The Bulldog Foundation room in the Save Mart Center was abuzz with optimism Friday morning, as Fresno State introduced its new athletic director.
Jim Bartko, executive senior associate athletic director at the University of Oregon, got the nod to lead the Bulldogs starting Jan. 1, 2015. He replaces Thomas Boeh, who was reassigned last August to a position as Fresno State president Joseph Castro’s assistant after an eight-year tenure.
In front of coaches, administrators and Bulldog Foundation members, an emotional Bartko shared his excitement to lead the program.
“I am honored to have this opportunity and want to express my gratitude and excitement about the future,” Bartko said. “Fresno State presents a tremendous opportunity, not only professionally, but personally, as it brings me home to my roots. The Central Valley has strong values and great spirit, with the potential for incredible success.”
Bartko was chosen after a nationwide search led by Fresno State provost Lynnette Zelezny. He is no stranger to the Central Valley. His parents were married in Manteca, and he was born in Stockton. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Modesto.
“What he is going to find, which is what I found, is that being from the Valley is meaningful,” Castro said. “He has all of the professional skills that we would want that I believe is going to help him to excel and help all of us do our very best in athletics.”
“It’s a little overwhelming right now,” Bartko said of his return to the Valley. “I’m excited though — I can’t wait to get started. There’s a lot of great things that we could do here. We’re not that far away. We have great coaches and great facilities that we could enhance. Now it is all a matter of putting things together and finding the right tweaks to get going.”
Bartko received his bachelor’s degree in sports management at Washington State University and began his career in 1989 as a regional director and fundraiser at Oregon. From 2006-07, he served as senior associate athletic director at UC Berkeley before going back to Oregon in 2008.
At Oregon, Bartko raised over $375 million for improvements to facilities. Among these new facilities are the Hatfield Dowlin Complex, Matthew Knight Arena (a project which he supervised) and the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes.
One important topic he stressed was the goal of getting the ‘Dog Pound more involved in athletics by reaching out to students to help support Fresno State’s sports teams.
“We have to have student involvement,” Bartko said. “There’s no bigger thing. One of the first things I want to do is get to know the student body and just say, ‘What can we do?’
“Home-court advantage or home-field advantage, it’s all about the students. We need their support. For us to be better, the students need to be there.”
“We need everybody,” Castro said. “Rather than expect, I want to invite everybody to be inspired, and I hope they are inspired by the selection.”