Fresno State cut a new deal for marketing and media rights. Action, like wide receiver Josiah Freeman against San Jose State last year, will now be heard on ESPN Fresno 1430 come this fall. (Fresno State Athletics)
- Fresno State games will air on ESPN Radio 1430 AM starting this fall.
- Bulldog Sports Enterprises, with former Bulldog football star Chris Pacheco serving as president, will control media rights and sponsorships.
- The move comes ahead of Fresno State joining the Pac-12 on July 1.
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Fresno State sports are changing radio stations and the way the school will sell its media rights.
Football and all other sports will air on ESPN Radio 1430 AM starting in the fall, with the school’s media rights now controlled by a newly formed company, Bulldog Sports Enterprises, in partnership with Fresno State.
Chris Pacheco, owner of Fat Dawgs Broadcasting — which owns ESPN Radio Fresno with signals on 1430 and 790 AM — will serve as president of BSE. Other Fat Dawgs executives will have roles with BSE.
Pacheco said he plans to retain Paul Loeffler as the voice of the Bulldogs.
“We worked together for 10 years previously, and I’m excited to have Paul and Coach (Pat Hill) and the team back. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Pacheco, a former Bulldogs star defensive lineman and longtime university booster.
The five-year deal is part of a larger partnership giving Fresno State athletics more control over its media rights and sponsorships. The move coincides with Fresno State’s move to the Pac-12 Conference on July 1.
A New Partnership for Rights, Sponsorships
BSE replaces Bulldog Sports Properties, the local unit of Learfield Communications, a national company that held the media rights for Bulldogs sports since 2004. Football and other Bulldog sports had aired on stations owned by iHeartMedia, including PowerTalk 96.7 and Fox Sports 1340 in Fresno, for the last five years. Games aired on the Fat Dawgs stations from 2013 through the spring of 2021.
“This is not something that is a detriment to our growth. This is something that can be a competitive advantage,” Fresno State Athletics Director Garrett Klassy said.
The goal of BSE is to increase revenues in areas such as corporate sponsorships, ticketing and premium seating, and athlete name image and likeness. Net profit share will be split 80% for Fresno State and 20% for BSE for most assets. Field logos and jersey patches would be a 90/10 split.
Klassy said several companies bid for the Fresno State rights.
“We want to lead. We’re Fresno State. We don’t just rest on our laurels, sit back and wait for things to happen. We go out and we attack,” Klassy said.
Klassy said there are benefits to partnering with locals.
“I’m not signing a 15-year deal — the president’s not signing a deal — with companies that don’t believe in Fresno State. We’re done taking 50 cents on the dollar. I inherited some revenue contracts here that are just horrendous,” Klassy said.
A New College Sports Model
Klassy said the “old model” of college athletics no longer worked.
“We want to lead. We’re Fresno State. We don’t just rest on our laurels, sit back and wait for things to happen. And we go out and we attack,” Klassy said.
Klassy wants to run BSE “like a pro sports model,” where sponsors and benefactors only have to meet with one entity.
“We believe Fresno State should control its brand, its assets, and its future. One thing that I’ve been very stern about in my 30-plus years in college athletics is that. I believe a university’s most valuable asset is its intellectual property,” Klassy said.
Pacheco said BSE will “do things differently.”
“We’re going to build this the right way. Valley first, Fresno State first. That means being more connected to the community, working with businesses that believe in this place, creating partnerships that have meaning and provide value,” said Pacheco.
Klassy also made a pitch to local businesses to join in. He said with the new Pac-12 deal, football games will be visible in more homes. More men’s and women’s basketball games will be on national TV.
“If you own a business and you don’t have an allegiance to Fresno State, I guarantee your customers do,” Klassy said.
Future of the Football Stadium
Klassy said BSE will help with the future of naming rights and the future of the stadium itself.
“I don’t know at this point what the future looks like for our football stadium, but I do know that we’re working on it daily,” Klassy said.
That includes naming rights. Klassy emphasized he is not trying to replace Valley Children’s Hospital — which is in the middle of a 10-year, $10 million deal to name the stadium through 2032.
“The reality is that naming rights, not just for a stadium or the areas around it, are critical to the financial piece of getting something built or renovated,” Klassy said.
Klassy was critical of long-term deals.
“We have to control the flexibility so we have that financial freedom in the future,” Klassy said.
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