To kick off the upcoming Fresno State football season, Campus Pointe hosted the second annual Bulldog Bash on Friday, where fans had the opportunity to meet the 2025-26 football team face-to-face.
The bash went from 6-9 p.m., and at 7 p.m., Phil Benotti, an on-air host for ESPN Present and the announcer for the event, called up each of the players for a question-and-answer segment. The event was free and provided attendees with posters for the team to sign.
With a steady flow of around 150 people moving in and out of the event, the team members were dressed in their jerseys and sat at tables, excitedly meeting and speaking to fans while a DJ played lively music.
One of the fans was Fresno State alumnus Niko East, who says he attended many football games during his time in the marching band before graduating in 2017.
“It’s cool to come out and be able to put faces to the players, because you usually just see either name plates or numbers,” East said.
He said his favorite part of football games is the crowd.
“You know, it’s something to be able to get into the stadium and just see and feel the things,” East said. “There’s just an energy, and you can feel it pulsating.”
Along with dozens of his other teammates, safety Ethan Tierney was handing out autographs and getting people pumped up for this season. He said he is optimistic for the season.
“I’m excited to play with these guys, really,” Tierney said. “I think when it comes to playing the games, it’ll just flow.”
Tierney explained what it’s like to have fans eagerly come out, despite the heat, and want to meet the team.
“I mean, it’s awesome,” Tierney said. “The Red Wave is just such a nice thing, and they always come to games.”
It wasn’t just the football team that was putting on a show; a few Fresno State cheerleaders also attended, and fans were equally excited to talk to and take pictures with them.
Senior Monique Gadsden said that she and her fellow cheerleaders have been preparing for football season for months.
“We go through practices multiple times a week for multiple hours a day,” Gadsden said. “We learn the routines, we get ready for game day, but it’s a lot more than that.”
Throughout the event, the cheerleaders were dancing and waving their pom poms at excited young girls who looked up to the squad.
Gadsden explained that she’s looking forward to this and more at games.
“I think that’s my favorite part, seeing little girls look at us and want to take pictures with us,” Gadsden said. “I was them one day, so it’s really sweet.”
The Bulldogs’ first game is scheduled for Aug. 23 against Kansas State University at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback E.J. Warner, son of two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner, described how the team is feeling approaching the game during the question-and-answer session.
“Obviously, a lot of unknown going into the first game of the season, but we’re excited to see what they’ve got going for them,” Warner said.
Though the team showed some struggles last fall, such as their tough loss to the University of California, Los Angeles, fans are anticipating the start of the new season.
