The History of Fresno State University

Fresno Normal School

• The Fresno Normal School was established in 1911 after operating for a year as a junior college. This two-year institution was run by C.L. McLane and graduated its first class, consisting of 31 women and 2 men, in 1913. The school operated on an initial grant of $25,000 with the school's first campus costing $10,000 to build. The Fresno Normal School held teacher preparatory classes at Fresno High School until the college's campus was completed.

Fresno State Teachers College

• The completion of the Fresno Normal School's campus in 1921 was accompanied by the school's fusion with the Fresno Junior College. The united schools became the Fresno State Teachers College and changed the school colors from green and gold to cardinal red and blue to create a new identity. Fresno State Teachers College went from a two-year vocational school to a four-year institution offering a Bachelors degree in teaching. The Fresno State Teachers College became Fresno State College in 1935 as the school continued to expand.

Evolution of the Modern Fresno State University

• Fresno State College grew from a teacher's college to a liberal arts university between 1935 and 1949. The first Masters degree through Fresno State College was conferred in 1949.. The school's enrollment ballooned by virtue of the free tuition offered through the 1944 GI Bill, encouraging returning veterans to attend Fresno State College. The school's name changed for the final time in 1972 when it became California State University, Fresno. The university's tradition of liberal arts education continued in 2007 with the creation of the first PhD program.

Fresno State University Campus

• The modern Fresno State University campus is located within minutes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The campus moved from the Fresno State Teachers College campus to a 1,410-acre lot starting in 1953. The completion of the Fresno State campus in 1958 allowed the creation of residence halls, an arboretum and a university farm. The 1,000-acre University Farm hosts the university's popular agriculture program while the arboretum holds hundreds of native trees dating back to the 1970s.

Fresno State University Athletics

• The Fresno State University Bulldogs have vaulted the university to national prominence since the early 1990s. The woman's softball team has been a perennial contender for the NCAA title after winning its first title in 1998. The Bulldogs baseball team brought the NCAA baseball title back to Fresno in 2008 after defeating the University of Georgia. Fresno State University developed a strong football program starting with back-to-back WAC championships in 1992 and 1993.