Matt Entz is coaching at Fresno State, not Ohio State. He is coaching in the Football Bowl Subdivision's lower realm, not in its top tier, a point which will be magnified when Fresno State faces USC this Friday. Yet, as USA TODAY Sports reports, Entz is getting major investments and backing from his bosses and Fresno State football donors.
"Entz also is embracing the vision of his athletic director, Garrett Klassy, whose previous experience includes Alabama and Houston in upper-cabinet roles. Klassy’s vision for Fresno’s “Valley Co-Op” has Entz touting a “quadrupled” monetary investment into the Bulldogs’ football roster and sees Klassy linking it to the region.
“'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 envisions the 4,300-member Valley Co-Op swelling to 7,000 across the next year.
"Entz, meanwhile, wants Fresno football to live up to its billing as the region’s top draw.
“'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.'”
Contact/Follow @TrojansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of USC Trojans news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Matt Entz has full support and financial backing from Fresno State
