I’ve got a confession to make: I had no idea where Fresno was before making my trek there this weekend.
OK, I knew it was in California, and suspected it was in Southern California, but other than that it might as well have been West Lafayette, Ind., or Ruston, La. my two previous business trips, by the way.
So my flight from Phoenix to Fresno wasn’t at all what I expected. First of all, there were mountains. Who knew there were mountains in southern Nevada? Then there’s the desert. Talk about deserted. I’d bet if not for Las Vegas the population of Nevada would be about 22.
Although I didn’t see a single home between Phoenix and Fresno, I did see the crater from a meteor that landed here 4 billion years ago or was it four years ago, I wasn’t really paying attention to the pilot/tour guide.
Fresno itself is an interesting case study of a typical city, right down to the banners hanging from the street lights that say: Fresno, All-America City.
Northern Fresno is the residential area. This is where new Kansas University athletics director Al Bohl lives more on him later. Trees line either side of the streets and the apartment complexes have names like Cedar Springs and Whispering Pines.
Then there’s the area around the Fresno State campus that resembles a typical college town right down to the Jack in the Box restaurants on every corner. Finally, there’s downtown which apparently was a happening place 40 years ago. You’ll be happy to know Kansas City, Mo., isn’t the only city seeking revitalization.
The highlight of the FSU campus itself is the athletics facilities. There’s the baseball team’s Pete Beiden Field also home of the Fresno Grizzlies minor league squad and the softball stadium across the street.
But the crown jewel of the campus is Bulldog Stadium, aka “The Doghouse.”
The football field is below ground level within the bowl-shaped stadium. The bleachers almost completely surround the field, except in the south end zone where the scoreboard is located. There is a section of stadium seats instead of benches on the 50-yard line on both sides of the field.
There is a pressbox on the west side of the stadium, with luxury suites across the field, large paw prints painted in the streets, parking lot and sidewalks leading to the stadium, and a “Danger Beware of Dogs” sign painted on the ticket office.
The most unique feature, though, was the four banks of lights, each resembling a vacuum cleaner that had been knocked on its back and had its handle fastened to the top of the press box and suites.
While wandering around I stumbled across something I’d never seen on a college campus before a arena specifically for the FSU rodeo team.
In the not-so-distant future the Save Mart Center will be added to the mix, offering yet another pristine stadium to the Fresno landscape. Which brings me to Bohl, who spearheaded the $11 million fund-raising campaign for the new arena, although basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian probably did his share.
I certainly can see how Bohl accomplished such a task. In fact, I think he might have missed his calling. As much of an impact as he’s made as an athletics director, I think he could have held his own as a football coach.
He’s energetic and enthusiastic, dynamic and devoted. In fact, during the afternoon I spent with him this weekend, he had some moments that rivaled Knute Rockne himself.
While explaining his vision of filling Memorial Stadium, his energy level went up a couple notches you know, like Emeril Bam! and he began furiously waving his hands.
Here’s a sampling of his spiel, intended to illustrate his plan for filling the stadium:
“It’s going to be a Civil War,” Bohl began. “We have got to get after Kansas State and turn that state into Crimson and Blue. It is a Civil War, just like they’ve now got the Oregon-Oregon State deal going on. We’ve got 30,000 regulars and they’ve been waiting for us.
“We’ve got to get bold Jayhawks to come in there. I need 20,000 volunteers to get season tickets and let’s fill that place up. It’ll come from 10 tickets 50 miles away from Lawrence, 10 tickets 100 miles away from Lawrence and anybody that cares about KU, I need them to volunteer and we’re going to have a great time in the stadium and it’ll be the place to be.”
He practically had me ready to sign up for season tickets and I’ve got a press pass to every game.
You can tell by talking to him that Bohl loves interacting with people, and seems even more interested in football. During my 70-minute session with him, football came up more than any other sport. He even leapt out of his seat at one point to re-enact a story about when his son, Brett, was playing football for Nick Saban at Toledo.
In fact, I think I might have discovered the real reason Bohl is coming to Kansas.
“The last two years I’ve had to play UCLA here at Fresno State and they made us go down there and play at their place,” he said. “UCLA has to come to Kansas. I’d like a bold Jayhawk welcoming party for UCLA, to make them feel uncomfortable at Memorial Stadium.
“I’d love to have an extra large crowd in there.”
If Bohl actually can convince Kansans to pack Memorial Stadium, the sky’s the limit.
