Fresno State names interim athletics director, forms basketball coach search committee

Fresno State will have some deep Bulldogs roots on the search committee for its next basketball coach, but it could be traveling down a road it has twice before with suspect results in hiring a coach before an athletics director.

Justin Hutson, who was let go March 14 following the Bulldogs’ exit in the quarterfinal round the Mountain West Conference Tournament, was hired by an interim athletics director. He had two winning seasons in six years, finishing 92-94, and did not make the NCAA Tournament.

Steve Cleveland, who cleaned up a messy program mired in academic and off-court problems, was hired by an acting athletics director. He had one winning season in six years, finished 92-98, and did not make the tournament.

But university President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said the priority was the student-athletes and letting them know that the athletics program is moving forward, has momentum and that he has their backs.

“I’m stabilizing basketball very soon,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “I want the best possible coach and the best possible coach has very concrete characteristics. That person has to be able to manage multiple things at the same time and not crack, including (Name, Image, Likeness).

“What do we do about NIL? How do you manage NIL and fundraising for the team at the same time? Then, how do you set a tone and a vision for the entire team to believe in itself and be consistent with itself?”

Fresno State is in the market for both positions, after ditching Hutson and then on Thursday reaching a mutual separation with athletics director Terry Tumey.

Rob Acunto, who was hired as deputy athletics director last August, will serve as interim athletics director.

Campus search committee selected

Acunto also is on the campus search committee that will meet with Jiménez-Sandoval for the first time on Friday. Also on that committee are former Bulldogs Rod Higgins and Jervis Cole, women’s water polo coach Natalie Benson, former Fresno State assistant and NBA scout Dave Severns, Fresno State associate athletics director Steve Reid, professor Victor Torres and Rob Saroyan, president of the Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation.

The university also has hired Parker Executive Search to assist with the search.

Jiménez-Sandoval is in the process of putting together a campus search committee for the athletics director search. A search firm will be hired, as well.

Perhaps a third time will be the charm, hiring a coach before an athletics director. But it could be a risky proposition given the importance of the working relationship, especially at Fresno State, which struggles with a lack of revenue and ranks ninth of 10 among public schools in the Mountain West in operating expenses.

It did not work well with Hutson and Tumey, their relationship deteriorating as Hutson got deeper into his contract without any progress toward an extension.

The law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, which investigated allegations of potential NCAA rules violations and other misconduct by Hutson and the Bulldogs’ coaching staff, included that relationship as an “element of consideration.”

“Some witnesses, including coaches, some student-athletes and one administrator, who observed the interactions between Tumey and Hutson described their perception of an evolving deterioration of meaningful communication between Tumey and Hutson,” it wrote, in its investigation report.



Other witnesses who were interviewed, however, felt the root of the problem was that the head coach was not strong in his planning, structure, communication and vision for the program.

This story was originally published March 22, 2024 at 10:04 AM.