Brianna Campbell / The Collegian

Former ̢۪Dog Trent Dilfer is honored with Distinguished Alumnus Award

The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest honor given to an alumnus of California State University, Fresno. The award is based on scholarship, leadership and service to the university, the San Joaquin Valley and the State of California. It has been established to provide special recognition to an individual who has distinguished himself/herself through outstanding achievement during his/her post-collegiate career.

This past Friday, former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl champ Trent Dilfer was honored with the distinguished alumni award from the Fresno State Alumni Association at the Top Dog Gala. The Collegian had the chance to catch up Dilfer.

Q: How does it feel to get the distinguished alumni awards from Fresno State?

A: Its humbling, as you get older your legend grows you become a better player than you really were, I̢۪m used to getting some of the athletic achievements, but to get something from the university itself it̢۪s really special and Fresno State is really dear to me. So it̢۪s just a humbling experience.

Q: You seem to come back to Fresno a lot, is it because Fresno has a special place in your heart?

A: It really is, a lot of my wife̢۪s family is here and my closest friends on earth are here. We̢۪ve had a lot of great experiences in Fresno and some tough ones to, so this place is very dear to our hearts. It̢۪s will always be a part of our lives.

Q: After playing three season here at Fresno State from 1991-1993. You got drafted with the 6th overall pick of the 1994 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did you always want to go to the NFL coming into college?

A: When I got to college, no, I was not highly recruited. Fresno State kind of took a chance on me as an athlete. It wasn̢۪t until about my second year of school that I realized that it was going to be a possibility and then it became a dream.

Q: You have had many great moments at Fresno State, like winning the 1992 Freedom Bowl against USC, winning conference championships, you broke records and you also met your wife here. So could you give me moments on and off the field that were special to you?

A: One of the most special is beating San Jose State my redshirt freshman year. Mark Barsotti was the starter, he got hurt and I played the second half of the season and we beat San Jose State at the end of the season to win the conference championship. Off the field, obviously my wife. Funny story though, we actually dated as freshmen and she told me I was too boring, so we should just be friends for a couple years. So we were friends for a few years after the initial bad dating experience, then I manipulated her over time.

Q: You are an NFL analyst on ESPN now, is that something you always wanted to do?

A: I never wanted to be on TV. In fact, I didn̢۪t like the people on TV, when I was playing, so no. It̢۪s something that I just kind of fell into and I really enjoy it way more than I thought I ever would. It keeps you in the mix, it keeps you relevant with football.

Q: Now you have a foundation called TD4HIM can you tell me a little bit about that?

A: It̢۪s a foundation that was birthed out of the tragedy of losing our son Trevin. Really it̢۪s a foundation of partners with other foundations and other non-profits that work on putting smiles on kid̢۪s faces. It̢۪s a lot more complexed than that, but at the end of the day we want to partner with other non-profits that really have strong focus toward putting smiles on kids faces.

Q: What do you say to the Fresno fans that consider you still one of the greats to play football at Fresno State?

A: Thank you more than anything else, obviously the fan base in the Valley is so strong and so big and has always been so incredibly supportive of me, but thank you. It has been an honor to perform in front of them in college and to know that they were following me when I was playing in the NFL and know that they’re tuning into me now that I’m on TV.â€Â