New Fresno State AD Garrett Klassy has "a lot of key projects waiting for him" when he officially takes over on July 23, according to Robert Kuwada of the FRESNO BEE. The most obvious is the largest -- Valley Children’s Stadium, and “what to do with a broken down venue long overdue for renovation," but there are “smaller items that can be attacked immediately” and if completed would “set the Bulldogs’ 18 sports programs collectively on a better course.” Kuwada notes the "single largest source" of athletics revenue at Fresno State has been the university. Kuwada: "Will it continue to cut back institutional support to athletics, which was slashed to $15.5 million in 2022-23 from $18.2 million the previous year?" The Save Mart Center has been “draining the life out of Fresno State basketball since" opening in 2003. The athletics department “receives no revenue from signage, suite leases, parking or concession sales” and pays for use of the arena. It does receive revenue from ticket sales, but “interest in the Bulldogs’ basketball programs has been on a steady decline.” Fresno State has two years remaining on its apparel contract with Adidas, which is worth an average of $1.275M per year. That deal was signed under former AD Terry Tumey and is “more than double the value of the athletics department’s long-standing deal with Nike” and ranks in the “top half of the Mountain West Conference.” The contract runs through the end of May in 2026 and Adidas has “rights of first dealing and first refusal between April 1 and June 30 in 2025" (FRESNO BEE, 6/29).
