A CENTURY OF THE RED WAVE RISING
A timeline of historical moments and milestones that shaped Fresno State athletics
By Eddie Hughes
It all started with an extraordinary vision. A community of hardworking people thirsty for an identity latched on to a growing University. As the student body grew, the fan base grew along with it.
These Bulldogs brought a sense of pride this humble Valley had never before seen. An energy so infectious
that everyone wanted to be a part of it. The Red Wave was born.
Fueled by Bulldog spirit, inspired by legends and uniting us all like nothing else can, athletics became the front porch that introduced thousands to the University.
It wasn’t an overnight success. It took years — decades even — to nurture and mature. Like the crops of our fertile Valley, seeds were nurtured into a fruitful harvest. While the bar was being raised for Dutch Warmerdam’s world-record pole vaults, so too was the bar for what’s possible within the “sleeping giant” that is Fresno State athletics.
And that story is still evolving. This year, we celebrate 100 years of Fresno State athletics. But our story is far from over, and now is not the time to rest. With continued bold thinking and an entire Valley of support, there’s no telling what is yet to come.
Here are 100 moments and milestones that have helped shape Fresno State athletics in its first 100 years:
1911
1 – On Sept. 11, Fresno State Normal School (pictured above) opened its doors.
1921
2 – The Bulldogs football team (pictured above) began competition. Led by coach Arthur W. Jones, the Bulldogs finished with a record of 2-4.
3 – The Bulldogs men’s basketball team began competition, finishing with a record of 6-5.
4 – Student body president Warren Moody and friends were continually greeted on campus by a white bulldog. Soon students were bringing the nameless pooch to football games. Arids Walker made the motion to adopt the nickname in a student body meeting. On Nov. 21, the Morning Republican first referred to Fresno State as the Bulldogs.
1922
5 – The baseball team (pictured above) began competition. Coached by Arthur W. Jones, the team finished 2-2.
1926
6 – Fresno State Stadium, now known as Ratcliffe Stadium, was dedicated on Oct. 9 on the campus
of what is now Fresno City College.
1929
7 – Hurdler Charles Kaster set a West Coast Relays record in the college class, finishing with a time of 14.5 seconds.
1934
8 – High jumper Walter Marty (pictured above) became the first Fresno State athlete to win an NCAA title with a mark of 6 feet, 8¾ inches. In 1933-34, he set three world records, including a jump of 6 feet, 91/8 inches.
9 – Fresno State adopted its fight song, “Fight Varsity” — “Go ’Dogs go, fight ’Dogs fight, goooooo ’Dogs!”
1935
10 – Fresno State’s first live mascot, a white purebred bulldog, was introduced to fans under the name, “Touchdown” (pictured below).
11 – Elroy Robinson won the NCAA and AAU title in the half-mile before setting world records in 1937 in a 1,000-yard race and the 800 meters and 880 yards.
1940
12 – Few, if any, athletes have ever dominated an event like Cornelius “Dutch” Warmerdam (pictured above) did the pole vault in the 1940s. He topped the world record by more than eight inches, reaching 15 feet, 7¾ inches outdoors in 1942 – a record that stood for 15 years.
Warmerdam was a self-taught pole vaulter who grew up in Hanford, vaulting in his backyard with the limb of a peach tree. He was voted as the top pole vaulter of the 20th century and the greatest track and field athlete of all-time in a 1955 United Press International poll. In 2000, he was named USA Track and Field’s American Pole Vaulter of the Century, and in 2001 — just seven months before his death at age 86 — he was voted by Fresno State fans as the Bulldogs’ Athlete of the Century.
1941
13 – Fresno State’s baseball park (later named Euless Park) opened east of Ratcliffe Stadium on what is now the Fresno City College campus.
14 – Two-time All-American Jack Mulkey (wide receiver/defensive back) became the first Bulldogs football player ever selected in the NFL Draft, chosen in the 15th round by the Chicago Bears.
1942
15 – Jackie Fellows’ 21 touchdown passes led the nation and earned the 5-foot-6 quarterback first-team All-America honors.
1943
16 – There was no football or basketball season in 1943-44 because of World War II.
1950
17 – The Bulldog Foundation was created to support student-athlete scholarships. Today, about $8 million per year is required to provide scholarships to about 400 student-athletes.
18 – Ground was broken on the new Fresno State campus (Shaw/Cedar) on Oct. 17 — five miles east of the old campus (which is now Fresno City College).
The Nickname Bulldogs is Born
Legend has it that in 1921 student body President Warren Moody and friends were continually greeted on campus by a white bulldog. Soon, students were bringing the nameless pooch to football games, and Arids Walker made the motion to adopt the nickname in a student body meeting. On Nov. 21, the Morning Republican first referred to Fresno State as the Bulldogs.
But there was no official mascot until 1935, when a white, purebred bulldog named Touchdown was introduced.
In the mid-1950s, Moose debuted on the sidelines. But tragedy struck in 1958 after a game against College of the Pacific when Moose escaped his student keeper’s grasp and ran under the wheels of the visitors’ rooters train.
Upon hearing the news, the Marine Corps donated Moose II, who was later succeeded by Diamond. Moose III, described as “a shy version of [Fresno State’s] ferocious mascot” lived to be 13, but retired in 1973 after 10 years in the role because he feared the cannon that celebrated Bulldogs touchdowns. Moosifour was donated in 1973, but attracted little enthusiasm during a time when campus turmoil upstaged student spirit.
Fresno State’s first costumed-character mascot debuted in the 1970s. The first was a gray fur suit with a papier mache bulldog head and a large, round dog tag that read “Scooby.”
In 1981, student Gary Johns designed the familiar gray and white TimeOut costume with a lighter Fiberglas head, and student Charles Mugredechian was the first to wear the outfit. To this day, TimeOut has been
a fixture at games and community events. In 2007, a trimmer, more athletic, brown-colored costume was introduced but was promptly rejected by fans and was replaced the next year by a more traditional TimeOut.
In the 1980s football coach Jim Sweeney revived the live mascot tradition, purchasing Halftime. But the tradition faded again until 2006 when Victor E. Bulldog was introduced after a tryout that included more than 90 bulldogs. Beloved by fans, he succumbed to cancer in 2012 at age 8. Victor E. Bulldog II debuted Sept. 15, 2012, and tragically died from a bee sting before turning 3 years old.
In June 2015, Victor E. Bulldog III took the helm, and has been adored by the community since. His “Victor E. lap” will begin in spring 2022 as the University begins its search for Victor E. Bulldog IV.
1952
19 – Led by Satoshi “Fibber” Hirayama’s (pictured right) school-record 71 career steals, baseball made its first
of 34 NCAA Tournament appearances.
1954
20 – Men’s gymnasium (now known as North Gym) opened.
1956
21 – Women’s gymnasium (now South Gym) opened.
1959
22 – Baseball made its first College World Series appearance.
1961
23 – Football beat Bowling Green in Mercy Bowl fundraiser for Cal Poly players who died in plane crash.
1964
24 – Track and field won the NCAA College Division national championship. Darel Newman (pictured right) won the 100-yard College Division championship.
Track and Field National Champs
On June 12-13, 1964, at Ratcliffe Stadium, coach Dutch Warmerdam led a 15-man squad to Fresno State’s first team national championship in any sport. Competing in the College Division prior to Fresno State’s Division I days, the team scored 85 points, well ahead of second-place Long Beach State (57), Cal Poly (40), College of the Redlands (37), North Carolina (30) and Ohio State (26).
Sid Nickolas won the 120-yard high hurdles and the long jump, while finishing third in the triple jump. Two-time All-American Charles Craig took first in the triple jump at 51 feet, 9¼ inches. The “Bald Bullet” Darel Newman won the 100-yard dash in 9.3 seconds, while teammates Sam Workman and Marvin Bryant each clocked 9.4 seconds. Workman also took fourth place in the 220 yards.
The team of Bryant, Nickolas, Workman and Newman also won the 440-yard relay. The team also picked up points in the 3-mile with a fourth-place finish from Howard “Spike” Biggers and a sixth-place finish from Rick Dahlgren. Bill Allen finished sixth in the pole vault.
Following the meet, the Bulldogs who finished in the top six of their events were invited to face the rest of the nation’s top teams in the NCAA University Division Championships in Eugene, Oregon. There, they finished third overall in the team standings, led by Craig’s triple jump national championship.
25 – Charles Craig set the NCAA triple jump record (College Division champion).
1965
26 – Varsity Field (now Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium) opened for Bulldogs baseball.
27 – Women’s volleyball and women’s basketball (pictured right) began competition.
1967
28 – Pitcher Larry Gonsalves (pictured right) threw a perfect game (no hits, no walks) vs. Cal Poly, one of just 24 perfect games in NCAA history.
1968
29 – Wrestler Mike Gallego (pictured above-right) won the Division I national championship at 171 pounds. He compiled a 47-1 career record.
30 – The men’s tennis team won the Division II national championship with a win over Cal State Los Angeles in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tennis Wins National Title
The 1968 Fresno State tennis team won the Division II national championship with a win over Cal State Los Angeles in Fort Worth, Texas. The team also won its first California Collegiate Athletic Association title that year, under coach Richard Murray.
In 1971, Fresno State tennis began competing at the Division I level. In 1979, the women’s tennis team was established.
While women’s tennis remains a varsity sport at Fresno State, the men’s program was discontinued because of ongoing financial challenges that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The men’s tennis program, led by coach Luke Shields, claimed its first Mountain West championship in 2019.
1969
31 – Fresno State joined the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
1972
32 – Title IX was enacted on June 23, providing women and men with equitable sports opportunities.
33 – Fresno State College renamed California State University, Fresno (or more commonly Fresno State).
1977
34 – “Stadium Builders”: Led by defensive backs Dean Jones and Bob Glazebrook, the 1977 football team reeled off eight straight wins to close the season at 9-2 and was dubbed the “Stadium Builders,” sparking momentum for the team to move from Ratcliffe Stadium to Bulldog Stadium, which broke ground in 1979 (pictured above).
1980
35 – The first-ever game at Bulldog Stadium (pictured above) took place on Nov. 15, a 21-14 win over Montana State.
1981
36 – The Fresno Bee’s Ron Orozco coined the term Red Wave for the Fresno State fan base on Jan. 17 (pictured below).
37 – Fresno State’s costumed mascot TimeOut was introduced. Students performing as TimeOut are eligible for an annual $2,000 scholarship through the Bulldog Pride Fund.
1982
38 – The men’s basketball team was ranked as high as No. 11 nationally and made its first Sweet 16 appearance (pictured above).
‘Grant’s Tomb’
In the early 1980s, the newly coined Red Wave flooded into Selland Arena for Fresno State men’s basketball games. With coach Boyd Grant leading the program to new heights, the arena was lovingly nicknamed “Grant’s Tomb.” But it was what they did beyond the Valley that got the nation’s attention.
First it was the 1981-82 season, when the Bulldogs finished 27-3 (13-1) to win the Pacific Coast Athletic Association title. Led by Rod Higgins, they advanced to the NCAA Tournament, opening with a 50-46 win over West Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history before being eliminated by Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown.
In 1982-83, the “Bookend Forwards” Ron Anderson and Bernard Thompson – along with point guard Tyrone Bradley — led Fresno State to an National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship that garnered attention across the country. About 1,500 Red Wavers made the trip to New York to see the Bulldogs win at Madison Square Garden – during an era in which the NCAA Tournament included just 32 teams and the NIT was more competitive than ever. The Bulldogs beat UTEP, Michigan State and Oregon State before heading to New York, where they defeated Wake Forest and DePaul for the title. Thousands of fans gathered on campus for a historical celebration upon the team’s return to Fresno (pictured left).
That fanfare carried over to 1983-84, when the Bulldogs and their “Bookend Forwards” knocked off No. 3 Houston (and star Akeem Olajuwon) 68-61 and No. 5 UNLV 68-43. After beating UNLV again to win the PCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs earned an NCAA Tournament berth, losing to Karl Malone’s Louisiana Tech team in the opening round.
1983
39 – A student-athlete facility opened near Bulldog Stadium; named for benefactor Robert “Bob” Duncan in 1986. The Duncan Building now houses football locker rooms, coaches’ offices, meeting rooms and more.
40 – Men’s basketball won the NIT championship at Madison Square Garden; before being welcomed home with a parade (pictured right).
1984
41 – Coach Leilani Overstreet (pictured right) led the volleyball team to its first NCAA Tournament, where it tied for fifth place after defeating UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
42 – Men’s water polo ranked a program-best sixth nationally, and ranked eighth the following year before winning a Big West Conference title in 1990.
43 – John Hoover was named the NCAA Pitcher of the Year, setting an NCAA record with 19 complete games. He also held the NCAA record with 42 career complete games, and the school record of 44 career wins.
1985
44 – Olympian Ruth Lawanson (pictured below).
Lawanson Becomes First Female Athlete to Have Jersey Retired
All-American Ruth Lawanson became the first female athlete in Fresno State history to have her jersey number retired on Jan. 21, 1985, at the volleyball team’s awards banquet.
On Nov. 9, 2019, she was further honored when her No. 15 jersey was ceremoniously raised to the rafters in the Save Mart Center, the arena the Bulldogs volleyball team now calls home.
Lawanson, the 1984-85 Fresno State Athlete of the Year, led the Bulldogs to a program-record 26 wins during her senior season in 1984, and she remains the program’s career leader in hitting percentage.
The Nigeria native went on to compete in Major League Volleyball, earning Player of the Year honors in 1988 before helping Team USA to a bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
1986
45 – Men’s soccer advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
46 – On Nov. 22, during the first half against Utah State, quarterback Kevin Sweeney (pictured above) connected on an 11-yard pass to Stephen Baker to become the NCAA’s all-time passing leader, breaking Doug Flutie’s record from Boston College. Sweeney finished with 10,623 yards (10,808 including bowl games).
1987
47 – Wendy Martell (pictured above) became the first women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired after becoming the first All-American in program history with a school-record 1,595 points (which now ranks fifth all-time). Her No. 34 jersey was later raised into the Save Mart Center rafters in 2020.
48 – Under coach Jose Elgorriaga (pictured above), who was also a Spanish professor on campus, men’s soccer achieved the school’s first No. 1 national ranking in any Division I sport. On Sept. 27, an NCAA-record 12,224 fans watched the Bulldogs host San Francisco.
49 – Olympian Lacy Barnes-Mileham earns third straight NCAA runner-up in discus.
50 – Doug Fraley (pictured above) won the NCAA indoor and outdoor national championships in pole vault with a record-mark of 18-feet, 11 inches. He also won the 1986 indoor national title.
1988
51 – Baseball won a school-record 32 straight games and was ranked No. 1 nationally before advancing to its second College World Series. PCAA Player of the Year Lance Shebelut set a school record with 32 home runs.
52 – The PCAA became the Big West Conference.
1989
53 – Three baseball players were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft: outfielder Steve Hosey (14th overall, Giants), shortstop Eddie Zosky (19th, Blue Jays) and Tom Goodwin (22nd, Dodgers).
54 – Tom Goodwin (pictured right) led the NCAA in stolen bases for the second straight year. The 14-year Major Leaguer holds Fresno State’s all-time record with 164 stolen bases. He also won a gold medal as the youngest member of Team USA at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
1990
55 – Men’s golf placed fifth in the NCAA championships, the school’s highest-ever finish. Mike Watney coached 29 All-Americans, including David and Kevin Sutherland, and won 12 conference championships in 34 years leading the program before he retired in 2013.
56 – J.D. Williams became Fresno State’s first, first-round NFL Draft pick (16th overall, Buffalo Bills).
1991
57 – Two-time All-American men’s soccer player Gerrell Elliott was named the NCAA player of the year. He was Fresno State’s career leader in goals (54) and points (136).
58 – Pitcher Bobby Jones was named NCAA Player of the Year with a 16-2 record and 1.88 ERA. He had an NCAA-record 166 strikeouts and led the Diamond ’Dogs to their third College World Series.
1992
59 – Gene “Red” Estes (pictured above) took over as track and field coach in 1980 after Dutch Warmerdam retired, and Estes led the Bulldogs to 10 straight conference championships from 1983-92.
60 – Fresno State joined the Western Athletic Conference.
61 – Fresno State defeated No. 23 USC 24-7 in the Freedom Bowl (pictured above).
Let Freedom Ring
In 1992, Fresno State won a share of the WAC title in its first year in the conference, earning a trip to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim to face No. 23 USC. Led by coach Jim Sweeney, quarterback Trent Dilfer (pictured above) and fullback Lorenzo Neal, the Bulldogs beat USC 24-7 and woke up the next morning to see this Los Angeles Times headline: “Fresno teaches USC Humility 101.” The Red Wave made up about 30,000 of the 50,745 fans in attendance on that rainy Dec. 29 evening.
1993
62 – Wrestling finished eighth in the NCAA team championship under coach Dennis DeLiddo (pictured below), who led the team for 24 years before retiring in 2005. DeLiddo coached 55 individual conference champions and 27 All-Americans. His career dual meet record was 304-165-3.
1995
63 – Men’s basketball hired Jerry Tarkanian, (pictured above) an alumnus who at the time was the winningest coach in NCAA history. He led the Bulldogs to six straight 20-win seasons and seven postseason appearances from 1995-2002, including NCAA Tournament berths in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
1996
64 – Bulldog Diamond (pictured above) opened as the largest on-campus softball stadium in the nation (renamed Margie Wright Diamond in 2014).
65 – Women’s tennis made its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
66 – Men’s tennis went 23-5 and ranked No. 6 in the nation. Sophomore Fredrick Bergh advanced to the NCAA singles championship match.
67 – Softball star Laura Berg (pictured above, far right) made her first of four Olympics appearances as an outfielder for Team USA. She was the only softball player ever to medal four times as a player, earning gold in 1996, 2000 and 2004, and silver in 2008. She also earned silver as an assistant coach for Team USA in 2021. In 1996, Berg was joined on Team USA by fellow Bulldogs Kim Maher, Martha Noffsinger-O’Kelley, Julie Smith, Shelly Stokes and Margie Wright (assistant coach).
68 – Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium was dedicated in honor of the 19-year coach who retired following the 1996 season. His 143 wins are the most ever by a Bulldogs football coach (pictured above; Coach Sweeney at the trophy case, top, and coaching his son, Kevin Sweeney, below).
1997
69 – When Pat Hill (pictured right) became football coach, he incorporated the Green V into the Bulldogs brand with a decal on the back of the helmets symbolizing the team’s pride in representing the San Joaquin Valley. The color green was selected to signify the importance of agriculture in the region.
70 – All-American pitcher Jeff Weaver set an NCAA postseason record with 21 strikeouts in a win over Texas A&M in the first round of the West Regional at Stanford. Weaver closed his Bulldogs career with a school-record 477 career strikeouts from 1995-97. He was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Tigers (14th overall) and was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
1998
71 – Fresno State (pictured above) defeated Arizona 1-0 on a Nina Lindenberg home run to win its first Women’s College World Series championship, and the first Division I team national title in school history.
Women’s College World Series
Making its 11th Women’s College World Series appearance, Fresno State softball captured its first national championship — and the University’s first Division I team title — with a 1-0 victory over Arizona at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Sophomore pitcher Amanda Scott shut down the Wildcats on three hits and the Bulldogs broke Arizona’s 29-game winning streak when senior second baseman Nina Lindenberg’s sixth-inning home run snapped a string of 52 straight scoreless innings by Arizona pitchers. Scott, Lindenberg and outfielder Laura Berg were all named first-team All-Americans and freshman outfielder Becky Witt was a second-team All-American. Legendary coach Margie Wright had previously led the Bulldogs to three national runner-up finishes before capturing the national championship in Fresno State softball’s 20th season as a varsity sport. At the time, just four other schools had ever won a national title in
the sport.
72 – Melissa Price (pictured below) became the first-ever women’s NCAA pole vaulting champion; repeated in 1999.
1999
73 – The women’s soccer program, established in 1995, won its first WAC title and played in its first NCAA Tournament. The program went on to win WAC championships in 2007 and 2010, and WAC Tournament titles in 2005 and 2008.
74 – Dora Djilianova (pictured above), a native of Bulgaria, became Fresno State’s first All-American in women’s tennis, leading the team to its first WAC championship.
2000
75 – With her 1,345th win, Margie Wright became the winningest coach in NCAA softball history with the Bulldogs’ 1-0 win over Oklahoma on March 5. When she retired in 2012 she had 1,454 wins (1,291 with the Bulldogs) while leading Fresno State to 10 Women’s College World Series appearances.
76 – Men’s basketball standout Courtney Alexander (pictured below) led the nation in scoring with 24.8 points per game and led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years. He became the 13th overall pick in the NBA Draft.
2001
77 – Football rises to No. 8 in the nation after early-season wins at Colorado, vs. Oregon State and at Wisconsin. Quarterback David Carr (pictured above) appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Sept. 17 with the headline: “Fresno? Yep. Unheralded Fresno State is knocking off college football’s big boys.”
78 – Two alumni died in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Todd Beamer (baseball, pictured left) led an anti-terrorist revolt on United Flight 93, which crashed. Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert (football, pictured above) was killed when a hijacked jetliner hit the Pentagon.
2002
79 – Wrestler Stephen Abas (pictured above) won his third straight national championship at 125 pounds. In 2004, he earned an Olympic silver medal representing Team USA in Athens.
80 – Three-time All-American golfer Nick Watney (pictured above) ranked No. 1 nationally in two polls. He went on to earn a No. 9 ranking on the PGA Tour in 2011.
81 – David Carr was drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. Carr was one of three Bulldogs drafted in the first round of major professional sports that year: Melvin Ely (Clippers), Ben Fritz (A’s).
2003
82 – Track and field coach Bob Fraley was featured in a Sports Illustrated column by Rick Reilly after he forfeited his salary to prevent program cuts during a time of budgetary constraints.
83 – The Save Mart Center, the largest on-campus arena on the West Coast, opened as the new home to the men’s basketball team. Volleyball hosted Hawaii in the first athletic event in the arena on Nov. 9, drawing 4,708 fans. On Dec. 5, the first men’s basketball game in the new arena drew 14,309 fans to see the Bulldogs beat Arkansas-Monticello 68-55 behind 27 points from Marcus West.
2008
84 – Women’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, setting off a streak of seven straight appearances in the Big Dance. The Bulldogs claimed four regular season conference titles and six conference tournament titles in that span (pictured above).
85 – Four years after its inaugural season, women’s golf won its first team conference championship, led by Laura Luethke (pictured above), who won the individual WAC title.
86 – Baseball won the College World Series, Fresno State’s first Division I team national championship in a men’s sport.
Underdogs to Wonderdogs
“Cinderella wins a national championship!” Those were the euphoric words of ESPN broadcaster Mike Patrick as Steve Detwiler caught a fly ball to seal Fresno State’s first College World Series baseball title. The Diamond ’Dogs came into that magical season with high hopes and a talented roster, but lost 12 of their first 20 games and needed to win the WAC Tournament just to make the NCAA Regionals. Seeded No. 4 in their four-team region, the Bulldogs beat Long Beach State and San Diego to advance to a Super Regional at Arizona State, where they won two of three games. Fresno State opened the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska with a big win over Rice, before defeating North Carolina twice and Georgia twice to win the national championship.
In Game 3 of the final series vs. Georgia, Detwiler hit two home runs with a torn ligament in his hand and drove in all six runs of the 6-1 victory. Pitcher Justin Wilson struck out nine on four hits over seven innings. Third baseman Tommy Mendonca was named the College World Series MVP, hitting four home runs and 11 RBI while flashing impeccable defense throughout the tournament. The win marked Fresno State’s first Division I team national championship in a men’s sport, and was the Bulldogs’ fourth appearance in the College World Series (1959, 1988, 1991, 2008). Coach Mike Batesole was named the NCAA Coach of the Year as the Bulldogs became the lowest seeded team to ever win a championship in any sport.
2009
87 – Led by four-time WAC Player of the Year and two-time All American Melanie Gloria, women’s tennis (pictured below) won its eighth straight WAC championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the fourth consecutive season.
2010
88 – Paul George (pictured above) became the highest NBA Draft pick from Fresno State; going 10th overall (Indiana Pacers).
2011
89 – The Fresno State Aquatics Center opened, becoming home to women’s swimming and diving, and later to women’s water polo when the program debuted in 2018.
2012
90 – Aaron Judge (pictured right) won the NCAA Home Run Derby in Omaha. He was drafted in the first round (32nd overall) by the New York Yankees.
91 – Fresno State joined the Mountain West Conference, and won a share of the football championship in its first year.
2013
92 – Quarterback Derek Carr (pictured above, No. 4) led the nation with a school-record 5,082 passing yards and 50 touchdowns, and sophomore wide receiver Davante Adams (pictured above, No. 15) led the nation with a school-record 24 receiving touchdowns and 131 receptions. The Bulldogs ranked as high as 15th in the nation after a 10-0 start, finishing 11-2 and winning the first-ever Mountain West championship game, which was held at Bulldog Stadium.
2014
93 – Bulldog Diamond was dedicated as Margie Wright Diamond in honor of the longtime coach.
2016
94 – Bob Bennett Stadium was dedicated in honor of the school’s all time winningest baseball coach. Bennett became the seventh coach in NCAA history to reach 1,300 wins, coaching 32 All-Americans and nine first-round MLB draft picks.
95 – Behind all-time leading scorer Marvelle Harris, men’s basketball won its first Mountain West tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years (pictured below).
2018
96 – Football won a program-best 12 games, including wins at UCLA and over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl (pictured above). The Bulldogs beat a ranked Boise State in a snowy, overtime thriller in Boise in the Mountain West championship game, and finished ranked No. 18.
2019
97 – Equestrian (pictured below) finished the pandemic-shortened season ranked No. 4 – its highest-ever national ranking. Early that season, the team rode to three consecutive top 10 wins, defeating No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Baylor within the span of one month.
2020
98 – Multiple sports had their seasons cut short or eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Women’s basketball won the 2019-20 Mountain West Championship.
2021
99 – Baseball coach Mike Batesole (pictured above) earned his 600th win at Fresno State on April 10, making Fresno State the first college baseball program in NCAA history to have three straight coaches reach 600 wins at that school. Bob Bennett and Pete Beiden previously accomplished the feat.
100 – Women’s water polo (pictured above) won the conference tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance while reaching the top 10 of the national rankings.
— Eddie Hughes is senior editor for Fresno State Magazine.
What’s your favorite Bulldog memory?
Whether it’s one we mentioned or one of the many others we didn’t have room for in this issue, share the milestones that stick out to you and we may publish them in the future!
Email magazine@csufresno.edu, message us on Twitter @FresnoState_Mag or on Facebook and Instagram.
