Baseball Co-Player of the Year.
Our women also posted many outstanding performances. Three of our teams: volleyball, who had their best season since 2002, women's basketball, and softball participated in postseason invitational tournaments. Brigitte Thibault won the individual Mountain West title in women's golf, Jestena Mattson was the MW heptathlon champion and earned All-America honors at NCAAs, and swimmer Zofia Niemczak won the 200 fly at the MW Championship. Softball student-athlete McKenzie Wilson broke the single season MW stolen base record.
Several coaches were also honored in 2018-19, as Coach Justin Hutson won the Joe B. Hall Award signifying the best season of a first-year head coach in men's basketball. Coach Mike Batesole and Coach Luke Shields were named MW Coach of the Year in baseball and men's tennis, respectively.
In the NACDA Director's Cup, the metric that provides a ranking of athletic departments based on the NCAA finish for each of their teams, Fresno State catapulted up 84 spots from the previous year's ranking. Our athletic department was one of only three programs nationally to boast a 10-win season in football, 20 wins in men's basketball and 40 wins in baseball. We cherish the tremendous amount of success achieved on the fields and courts.
However, our achievements didn't stop on the field of athletic competition. In the classroom, we also excelled. In 2018-19, 126 student-athletes graduated, earning their degrees in 46 different academic disciplines. Our cumulative grade point average for the year was 3.08. Eighty-four student-athletes were named MW Scholar Athletes, the most for Fresno State since joining the conference. One of our student-athletes, soccer player Alyssa Nishikawa, earned the Dean's Medal for the Lyles College of Engineering, proclaiming her as the most outstanding student among all undergraduates in the college.
We made several improvements in our academic support area which impacted our student-athletes. We partnered with the Academic Learning Center to provide tutoring and supplemental instruction and launched a mentoring program which assisted many of our student-athletes stay organized. One of our best success stories was one of our student-athletes who is the first in his family to attend college and had struggled academically in previous semesters. He fully engaged in the programs and through his hard work earned a 3.0 grade point average in the spring semester. It was inspiring to witness his pride in his accomplishment and how it has changed his outlook on his academic future.
Although we are very proud of our championships and the accomplishments of many of our student-athletes, there is still work to be done. In my office, there is a graphic that refers to Fresno State as a "sleeping giant". As we say in Athletics, it is time for that giant to awaken. We have all the necessary ingredients to build a championship program, while providing an excellent experience for our student-athletes. We want our student-athletes to leave Fresno State with a championship ring on their finger, a diploma in their hand, and the skills necessary to pursue their professional and personal goals.
In order to provide for the scholarship needs of our student-athletes, we rely on you through your philanthropy with the Bulldog Foundation. This year, we re-launched the Volunteer Fund Drive, where our members served on teams and through their efforts raised $108,000 and gained 300 new members in nine days. This funding is vital to our continued growth and we can't thank you enough for your contributions both as members of the BDF and during our drive.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank President Castro and his cabinet for their continued support of Athletics. There is no better sign of growth than facility improvements. This season, Bulldog Stadium will feature new turf and improved lighting, and electrical infrastructure. The North Gym and annex projects, which include new locker rooms for men's and women's basketball and wrestling and improved team spaces for water polo and swimming are near completion. In addition, the equestrian building with new team and coaches' spaces will open soon.
We are also very appreciative of your support, whether you cheered on the Bulldogs at a game or from afar. We need you. In order to achieve our goals, we need to fill our stadiums and the Save Mart Center. We need to hear and feel your presence. There is no doubt that you impact performance as our student-athletes feed off your passion. Come join us and cheer on our 'Dogs.
Fresno State has an incredibly bright future. We will provide a championship experience that is so rich and so brilliant that it truly defines what it means to be a Bulldog and to be a part of the San Joaquin Valley. We will continue to strive to be the "Pride of the Valley". We will continue to build our program. And we will do it together.
Go Dogs!
Terry
As I approach the first anniversary of my arrival at Fresno State, I am energized about the incredible passion that I have witnessed from the Red Wave. During many home and away games, I marveled at how you supported our teams. Our student-athletes continue to be extremely grateful for your support and proud to don the Fresno State uniform and represent our Valley.
We cherished many memorable moments during the 2018-19 season. I was especially proud of our students who battled in frigid conditions to capture the Mountain West Football Championship on the blue turf in Boise. When Ronnie Rivers crossed the goal line, it was a moment of sheer elation; watching the team and coaches celebrate was truly special. Coach Jeff Tedford has re-established an outstanding program, forged on hard work and discipline, the same ideals that have helped make so many of our Valley residents successful.
We also celebrated our men's tennis team who won the conference championship on our home courts. Throughout the championship, the team consistently displayed an approach of immense fortitude with their never give up attitude. That fight was displayed in the championship match as Angus Bradshaw dropped his first set 6-0 and rallied to win the next two to clinch the trophy for his team. Many of you witnessed the unfettered celebration as the team rushed the court and later as each student-athlete hoisted the trophy. Great times, indeed.
Our baseball program, under the steadfast leadership of Coach Mike Batesole, had an outstanding campaign, winning both the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles. In similar fashion as our other championship teams, they battled throughout the year, advancing to the final game of the NCAA Regional in Stanford. Our team shared a tight bond and handled adversity, including a heartbreaking final game loss to Stanford, with great aplomb and dignity. They have re-established a foundation for success that we will continue to build upon.
We experienced many other individual highlights during 2018-19. Men's tennis junior Zdenek Derkas was named the 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year. Josh Hokit, a two sport student-athlete in wrestling and football, finished fifth at 197 pounds to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championship. Ryan Jensen, who was the MW Pitcher of the Year, was selected 27th overall by the Chicago Cubs and McCarthy Tatum was the MW Baseball Co-Player of the Year.
Our women also posted many outstanding performances. Three of our teams: volleyball, who had their best season since 2002, women's basketball, and softball participated in postseason invitational tournaments. Brigitte Thibault won the individual Mountain West title in women's golf, Jestena Mattson was the MW heptathlon champion and earned All-America honors at NCAAs, and swimmer Zofia Niemczak won the 200 fly at the MW Championship. Softball student-athlete McKenzie Wilson broke the single season MW stolen base record.
Several coaches were also honored in 2018-19, as Coach Justin Hutson won the Joe B. Hall Award signifying the best season of a first-year head coach in men's basketball. Coach Mike Batesole and Coach Luke Shields were named MW Coach of the Year in baseball and men's tennis, respectively.
In the NACDA Director's Cup, the metric that provides a ranking of athletic departments based on the NCAA finish for each of their teams, Fresno State catapulted up 84 spots from the previous year's ranking. Our athletic department was one of only three programs nationally to boast a 10-win season in football, 20 wins in men's basketball and 40 wins in baseball. We cherish the tremendous amount of success achieved on the fields and courts.
However, our achievements didn't stop on the field of athletic competition. In the classroom, we also excelled. In 2018-19, 126 student-athletes graduated, earning their degrees in 46 different academic disciplines. Our cumulative grade point average for the year was 3.08. Eighty-four student-athletes were named MW Scholar Athletes, the most for Fresno State since joining the conference. One of our student-athletes, soccer player Alyssa Nishikawa, earned the Dean's Medal for the Lyles College of Engineering, proclaiming her as the most outstanding student among all undergraduates in the college.
We made several improvements in our academic support area which impacted our student-athletes. We partnered with the Academic Learning Center to provide tutoring and supplemental instruction and launched a mentoring program which assisted many of our student-athletes stay organized. One of our best success stories was one of our student-athletes who is the first in his family to attend college and had struggled academically in previous semesters. He fully engaged in the programs and through his hard work earned a 3.0 grade point average in the spring semester. It was inspiring to witness his pride in his accomplishment and how it has changed his outlook on his academic future.
Although we are very proud of our championships and the accomplishments of many of our student-athletes, there is still work to be done. In my office, there is a graphic that refers to Fresno State as a "sleeping giant". As we say in Athletics, it is time for that giant to awaken. We have all the necessary ingredients to build a championship program, while providing an excellent experience for our student-athletes. We want our student-athletes to leave Fresno State with a championship ring on their finger, a diploma in their hand, and the skills necessary to pursue their professional and personal goals.
In order to provide for the scholarship needs of our student-athletes, we rely on you through your philanthropy with the Bulldog Foundation. This year, we re-launched the Volunteer Fund Drive, where our members served on teams and through their efforts raised $108,000 and gained 300 new members in nine days. This funding is vital to our continued growth and we can't thank you enough for your contributions both as members of the BDF and during our drive.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank President Castro and his cabinet for their continued support of Athletics. There is no better sign of growth than facility improvements. This season, Bulldog Stadium will feature new turf and improved lighting, and electrical infrastructure. The North Gym and annex projects, which include new locker rooms for men's and women's basketball and wrestling and improved team spaces for water polo and swimming are near completion. In addition, the equestrian building with new team and coaches' spaces will open soon.
We are also very appreciative of your support, whether you cheered on the Bulldogs at a game or from afar. We need you. In order to achieve our goals, we need to fill our stadiums and the Save Mart Center. We need to hear and feel your presence. There is no doubt that you impact performance as our student-athletes feed off your passion. Come join us and cheer on our 'Dogs.
Fresno State has an incredibly bright future. We will provide a championship experience that is so rich and so brilliant that it truly defines what it means to be a Bulldog and to be a part of the San Joaquin Valley. We will continue to strive to be the "Pride of the Valley". We will continue to build our program. And we will do it together.
Go Dogs!
Terry
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