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Now, after five years, there have been significant signs the bridge is as strong as the Golden Gate. After consecutive seasons of seven wins or more and back-to-back bowl appearances, Hill guided the program to unprecedented heights last year – 11 wins, a third consecutive bowl invitation, a top 10 ranking, wins over Wisconsin, Colorado and Oregon State, another record-setting attendance mark and an emergence in the national spotlight. And he is adamant that is just an indication of things to come.
With that great support, it was no surprise that the Bulldogs continued to win at home. FS went 5-1 at home and is 24-4 at Bulldog Stadium since Hill took over prior to the 1997 season, including 18-2 in conference home games. Hill has also taken the Bulldogs to new heights in the Western Athletic Conference. His overall league record of 27-12 is the best in the WAC over the last five seasons. Under Hill, the Bulldogs have never lost more than three conference games in a season.
Hill’s field coaching has drawn rave reviews from sources such as Sports Illustrated, which selected him its 2000 Bowl Coach of the Year, stating: "Fresno State’s Pat Hill kept his players focused after they fell behind Air Force 34-7 in the Silicon Valley Bowl, and when the Bulldogs pulled to within 37-34 he disdained a 33-yard field goal attempt with 14 seconds to go and called for a fake kick. The ensuing pass fell incomplete, but what kid wouldn’t want to play for a coach like that?" His accomplishments are remarkable, considering the rigorous non-conference schedule Fresno State has played since his arrival. In five years, Fresno State has played 18 bowl opponents. All three losses in 2001 were to either teams that went to a bowl or were bowl eligible. But more important are the victories. The Bulldogs have now defeated four of their last five BCS Conference opponents – California in 2000 and Colorado, Wisconsin and Oregon State this year. In the case of the Buffaloes and Badgers, FS defeated both on the road. In 2000, Fresno State duplicated what it started in 1999 – a winning season and a bowl appearance. Despite being ravaged by injuries the entire year, the Bulldogs went 7-5 and played in the inaugural Silicon Valley Football Classic, where they narrowly lost 37-34 to Air Force after trailing 34-7 at one point. Each loss in 2000 was to a team that participated in a bowl game. But it was its bowl game that spoke volumes about Fresno State and its style of play. Despite facing a 34-point deficit in the third quarter, the Bulldogs did not back down. As Hill mandates, they continued to play hard and found themselves within striking distance in the end when their head coach made the gutsy call for a fake field goal. The seeds of success came to fruition in 1999, when the Fresno State football program not only achieved its first winning season in five years, it did it in style – winning a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship and its first bowl invitation since 1993. That is a huge accomplishment for a program that just three years before was ready to go on life support. After three consecutive losing seasons, only 61 scholarship players were on campus, and there was an embarrassing academic track record. Hill was hired to provide CPR to a dying program. He returned to Fresno State, a school he grew to love after spending six seasons as an assistant coach in the late 1980s, with big dreams of taking Fresno State not only back to respectability, but beyond. He talks of adding seats to Bulldog Stadium and continuing to take on the toughest non-conference teams in the nation. By looking at what he has accomplished in just five years, one has to believe he can achieve anything. When Hill was hired, he promised to shore up the team’s academic woes. He did that. In three years, the team GPA rose from a 2.21 to a 2.77. He produced the first Academic All-American in the program’s history this season, senior cornerback Payton Williams. In five years, the program has produced 39 Academic All-WAC selections, including 28 over the last three seasons. When Hill was hired, he promised to improve the team’s facilities. He did that. Under his direction, the Duncan Building training room has been tripled in size with additional taping stations, rehabilitation pools and a private doctor’s office. Also constructed were two lighted practice fields and an adjacent weight room, which provides the Bulldogs with a facility that rivals any NFL training facility. When Hill was hired, he promised to win games and championships. He did that. After taking over a program that hadn’t won more than five games the three previous seasons, Hill won six games his first season and won a share of the WAC Championship and received a berth in the EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl in year three. He has done this while playing some of the top programs in the nation. With perennial bowl teams UCLA, Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio State, BYU and Colorado State, the Bulldogs’ have played as tough a schedule as anyone. This year’s ledger includes Wisconsin, Colorado State, Oregon and Oregon State, while future schedules have Washington, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Oregon on the docket. "We could win a lot of games if we schedule ourselves that way," Hill says. "Our program has to play the best and beat the best to be considered the best. That’s how we are building our entire program, to reach that level of respect and success." To say Hill has jumpstarted the program seems to limit his influence. He’s also sparked the interest of Bulldog fans, some long-time supporters skeptical to his ways and others newly drawn to Hill’s commitment to the program. "We need to expand our fan base," Hill says. "Fresno State is the only Division I-A football program in Central Valley and the vision of a packed Bulldog Stadium is an achievable one. We are reaching out to the people in this valley and want to show them what we are all about. One day, we want to be able to have 65-70,000 Bulldog fans on campus on a weekend in an expanded stadium. The pride and recognition we can bring to the Valley is a result of our plan, hard work and our fan support." Upon taking the reins after the 1996 season, Hill’s first goal was to return the Bulldogs to their glory days. Hill’s initial mission was simple: Reclaim Bulldog pride, win new fans, woo the armchair quarterbacks and most importantly, restore the faith of the lost fan. He made it a point to travel to cities and towns all over the Central Valley, talking Bulldog football and taking his message to business groups, civic clubs and any other organization willing to listen. His message is all about growth — from increasing the annual season ticket count, which currently averages over 32,000, to eventually enlarging 41,000-seat Bulldog Stadium by another 25-30,000 seats. The Quarterback Club, the fundraising arm for the football program, grows by leaps and bounds each year as more and more people see Hill’s promises become reality. When Pat Hill talks, people listen. And they believe. Hill has not disappointed and his promise for the future is off the drawing board and under construction. One of the first projects he brought to the table is well underway with positive results coming in droves. Academic Gameplan, the brainchild of John Baxter, Hill’s associate head coach, was touted early in the building stages in the program, not as a quick fix-all to placate university professors, but instead to make sure academics are first priority. In the fall of 1998, 16 football players were represented on the Dean’s List, posting a grade point average of 3.5 or better that semester. Thirty-four football players posted a semester GPA above 3.0 and 21 set academic personal records. In 1999, 31 players had cumulative GPAs above 3.0 and senior Payton Williams became the program’s first Academic All-American. "It’s like we say, it’s college football, not football college," says Hill. On the field, his first year saw people drawn to a team with a no-nonsense, no-excuses, hard-nosed brand of football that has remained constant through today. In 1999, the Bulldogs were undefeated at home with an average winning margin of 24.3 points, including a dominating 44-13 win over Mountain West Conference champion Colorado State. The Bulldogs also became respectable on the road, playing well at the Rose Bowl in 1999 and '00, suffering two heartbreaking losses at UCLA. Just last year, Fresno State went an impressive 6-1 away from Fresno, establishing a program record for road wins in a season. Hill sees even greater things ahead. A man with strong roots in the Valley, Hill’s pride for Fresno State and Central California was never more evident than on the day he accepted the position as head coach in December 1996. Overcome with emotion, he spoke of his passion for Bulldog football and how he knew that when legendary coach Jim Sweeney retired, he would do everything in his power to come back. In fact, he said, "It was the only job I ever wanted." The 50-year-old Hill was the Bulldogs’ recruiting coordinator from 1984-89, a six-year period in which Fresno State was 53-16-1, averaged nearly nine wins per season and captured three league titles and won three bowl games. It stands out as a special time in Hill’s coaching career — so special that he knew he would eventually have to leave if he ever wanted to realize his dream of eventually taking over as the Bulldogs' head coach. "In order to come back, it was necessary that I move on," says Hill, who went on to spend two seasons as offensive coordinator at University of Arizona and five years in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens/Cleveland Browns organization. "And leaving here was very, very difficult, because I’ve always considered myself a Bulldog. I’ve got strong feelings about this community and the fans here, and I know what can be done with Bulldog football." During that six-year stint as the recruiting coordinator and line coach under former head coach Jim Sweeney, Hill contributed at a championship level. In addition to the conference crowns and bowl victories, the Bulldogs saw 14 players drafted by NFL teams, including the likes of J.D. Williams, Ron Cox, Michael Stewart and Aaron Craver. Fresno State’s 1985 team was the only unbeaten Division I-A squad in the country, finishing the season 16th in the polls. Hill’s offensive line also provided the pass protection and run blocking for an offensive unit that averaged 32 points per game over those six seasons, including a nation-leading 41 points per game in ’85. Success continued for Hill when he moved on to the University of Arizona as Dick Tomey’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1990 and ’91. In just his first season, the Wildcats went 7-5 and played in the Aloha Bowl. Both seasons, the ’Cats finished in the top five of the Pac-10 in rushing offense, averaging nearly 200 yards per game on the ground. Four players earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors in his two seasons, and offensive lineman John Fina was a first round NFL draft choice. When he left Arizona, he did so to realize another career goal — coaching in the National Football League. Hill joined the Cleveland Browns in 1992 and spent five seasons in the organization, coaching tight ends and offensive line in addition to working in the personnel department evaluating players. Hill would have been happy to remain in the NFL had the Fresno State job not opened a possibility for him. Hill began his coaching career as offensive line coach at Los Angeles Valley College from 1974-76, helping the Monarchs to a state junior college championship in 1975. He then served as offensive line coach at Utah from 1977-80 under Wayne Howard; was offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at UNLV from 1981-82 under Tony Knapp; and was offensive coordinator with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 1983 under Jack Gotta. The list of players recruited and signed by Hill at the collegiate level is impressive. Under his leadership, such greats as David Carr, Alan Harper, Rodney Wright, Randall Cunningham, Tracy Rogers, Ron Cox, Aaron Craver, Marquez Pope, Lorenzo Neal, Jethro Franklin, Tony Brown, J.D. Williams, Mike Withycombe, Michael Stewart, John Fina and Tedy Bruschi all were inked to letters of intent. A 1973 graduate of UC Riverside, Hill was a three-time all-conference center, earning All-America honors as a senior. He was inducted into the UC Riverside Hall of Fame in 1989. It was at UC Riverside where he crossed paths with Ron McBride, then a UCR assistant and now the Utah head coach, who helped steer Hill into a football coaching career. "He convinced me football was my passion," says Hill of McBride. Hill and his wife, Cathy, have three children. Their eldest, Michael, was 10 days old when the Hill family first arrived in Fresno in 1984, and their other sons, Matthew and Zachary, were both born in Fresno. Hill was born Dec. 17, 1951, in Los Angeles. The Pat Hill File
Head Coach
Asst. coach (tight ends/offensive line)
Asst. coach (tight ends/offensive line)
Asst. coach (off. line/off. coordinator)
Asst. coach (off. line/recruiting coord.)
Asst. coach (off. coord./RB's/off. line)
Asst. coach (recruiting coord/off. line)
Recruiting coordinator/offensive line 1974-76 LA Valley College (JC) Offensive line coach 1997 Fresno State 6-6 FS's First non-losing season since 1993 1998 Fresno State 5-6 Bulldogs win four of last five games 1999 Fresno State 8-5 WAC title; EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl berth 2000 Fresno State 7-5 Silicon Valley Football Classic berth 2001 Fresno State 11-3 Silicon Valley Football Classic berth; No. 8 national ranking 5 Years 37-25 Three consecutive bowl invites; one WAC title; 24-4 home record |
