For nearly two decades, millions of dollars that were being donated to Fresno State didn’t quite end up where both donors and students thought they would. 

Formed in 1931, the Fresno State Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for handling all private donations and funds given to Fresno State. Although in principle, the foundation strives to support the financial needs of research grants and scholarships, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) found otherwise in 2011.

After the DOJ completed a thorough probe into the foundation’s finances and activities, what investigators found was troubling. 

From 1994 to 2011, roughly $3 million in donor funds had been quietly and strategically misdirected into Fresno State’s Athletic Department. Money intended to support the university’s academic programs, scholarships and other campus initiatives was instead siphoned away, leaving the hundreds of students those donations were meant to serve on the outside, looking in.

Donations meant to uplift, educate and fuel the fire within Fresno State’s education system have instead left the academic programs and students fueled by confusion and betrayal.

“In all seriousness, athletics already gets a lot as it is,” said Aidan Rosas, Fresno State hockey club starting goalie and treasurer. “They [athletics] are obviously our biggest money makers here at [Fresno] State and the biggest representative of the school, but there are also club sports, like us, that are more competitive and underrecognized.” 

Rosas went on to say that even though athletics overlooks club sports, the athletes all come together at all different playing levels to enjoy the sport despite being underfunded. 

“Absolutely, they [athletics] could better fund other things at [Fresno] State like club sports, but through it all, we’re all still standing and getting better every day,” Rosas said. “We have clubs like rugby, men’s soccer and all of the others out there who are pushing every day for representation. Athletics has got to take into account that fact and name us.”

In 2011, the state sent a letter to John Melikian, former legal counsel for the foundation, with the results of the state’s investigation into the issues concerning the foundation, but also Fresno State Athletics and the Fresno State Association. Although all three organizations operate independently from the university as nonprofits, they also control large amounts of money for Fresno State operations.

The letter said donations that were misdirected into Fresno State Athletics were made through the Matching Gifts program. This program allows companies to match the donations their employees make to the university through the foundation.

All three nonprofits were accused of intentionally misdirecting donations and funds to Fresno State Athletics, while the association board members were accused of having approved a “no-bid” contract. Both the foundation and association were accused of violating the California Public Records Act.

The Collegian emailed Garrett Klassy, Fresno State’s athletic director, requesting a public statement regarding the situation. Klassy declined to give a personal comment and redirected The Collegian to the university president’s office for a statement. 

While Klassy declined to comment directly, the university president addressed the situation in a separate statement to The Collegian.

“Earlier this academic year, I requested that the CSU (California State University) Chancellor’s Office conduct an independent review of the Fresno State Foundation to ensure transparency and alignment with CSU and campus policies and best practices,” said President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval. 

The review was finalized in January and has been shared publicly in full, along with his message to campus, FAQs and supporting materials.

“My focus as president is implementing the findings of the current review and on strengthening our systems, oversight, governance and accountability of the Foundation moving forward,” Jiménez-Sandoval said. “This is a forward-looking effort grounded in responsibility and continuous improvement, and we will continue working closely with the dedicated volunteers of the Foundation Board of Governors, campus partners and the chancellor’s office to ensure Fresno State is positioned strongly for the future.”

Although the state never accused the nonprofit foundation of outright fraud, what it did accuse it of was weak oversight and inadequate internal controls that allowed all donor intent to be completely overridden without any accountability.

The 2011 investigation found no merit to the accusations pertaining to the no-bid contract or records act violations. But the investigation confirmed that around $3 million in donations were misdirected into Fresno State Athletics over 17 years.

Without clear permission, a 2026 CSU system review of the Fresno State Foundation found that all of the money from donors was shifted into Fresno State Athletics. For most of the donors, the issue wasn’t necessarily just about money, but rather about trust. Some donors approved the changes, while others demanded refunds.

Ironically, the donors were eligible for “benefits” in return, including free tickets to Fresno State athletic events and games.

As Fresno State Athletics continues to command attention, funding and fan-pride, questions still remain about how deeply sports are being prioritized at the university and at what cost to the rest of the university and its academic programs. 

The latest review, which was finalized on Jan. 8, found that weak internal controls and management practices could leave millions of dollars from donors at risk of mismanagement or worse. After this review, the organization is now deemed highly vulnerable to financial and reputational problems.