Football first appeared as an athletic sport on the campus at Fresno in 1921. During the inaugural year, the Bulldogs played as an independent team before joining a conference the following year. Even during these early years of team formation, games against opponents set the stage for college football rivalries against the Bulldogs for the next several decades. Early games included matches against future rivals such as
San Jose State
and
Boise State
. In 1976, new head coach Jim Sweeney gave the Bulldogs a new sense of purpose and some much-needed confidence. Sweeney raised the Bulldogs' profile and made the team a big contender. The 1985 season is a memorable one for fans. The Bulldogs finished out that season as the only team in a Division I-A class to go undefeated for the whole season. The Bulldogs tied with the
Hawaii Warriors
that year, leading to yet another rivalry for the history books. You can purchase your Fresno State Bulldogs football tickets at StubHub, the largest ticket marketplace.
The Fresno State Bulldogs football games are part of the
Mountain West Conference
. The team has been a part of this conference since 2012.
Fresno State's titles include a long list of conference wins throughout the Bulldogs' career. Although the team is a part of the Mountain West Conference today, the Bulldogs were a part of several other conferences throughout the years. The team managed to rack up titles during its tenure in each conference. The Bulldogs have already won three conferences since coming to the Mountain West, with one victory as co-champions.
In 1980, Fresno college football changed forever with the construction of Bulldog Stadium. The previous stadium where the Bulldogs played only housed 13,000 fans at maximum capacity. With the completion of the new Bulldog Stadium, it held more than 30,000 fans and meant a huge improvement in home-game attendance. Along with the new stadium came new successes, and the Bulldogs made it to five appearances at the California Bowl during the next few years.
In addition to the rivalries mentioned previously, the Bulldogs are engaged in a competition with
San Diego State
. Just like the Bulldogs' other rivalries, this one got its start in the early days of the team. It dates to an initial win for the Aztecs over the Bulldogs. The two teams have met more than 50 times since 1923. The Bulldogs love a challenge, and part of its rivalry with the Warriors of Hawaii comes from the difficulty both teams face when trying to capture the other's home stadium.