Fresno State yesterday introduced Terry Tumey as its new AD, and he said that he is "well aware of the challenges ahead and unconcerned about the history of the position that he has accepted," according to Robert Kuwada of the FRESNO BEE. Tumey said that high on the to-do list was to "fill a development position that has been vacant for the past six months." He also must "get into the community and jolt a fan base that barely paid attention last football season when coach Jeff Tedford was resurrecting a program that was 1-11 just one year earlier." The team "did not break 30,000" in attendance in four of six home games. Those who have worked with Tumey said that they are "confident that he can lead an athletic department" that in '17-18 will need $2M from the university to "cover a budget deficit" and in '18-19 will be receiving close to $20M in university support. Just to "make budget" in '18-19, Fresno State's athletics department needed another $1.6M in support, bringing the total to $19.1M. While university support "has skyrocketed" to $19.9M in '17-18 and the budgeted $19.1M in '18-19, "donations to the program have remained relatively flat" (FRESNO BEE, 6/26).
MAN BEHIND IT ALL: In Fresno, Marek Warszawski writes school President Joseph Castro has "done an excellent job" since taking the position in May '13. Castro's leadership is "reflected in Fresno State's rise in university rankings." However, the same "cannot be said about the state of Bulldogs athletics, which continues to take on water as fan interest declines and fundraising remains tepid." It was "Castro's decision to hire" former AD Jim Bartko, who the university is now "embroiled in a very public and potentially costly lawsuit" with. That uncertainty is why "so many candidates took one look at the Bulldogs opening and passed" (FRESNO BEE, 6/26).
