The Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team represents California State University, Fresno, located in Fresno, California. The program competes in the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bulldogs play their home games at the Save Mart Center. Vance Walberg is the head coach for the Bulldogs. They were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1992 to 2012 and the Mountain West Conference from 2013 to 2025.
History
Vance Walberg era (2024–present) On April 6, 2024, Vance Walberg was hired as the head coach of the Bulldogs. In Walberg’s first season, the Bulldogs went 6–26 and finished tenth in the conference. The Bulldogs improved to a 13–19 record the following season in 2025–2026.
Postseason
NCAA Division I The Bulldogs have appeared in six* NCAA Tournaments, with a combined record of 2–6. 1981 6 W Round of 48 (11) Northeastern L 53–55 1982 4 W Round of 32Sweet Sixteen (5) West Virginia(1) #6 Georgetown W 50–46L 40–58 1984 7 MW Round of 48 (10) Louisiana Tech L 56–66 2000* 9 W Round of 64 (8) Wisconsin L 56–66 2001 9 S Round of 64Round of 32 (8) California(1) #3 Michigan State W 82–70L 65–81 2016 14 M Round of 64 (3) #13 Utah L 69–80 *The appearance in 2000 was vacated due to the use of an ineligible player.
NCAA Division II The Bulldogs appeared in seven NCAA Division II men's basketball tournaments, where they had a combined record of 8-8. 1958 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals San Francisco State ChapmanW 69–56 L 49–52 1960 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals Chico State ChapmanW 62–49 L 62–701962 Regional SemifinalsRegional Third Place Cal Poly PomonaSeattle PacificL 81–88L 68–731963 Regional SemifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight UC Santa Barbara ChapmanSouth Dakota StateW 68–60W 71–59L 71–841964 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals Seattle Pacific Cal Poly PomonaW 68–53L 72–791965 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals Nevada SouthernSeattle PacificW 74–61L 68–821966 Regional SemifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight NevadaSeattle PacificSouthern Illinois W 127–78W 64–58L 70–93
National Invitation Tournament results The Bulldogs have appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments, with a combined record of 14–10; they were champions in 1983. 1983 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship UTEPMichigan StateOregon StateWake ForestDePaul W 71–64W 72–58W 76–67W 86–62W 69–60 1985 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Santa ClaraNew MexicoUCLA W 79–76W 66–55L 43–53 1994 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals USCBYUKansas State W 79–76W 68–66L 77–115 1996 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Miami (OH)Michigan StateNebraska W 58–57W 80–70L 71–83 1997 First Round Nevada L 86–97 1998 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals3rd Place Game PacificMemphisHawaiiMinnesotaGeorgia W 73–70W 83–80W 85–83L 89–91L 79–95 1999 First Round California L 71–79 2002 First Round Temple L 75–81 2007 First Round Georgia L 78–88 2017 First Round TCU L 59–66
College Basketball Invitational results The Bulldogs have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational, with a record of 4–2. 2014 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals Game 1Finals Game 2Finals Game 3 UTEPPrincetonOld DominionSienaSienaSiena W 61–56W 72–56W 71–64L 57–61W 89–75L 68–81
The Basketball Classic results The Bulldogs have appeared in The Basketball Classic one time. Their record is 4–0, and they won the Championship in 2022. 2022 First RoundSecond RoundSemifinalsChampionship Eastern WashingtonYoungstown StateSouthern UtahCoastal Carolina W 83–74W 80–71W 67–48W 85–74
Regular-season conference championships Pacific Coast Athletic Association (3) 1978, 1981, 1982
Western Athletic Conference (3) 1996, 2001, 2003
Conference tournament championships Pacific Coast Athletic Association tournament (3) 1981, 1982, 1984
Western Athletic Conference tournament (1) 2000 (vacated)
Mountain West Conference tournament (1) 2016
Facilities
The men's basketball team played in the 1,551 seat North Gym from 1957 to 1966. From 1967 to 2003, the Bulldogs played their home games at Selland Arena, named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland.
Save Mart Center
Since 2003, the Bulldogs have played their home games at the Save Mart Center.
Coaches The Fresno State men's basketball team has had 20 head coaches in their program’s history.
Arthur W. Jones1921–192970–53.569Flint Hanner1929–1932; 1944–4527–26.509Leo Harris1932–19337–7.500No coach1933–1934——Stanley Borleske1934–193943–61.414Hal Beatty1939–1942; 1945–194749–57.462No team1943–1944——Pix Pierson1944–19456–6–1.500Cornelius Warmerdam1947–195355–107.340Clark Van Galder1953–195412–16.429Bill Vandenburgh1954–196089–63.586Harry Miller1960–196593–39.705Ed Gregory1965–1977172–142.548Boyd "Tiny" Grant1977–1986194–74.724Ron Adams1986–199043–72.374Gary Colson1990–199576–73.510Jerry Tarkanian1995–2002104–79.657Ray Lopes2002–200550–37.575Steve Cleveland2005–201192–98.484Rodney Terry2011–2018104–79.657Justin Hutson2018–202492–94.495Vance Walberg2024–present19–45.297
Retired numbers
Fresno State Bulldogs retired numbers No.PlayerPos.TenureNo. ret.Ref. 2 Jerry Tarkanian G 1954–1955 2014 24 Paul George SF 2008–2010 2019 Notes
Notable players Courtney Alexander Rafer Alston Ron Anderson Desi Barmore (born 1960), American-Israeli basketball player Melvin Ely (born 1978) Paul George (born 1990), basketball player Nate Grimes (born 1996), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Chris Herren (born 1975) Rod Higgins Tyler Johnson (born 1992), basketball player Tito Maddox (born 1981) Brian Santiago, athletic director at Brigham Young University Deshon Taylor (born 1996), basketball player (free agent) Bernard Thompson Art Williams Braeden Anderson
Conferences 1921–1922, 1942–1945, 1951–1952 None — —1922–1924 California Coast Conference 1925–1939 Far Western Conference (FWC) 1939–1941, 1946–1950, 1953–1968 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) 1969–1991 Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) / Big West Conference (BWC) 1992–2012 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) 2013–2026 Mountain West Conference (MW) 2026–present Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12)
References
External links