Matt Entz may be coaching at Fresno State, but the backing behind him sounds anything but small-time.
With Fresno set to face USC this Friday, the spotlight will only get brighter on a program operating outside the Football Bowl Subdivision’s top tier. Still, USA TODAY Sports reports that Entz has the support - and the money - from Fresno State leadership and football donors to push the Bulldogs forward.
Athletic director Garrett Klassy, whose background includes Alabama and Houston in upper-cabinet roles, is driving the push with his “Valley Co-Op” vision. That plan has Entz pointing to a “quadrupled” monetary investment into the roster, while Klassy says the program’s reach should be tied directly to the San Joaquin Valley and its 3 million residents and agricultural roots.
“I needed coaches, I needed more boots on the street, for lack of a better term, because it couldn't just be myself, it couldn't just be our Bulldog Foundation staff out there,' Klassy says of the program, which he relates to the San Joaquin Valley’s 3 million residents and agricultural roots. 'And the coaches, it's really resonated with the coaches, and we do have a lot of supporters that give to multiple programs.
There's two areas where we can make up ground on the rest of the league and that's philanthropic giving. And that's corporate sponsorship, and so we need to grow those immensely.
And we're going to announce a record fundraising year, which is $5 million more annually than it was the previous year. Corporate sponsorships with the jersey patches are almost across the finish line; we should be up $2 to $3 million in that area.
Now that doesn't make a big difference in the SEC or Big Ten, but that makes a huge difference for us.'
Klassy’s goal is to grow the 4,300-member Valley Co-Op to 7,000 over the next year, another sign of how aggressively Fresno State is trying to widen its support base.
Entz says the school is making a real commitment to football, and he wants that investment to show up where it matters most: on the field.
“'There has been an investment from an administrative standpoint, understanding that we need to have a football program that's good at Fresno State,' said Entz, specifically citing Klassy and Fresno President Dr. Saul Jimenez-Sandoval.
'We have a ton of history and tradition. We're the biggest show in town in the Valley, and people want to see a good product on the field.'”
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