Fresno State's scrimmage is open to the public and free of charge.
March 22, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. -
The Fresno State football program will hold a scrimmage in the South Valley for the seventh straight year. The Bulldogs will be at Central Valley Christian High School in Visalia on Saturday, March 25. The Scrimmage, hosted by the South Valley Quarterback Club, will begin at noon. The public is invited and there is no charge for the scrimmage.
As the coach of the Valley's team, Pat Hill uses the spring sessions to take the Bulldogs out to the Valley communities. Fresno State has held scrimmages in previous years in Hanford and Bakersfield. This is the third straight year the Dogs have held a scrimmage in Visalia. Nearly 3,000 fans attended last year's scrimmage at Central Valley Christian High School.
Saturday's scrimmage will be broadcast live on Fresno State's flagship station, KMJ 580AM, with broadcast team Bill Woodward and Mark Barsotti in the booth and KMPH Fox 26 sports director Ralph Wood on the sidelines.
"We have great fans in Visalia and throughout the South Valley," said Hill. "Those fans have become an important part of our program. When we recruit, our priority is getting the best players from Valley high schools. We love getting out into the community. I'd like to thank Roger Fluegel, Phil Vannette, Bill Gargon and Eric Shannon for all of their hard work to make this event happen."
Hill enters his 10th season at Fresno State and has guided the Bulldogs to seven consecutive bowl games. Fresno State ranks as one of the nation's top 10 winningest programs this decade, averaging eight wins per season. In doing so, Hill's program continues to be a model program for academic success and accountability. The Bulldogs have had 80 players selected to the Academic All-WAC team and the team's NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 950 is one of the highest scores on the west coast.
Under Hill, Fresno State has appeared on regional or national television 41 times this decade. The Bulldogs have been recognized for playing a tough non-conference schedule, and that theme continues again in 2006 with road games at Washington and LSU and home games against Oregon and Colorado State. The Bulldogs kickoff the 2006 season September 1 against defending WAC champion Nevada in a game that will be broadcast live by ESPN2.
Fresno State will hold its annual Spring Game at Bulldog Stadium April 1 at 11 a.m. Prior to that event, the Fresno State Athletics Department will host a new and used equipment and merchandise sale in the White Parking Lot on the west side of the stadium beginning at 8 a.m.
Ticket information for the 2006 season and Bulldog Shop merchandise will be available at both scrimmages. For more information, contact the Bulldog Ticket Office (559) 278-DOGS or go on-line at www.gobulldogs.com.
The Quarterback Club will be selling drinks and tri-tip sandwiches at Saturday's scrimmage.
