Fresno State’s new message, approach to sports fundraising paid off with $1M gift

Fresno State received a $1 million gift for its football program as its athletics department hones a fund-raising approach that athletics director Garrett Klassy says resonates better with Valley boosters in an era of revenue-sharing with student-athletes and third-party Name, Image and Likeness payments.

The donation from Jami Hamel DeLaCerda, founder and president of the Diamond Learning Center in Clovis, supports football operations, which does include recruiting and retaining players. The fundraising approach that resulted in the gift was not a direct pitch for making payments to players through revenue-sharing, which could be a tough sell for some donors, Klassey says.

“For us, I talk about the traditionalists in college athletics not believing in revenue sharing,” Klassy said. “I think it’s different in a region like the Valley, too, where a lot of people have worked in agriculture, or blue collar jobs, or they’ve made money with their own two hands, and so I don’t believe that message resonates with them.

“The message we want to put out there is we want you to invest in student-athlete recruitment, retention and development, and if you give to the sports programs, let us decide how we want to invest those resources as best we can. I don’t want our coaches out there, and I don’t want our fund raisers out there, saying we need ‘X’ to keep this player. That doesn’t resonate with this group. They don’t want to hear about us paying players. The reality is, it’s happening, but that message doesn’t need to come from us, because we have enough other areas that we can fund to make sure we’re fielding a winning team.”

By donating to a program, in general, whether football or another of the 18 sports on campus, coaches can direct money to nutrition, staffing, or recruiting and retention. Fresno State has several revenue gaps to close, between it and some of its rivals in a rebuilding Pac-12.

One of those expenses: Food. Fresno State is competitive within a rebuilding Pac-12 in non-travel student-athlete meals for its football program, spending more than $883,000 last year, according to the revenue and expenses report the university filed with the NCAA. That is more than San Diego State ($732,192) and within $100,000 of Oregon State ($971,002) and Boise State ($909,342). It’s also a bill that is getting larger year after year. In contrast, Fresno State spent a little more than $700,000 on non-travel meals for its football program in 2019.

9,000 calories a day include hefty price tag

“We’re making sure the things that impact our players on a daily basis are going to be the priority for us right now, taking care of the large ticket items that are in our operations budget,” coach Matt Entz told The Bee. “That’s travel, food. Travel is one of those things you have to do – you don’t really get to decide what your schedule is, the conference sends it out and it is what it is.

“But from a nutrition standpoint, we’ve told people that in-season we’re talking anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 calories a day and out-of-season anywhere between 7,000 to 9,000 calories a day. If we want to look like a Pac-12 team, we need to make sure we’re positioned that way from a physical development standpoint as well.”

Hamel DeLaCerda, following a press conference in which she detailed a long history with Fresno State and its athletics teams, going back to when she was a student on the Bulldogs’ club bowling team, said she didn’t think athletics officials would have approached her strictly about revenue-sharing with student-athletes. The focus is much wider. Development is a critical piece for Hamel DeLaCerda, who in 2005 opened the Diamond Learning Center, which offers educational and life skills services for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

“She gave this gift,” Klassy said, “because she cares about people.”

“I don’t know a lot about (revenue sharing). I know about what’s in my heart and that’s what I went with,” Hamel DeLaCerda said. “I’m a people person and when I connect with someone or an organization, it’s long term. I’m a loyal person. I’m all in. I have been ever since Aug. 7, 1985, when I took my first class at Fresno State.”

Klassy is counting on that, as Fresno State tries to close a funding gap with its peers moving to the Pac-12. Since the donation by Hamel DeLaCerda, the athletics department has received another $400,000 in matching gifts, according to the Bulldogs’ athletics director.

“We are different at Fresno State,” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit it. We have to approach things differently. I think for too long college athletics have had a herd mentality, and anyone who has been in private business will tell you if you think like your competitors you’re never going to get ahead. I just think the message has to be different.

“But, now that they can donate directly to the school and we can put that toward areas that are going to make an impact. At the end of the day, I would think most people would want to be able to trust Matt Entz. If they write a check to Matt Entz, Matt Entz knows how best to run his enterprise, and as long as we’re being transparent and letting the donor know where those funds are going, we hope that helps us move forward.”

This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 5:30 AM.