May 22, 2009
GALLERY
FRESNO, Calif. -
The 2009 Fresno State football season will conclude the most memorable and decorated decade in Bulldog football history. In fact, this decade, when compared to a lot of other schools across the nation, is downright impressive.
From wins on the field, to annually making bowl game appearances, to producing eye-popping scholastic numbers, the Bulldog program under Pat Hill's watch has become a model and admired for its consistency and high quality. In the first decade of this century, the Bulldog program has accomplished more than in any other in the program's 87-year history.
Entering this season the Dogs already have 73 wins, average of 8.1 wins per season. If the Dogs hit their average in 2009, it will be the most wins for a decade in school history. The Dogs posted 80 wins in the decade of the 1980s.
The Dogs win total is even more impressive when considering the number of high-caliber non-conference opponents on the schedule this decade with the overwhelming majority of those games played on the road. In fact, by the end of the upcoming season Fresno State will have played 24 of its 38 non-conference games of the decade on the road, 21 of those against BCS schools.
Of Fresno State's 18 BCS road games already this decade, the opponent was ranked in Top 25 14 times. That list includes two teams - Oklahoma and USC - that were ranked No. 1 in the nation when the Dogs played them. Fresno State also played at No. 5 LSU, and against others ranked in the Top 25, like Oregon (three times), Ohio State, Wisconsin (twice), Colorado, Tennessee, Kansas State, UCLA and Texas A&M. No other decade in Bulldog history has seen such a collection of non-conference foes.
In the 1980s, the Dogs played 19 non-conference road games, nine against schools from BCS conferences. None of those teams were nationally ranked.
The game of the decade was in a sold-out Los Angeles Coliseum where the Bulldogs, ranked No. 16 in the nation, almost upset No. 1 and undefeated USC. The Trojans possessed two Heisman Trophy winners in Matt Leinert and Reggie Bush and made a furious rally to overtake the Bulldogs 50-42 in one of the most entertaining and exciting games of the entire college football season.
The Dogs also picked up some impressive road victories, at No. 13 Kansas State in 2004, handing legendary coach Bill Snyder one of his worst non-conference home losses. The week before that, the Dogs handed Washington a loss at Husky Stadium, one of its worst in school history.
Other memorable wins included Fresno State beating nationally-ranked Wisconsin at historic Camp Randall Stadium in 2001 and in 2008 defeated UCLA at the Rose Bowl for the first time in school history. The win over the Badgers was the first-ever against a Big Ten opponent and was so significant, it prompted Sports Illustrated to place quarterback David Carr on the cover of the magazine.
In all, the Dogs have posted favorable records over teams from the ACC (3-0), Big 12 (3-2), Big East (1-0) and Big Ten (1-4) conferences in the decade. Prior to 2000, Fresno State had never beaten teams from any of those conferences.
The Dogs have a 6-8 against teams from the Pac-10 Conference since 2000, but only four of those 14 games were played in Bulldog Stadium.
All of those road contests are starting to reap benefits, as the Dogs have paid their dues in becoming a nationally recognized program. In the coming years, Fresno State scheduled home-and-home games with Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Rutgers, Cincinnati and Mississippi. Starting with the Wisconsin game in 2008 schools from the Big Ten, SEC and Big East Conferences will be playing in the Valley for the first time ever.
"I think what we have done and the program that we have built now makes it okay for schools to come to Fresno to play," said Hill. "We have paid our dues. By getting some wins at difficult road stadiums and the amount of television exposure teams know they will get when they come to Fresno, it all helps making those match-ups in Bulldog Stadium more viable."
Fresno State's eight bowl appearances in nine seasons this decade, most in school history, doubles the number of bowl games in the decades of the 1980s and `90s.
During this decade, the Dogs faced BCS foes Michigan State, Georgia Tech (twice), UCLA and Virginia in bowl games. The Dogs earned wins over the Cavaliers, Bruins and two over the Yellow Jackets.
Fresno State also appeared in the 2005 Liberty Bowl, the most historic and prestigious bowl in school history.
Compared to other schools, Fresno State's wins and number of bowl appearances are pretty impressive.
During this decade Arizona State has 56 wins and been in six bowl games, while Cal owns 54 wins, 19-fewer than Fresno State, and played in two fewer bowl games than the Bulldogs. The Dogs had 18 more wins and three more bowl appearances than the Colorado Buffaloes in the decade.
Less than 20 college football programs have won more games than Fresno State this century.
For Hill, the success on the field and bowl game appearances pale in comparison to the level of achievement the program has made in the classroom. Within a month of his arrival at Fresno State in December of 1996, a USA Today story chronicled the best and worst academic performing football program. At the time he took over the program, Fresno State had the nation's worst academic scores.
A dozen years after hiring John Baxter, who implemented his highly successful "Academic Gameplan" program, Fresno State is scoring extremely well in the classroom. With a current NCAA Academic Progress Score of 948, nearly 20 percentage points higher than the national average for college football programs, proves Hill's program is achieving at a high level in the classroom. The Bulldogs NCAA APR score ranks in the Top 10 of programs in the west, in the Top Five for public schools, and second among California public schools.
Top 10 2009 NCAA Academic Progress Rate Multi-Year Scores of Division I FBS Football Programs in the West
Team (Conference), APR Score
1. Stanford (Pac-10), 984
2. Air Force (MWC), 983
3. Cal (Pac-10), 970
4. Boise State (WAC), 966
5. TCU (MWC), 962
6. USC (Pac-10), 956
7. Washington (Pac-10), 954
7. Utah (MWC), 954
9. Fresno State (WAC), 948
9. UCLA (Pac-10), 948
In addition to setting a high-standard for team APR scores, the Bulldog program continues to produce Academic All-WAC performers at a record clip.
The Bulldog football team had 14 student-athletes named to the Academic All-WAC team this past season. In the fall of 2007, the Bulldogs had a record 16 football players selected.
Under Hill the Bulldogs have produced a league-best 123 Academic All-WAC players, 47 more than the second closest school in the league while averaging 10.3 Academic All-WAC players per season. Prior to his arrival, Fresno State's football program had produced a total of nine Academic All-WAC players. Fresno State has more Academic All-WAC players in 12 seasons under Hill than WAC charter members Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming had for their entire conference membership years.
What's more, the Bulldogs became the only school in WAC history to have more than 100 Academic All-WAC selections in a single decade.
Top Five Programs in Academic All-WAC Selections (2000-2008)
1. *Fresno State, 104
2. Boise State, 97
3. Hawaii, 70
4. New Mexico State, 60
5. Utah State and Nevada, 54
*- WAC record for a decade
The Bulldogs have accomplished this with a philosophy of recruiting Valley high school players who are NCAA qualifiers. (Fresno State discontinued the practice of accepting non-qualifying students in 2002.) In Hill's 13-year tenure, Fresno State has only granted nine scholarships to junior college players. Nearly 70% of the Bulldog team is comprised of Central Valley high school graduates.
While Hill's pride in the academic program is evident, it's still a daily battle to remind people that there has been a cleansing of the program.
"There's no question that I'm more proud of what we've done academically that what we've done on the field," said Hill. "I've always said, it's `college football' not `football college'. At the end of the day, when our players go through our program and earn their degree, we have made a difference in their lives and their future and that's what's really important. What's disturbing is that despite all of the progress we've made, our long-standing reputation has been of somewhat of a renegade program with a lot of junior college players. We have built the foundation of our program with high schools players, mostly from the Valley. That's our model and it's working well. I'm very proud of our APR scores and the mindset of the student-athletes in our program. They are expected to go to class and get a degree and those who don't have that commitment, don't last very long at Fresno State."
According to Hill, 13 of Fresno State's 14 seniors from the 2008 team have either already graduated or will graduate during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 23.
When it comes to developing players for the NFL, few have done it better. Hill's NFL background, connections and services on Bill Belichick's coaching staff all are major factors in the success of former Dogs in the pros. With 29 former Bulldogs set to report to NFL training camps this summer, Fresno State once again leads all non-BCS schools with most NFL players.
That number is pretty high among programs in the west, just one fewer than UCLA (30). Compared to other schools, Fresno State is making an impact on NFL rosters: Colorado (29), Oregon State (27), Stanford (26), Washington (24), Arizona (23), Utah (22), Washington State (21), BYU (19), Missouri (17), TCU (17), San Jose State (16), Boise State (16), Texas Tech (14) and Houston (11).
Under Hill, 22 former Bulldog have been drafted by the NFL, including 10 in the last four years. Among those are two first round picks, quarterback David Carr, the No. 1 overall selection in 2002, and Logan Mankins, an NFL All-Pro, by the New England Patriots in 2005.
"When players who have the talent to play in the NFL make a commitment toward that career goal, we have a great chance of getting them drafted or placed with the right team as a free agent," said Hill. "Clifton Smith made the Pro Bowl as an undrafted free agent as a rookie, so that tells you we have some talented players in our program. He got his shot and made the most of it."
In all, the Bulldogs have produced more WAC Defensive Players of the Year in the decade than any other school with three: Alan Harper, Garrett McIntyre and Marcus Riley. The Dogs have 40 first-team All-WAC players since 2000.
With the success on the field and classroom and producing NFL stars, the nation has taken notice of the Fresno State program.
A lot can be attributed to the 2001 team, which as Hill said "we stepped onto the national stage". The Bulldogs won 11-games and jumped to a school-best No. 8 national ranking. Fiesta Bowl officials were drooling at the prospects of inviting the Bulldogs and their rabid fan base.
With David Carr leading an explosive offense, Fresno State was a Cinderella story after upsetting three Top 20 teams to start the season. Carr went on to finish 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting and won the Johnny Unitas Trophy as the nation's top senior quarterback.
The Dogs became the first team in NCAA history to produce a quarterback that threw for 4,000 yards, a running back that rushed for 1,000 yards and two 1,000-yard receivers as the team set school records for total offense and scoring.
During this decade, the Bulldogs have made 60 national television appearances, and with each game averaging over three hours, that equates to more than 180 hours of live programming and exposure for the school and the Valley.
Fresno State has become a favorite of ESPN, landing on one of the networks' channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) 46 times.
In comparison, Nebraska, which is scheduled to play at Bulldog Stadium in a few years, has 68 national television appearances this decade, 50 of those coming on ESPN.
BYU, a former WAC member, has made 47 national television appearances this decade, 36 of those on the ESPN networks. The Dogs have a higher APR score, won more games and earned three more bowl appearances than the Cougars this decade.
"When I came to Fresno State, our fans said Colorado State and BYU were the programs we needed to be like, because they were the top programs in the WAC at the time," said Hill. "If you look at what we've accomplished this decade, I feel like we have accomplished a lot. In many areas like academic achievement, wins, bowl game appearances, national exposure and producing NFL players we are very competitive with those two programs."
Fresno has grown to the fifth-largest city in California and is the 45th largest television market in the United States. Hill and Bulldog student-athletes have become nationally recognizable figures because of such success and exposure. Magazines, web sites and major media outlets all over America are covering Fresno State on a more regular basis than ever before.
Last summer when the Bulldog baseball team was in Omaha competing in the College World Series, Hill was easy to spot by the ESPN cameras in the Fresno State fan section. And during a rain delay, he went into the Rosenblatt Stadium Press Box to dry off and was immediately surrounded by dozens of the nearly 1,000 media members gathered to cover the event.
"Pat Hill put Fresno State on the map," said Dennis Dodd of CBSSportline.com, who has covered college football on a national level for nearly two decades. "Fresno State was the first BCS buster and the first to really knock on the door. What they have accomplished this decade has been remarkable. With the turnover in the WAC, Fresno State has been the standard program. Not to take anything away from Boise State or Hawaii, who've made it to BCS games, but Fresno State set the stage for them to reach those games and Pat Hill deserves a lot credit for that. Pat's as good an in-game coach as there is and his teams will always play you off your feet. We love him."
Fans are coming to Bulldog Stadium as well, and they came out in record numbers in the decade. Prior to the 2000 season, Fresno State had never sold out for a season, but did that twice. For the decade, the Bulldogs averaged 39,300 fans per game, or at 96 percent of capacity of Bulldog Stadium.
As a byproduct of Fresno State's success, Pat Hill's coaching tree has blossomed and produced from real strong branches. Four of his former assistants landed head coaching spots, one NFL head coaching job and two at BCS conference schools. In addition to Jeff Tedford (Cal) and Lane Kiffin (Oakland Raiders, Tennessee), Dennis Wagner (Western Carolina) and Trent Miles (Indiana State) were former assistant coaches under Hill who are current head coaches.
Five Hill assistants are coaching in the NFL and six others in coordinator roles at prominent schools: Jim McElwain (offensive coordinator, Alabama), Andy Ludwig (offensive coordinator, Cal), Ruffin McNeal (defensive coordinator, Texas Tech), Frank Cignetti (offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh), Doug Nussmeier (offensive coordinator, Washington) and Andy Buh (defensive coordinator, Stanford).
Hill expects his 2009 team to put the finishing touches on a decade that has already been historic and memorable.
"There is a lot for respect nationally for the Bulldog program," said Hill. "People like our brand of football, our attitude and that we do things the right way. We don't back down and play an aggressive schedule. That's just the part of what they see from a distance. I'd like to think that we are more than that. I believe we are program that's proud of the quality people who've been here and that our Bulldogs will be `difference makers' in our community. We know they will in-turn make our university proud. It's taken some time but the foundation is solid and in place for even bigger and better things to come."
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