Terry Tumey was formally introduced Monday as Fresno State’s new athletic director by President Dr. Joseph Castro. Castro first announced Tumey’s hiring on social media last Thursday.
Tumey is currently the director of athletics, physical education, and recreation at Claremont-Mudd–Scripps University in Claremont. Prior to taking the position in Claremont, he was the athletic director at UC Davis from 2012 to 2015 and at Dominican University in San Rafael from 2009 to 2012. He was a candidate for the Fresno State athletic director’s job in 2014.
Jim Bartko, who left Fresno State in 2017, was hired in 2014 instead of Tumey. Sources suggested that his competing for the Fresno State job then may have created a rift between him and UC Davis campus leadership, which may have eventually led to his departure in 2015 to “pursue other opportunities.”
Tumey was introduced to a crowd of approximately 60 people by Castro, who began his remarks by saying “today begins a new and bold chapter in Fresno State athletics.” His official start date is Aug 1.
Castro described Tumey as “the most qualified among a pool of extremely talented candidates.” Castro went on to say that Tumey has “significant experience in all aspects of the job,” noting Tumey has been the athletic director at a Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 institution during his career.
Castro also said that Gary Cunningham, who was Fresno State’s athletic director between 1986 and 1995, provided “significant input during the hiring process.” Cunningham retired as the athletic director at UC Santa Barbara in 2008. Like Tumey, he is a UCLA alumnus. Cunningham congratulated Tumey in a message read to everyone by Castro.
Tumey then formally accepted the position. He spoke about the athletic department being “committed to the student experience and to redefine our aspirations and expectations of our athletes and the general student population.”
Tumey added that “we are committed to winning, including in the classroom.” He said he plans to work with other offices across campus to get their help in enhancing the overall student experience.
During a question and answer session, Tumey said his first order of business will be to find out about this place called Fresno State by talking with students, faculty, coaches and the community.
He said he plans to tour campus and the athletic facilities, make assessments, and then move quickly.
On the subject of finances, Tumey said a maximum effort will be put into fundraising. He added he wants “the contribution from our president to be a one-time” occurrence.
The Fresno Bee reported that Castro had moved $1.6 million of campus funds to athletic department coffers in order to present Tumey with a balanced budget for the 2018-2019 academic year. Tumey said he will constantly review where the athletic program stands financially.