As Fresno State looks to new revenue as it joins Pac-12, the fan base is coming through
Fresno State is facing revenue challenges as it moves toward the Pac-12 Conference, which will be its home starting in 2026. As athletics director Garrett Klassy and his staff mine new revenue sources, an old brick-and-mortar building block continues to show promising signs for the Bulldogs.
With three home games to go, including a Homecoming matchup on Saturday against San Jose State, Fresno State already is ahead of a modest revenue projection for football ticket sales in its 2024 budget.
It could come close or even surpass football ticket revenue from last season despite factors that worked against it, including the retirement of coach Jeff Tedford in July and a schedule that lacks a marquee opponent that would suggest an automatic sellout.
“I’ve been transparent since Day One,” Klassy said. “The reason that the Pac-12 invited us to become members into the conference is based on the people in the valley and at Fresno State. That’s the fans. That’s the coaching staff. That’s the student-athletes. That’s the alumni. That’s always what has made the valley special.
“I’ve been blown away by the passion of this fan base. I always knew it was a very strong fan base, but now that I’ve been able to live it for the past three months, they’re second to none. We might not have the number of fans that a SEC or Big Ten school has, but our fans are just as passionate and they care just as much.”
Fresno State a year ago reported $5.3 million in football ticket sales revenue, its highest in eight seasons. That does not include revenue from suite sales, which adds around $500,000 to the athletics budget every year.
It has been a sustained growth, year after year. In 2017, Fresno State averaged just 30,632 for its six home football games. Last season, it was 39,067. In that time, football ticket revenue has increased by about $1.5 million. And, this season, it is 40,380 and the Bulldogs have a chance to lead all Group of Five conference programs in attendance for a second year in a row. The Bulldogs game against San Jose State will be the 18th in a row with attendance at 35,000 or more, their longest streak since 2008.
“We’ve left no stone unturned in our efforts to make home football games the can’t miss events in the Valley each fall,” said Frank Pucher, senior associate athletics director for external relations. “We’ve utilized new technologies and a content-driven approach to engage fans, and prospective fans, across all segments and demographics of our community and this passionate Red Wave has responded incredibly well.”
Among the five Mountain West schools headed to the Pac-12 in 2026, the $5.3 million in football ticket revenue ranked third behind Boise State ($6.1 million) and San Diego State ($5.7 million), and well ahead of Colorado State ($3.6 million) and Utah State ($1.5 million).
Fresno State still has a long way to go to close the gap on athletics revenue and spending, and the Pac-12 will have a minimum investment level in 2026 when the Bulldogs join the conference. In what neighborhood it will land has not yet been a pressing topic of discussion with the conference focused on adding at least one more football-playing member to reach the minimum eight schools required to be recognized as a FBS (football bowl subdivision) league, and maximizing a media rights deal that will be a critical revenue source for all of its membership.
It could end up in the mid- to high- $60 million range or higher, though, and that would be a challenge for Fresno State, which in 2023 trailed all but one of the schools tied to the Pac-12 rebuild in athletics expenditures by a considerable margin. Fresno State in 2023-24 reported $48.9 million in revenue and $51.7 million in expenses.
But Klassy said that he is confident Fresno State can meet that spending level.
Fresno State is looking at potentially monetizing athletics facilities on campus through concerts or athletics events, at increased signage and licensing revenue.
“By any metric that you look at, we’re going to have one of the smallest operating budgets in the new Pac-12,” Klassy said. “We’re aware of that. I was hired here for my background in revenue generation and I think we have a distinct advantage here. We can press on some new revenue opportunities.
“I’ve told everybody this. This is the start of the journey. We’re not sitting around celebrating that we made the Pac-12. We have to understand we’re at the bottom of the mountain. We have to keep climbing to the top. I think because of the people in the valley and the coaches we’ve had here, we have covered up a lot of our deficiencies for a long time, primarily facilities. We’re going to work really hard to create new revenue streams and create a championship experience for our student athletes.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 10:08 AM.