{"id":235269,"date":"2026-03-25T04:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T04:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235269\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T04:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T04:25:12","slug":"fresno-state-takes-bold-step-in-new-multimedia-rights-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235269\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno State takes bold step in new multimedia rights deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresno State has made a big bet on itself and its brand value in its search for an athletics multimedia rights partner, turning away guaranteed dollars with an established national player to go with a local upstart in a novel revenue-sharing arrangement with significant upside.<\/p>\n

In the new deal with Bulldog Sports Enterprises, the university retains control of intellectual property and brand assets. The newly formed agency, for its part, manages the university\u2019s multimedia rights strategy and sponsorships, including local broadcast rights and in-venue signage. The parties entered into a 3-year contract that includes automatic extensions that can push it to five years.<\/p>\n

Bulldog Sports Enterprises is owned by former Fresno State football player Chris Pacheco, who also owns a local radio station and businesses.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no guaranteed revenue, but the contract between the university\u2019s Athletic Corporation and the BSE includes key performance Indicators that could make it more lucrative than the university\u2019s current deal with multimedia rights partner Learfield\/Bulldog Sports Properties. For Fresno State fans, that could translate to results on the playing fields, with more money to invest in programs, as well as a better fan experience at Valley Children\u2019s Stadium and at other campus sports venues.<\/p>\n

Athletics director Garrett Klassy acknowledged some risk as Fresno State heads into the Pac-12 Conference, in need of more athletics revenue<\/a> to better compete on the playing field and for the athletics department to dig its way out of financial holes created by the university.<\/p>\n

But flexibility, Klassy said, also is a critical piece of the puzzle as its brand could change dramatically over the next decade with the university entering the Pac-12<\/a> and also exploring plans for a renovated football stadium, or perhaps new construction on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege athletics is changing so much every day, you can\u2019t keep making the same decisions thinking that you\u2019re going to get better results,\u201d Klassy said. \u201cThis doesn\u2019t guarantee that we\u2019re going to increase our revenue by X%, but it gives us the opportunity to really earn more than we ever have through hard work and relationships, and I believe in that. Preserving flexibility, when this world is changing daily, I think is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deal with BSE goes into effect July 1, after the university\u2019s deal with Learfield\/BSP expires.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s all about building something with alignment across the board with revenue, NIL and the fan experience,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cAs important as growing our revenue is, making the fan experience much more enjoyable, and that\u2019s what we aim to do. We\u2019re going to be very aggressive in building partnerships that show up for our fans and support our student-athletes. It\u2019s about making Fresno State stronger in every way we can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve waited 20 years for this opportunity, so I\u2019m pretty excited about getting after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fresno State needs the chance to increase its revenue from its multimedia rights deal, so it can make up ground on its soon-to-be Pac-12 rivals. The revenue gaps are considerable: Bulldogs\u2019 athletics reported $4.1 million in revenue from royalties, licensing, advertising and sponsorships on the revenue and expense form it filed with the NCAA in 2024. That compares to Oregon State, $10.5 million; San Diego State, $9.4 million; Boise State, $7.4 million; and Colorado State, $6.6.<\/p>\n

Under the new deal, Fresno State will receive 90% of net revenue from its marquee assets, including jersey patches recently approved by the NCAA, and football field branding in the deal with BSE, and 80% of non-marquee assets.<\/p>\n

To lock in the fourth and fifth years of the contract, BSE can hit KPIs that include gross base revenue of $6 million in the first year, $6.5 million in the second year and $7 million in the third year. If it hits those numbers, the Athletic Corporation would likely surpass guaranteed rights revenue from its current deal with Learfield\/BSP, which was compromised when the university changed the name of its football venue to Valley Children\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

In its deal with Valley Children\u2019s, the university granted the healthcare giant exclusivity in lucrative healthcare advertising, in connection with the stadium, athletics department and Bulldogs\u2019 sports programs and venues. To do that, it first had to amend its multimedia rights contract<\/a> with Learfield\/BSP to eliminate healthcare services from its inventory. Fresno State agreed to take between $550,000 and $965,500 a year less in guaranteed rights fees, and while the Valley Children\u2019s contract is worth $1 million per year to the athletics department, the necessary changes to its multimedia rights deal to satisfy Valley Children\u2019s demands cost nearly that much in lost advertising revenue .<\/p>\n

The Learfield deal was amended down again in 2024 to $2.5 million from $2.9 guaranteed rights fees to settle a dispute over revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Prior to the amendment, Fresno State was to receive $3.845 million in the final year of the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be aggressive,\u201d Klassy said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to see some signage in some non-traditional places. One thing I really respect about Chris Pacheco, he\u2019s viewing this through a lens of now only, \u2018How do I make the university more revenue, how can I help out student-athletes, but how can I help the fan experience?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have someone that gets up every morning and only thinks about Fresno State and believes in this and has been a significant contributor to this program for a lot of years. We\u2019re pretty fortunate to have an organization like Chris\u2019 here that already has sellers in the market and has had sellers in the market for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learfield has held Fresno State\u2019s athletics multimedia rights since 2004 and works with most of the schools in a rebuilding Pac-12, which will officially launch on July 1. Boise State, Colorado State, Oregon State, Texas State, and Utah State are Learfield schools. Gonzaga, a non football-playing member of the conference, also is partnered with Learfield. San Diego State signed a deal in 2023 with JMI Sports, and Washington State in July will start a 10-year partnership with Playfly Sports.<\/p>\n

The Pac-12 in December also signed with Playfly to handle its sponsorship development.<\/p>\n

Fresno State had discussions with Learfield regarding an extension and also explored opportunities with Playfly, according to university sources.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:07 PM.<\/p>\n

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