Dec. 23, 2014
MCGRANE: Winds of Change: "Rise To 25" Fuels New Direction for Football
SAN DIEGO - With the goal of elevating San Diego State football into a perennial top-25 program in the country, the SDSU athletic department is announcing "Rise to 25," a comprehensive plan that includes significant investments and improvements on and off the field.
During the next 25 months, the university and athletic department will focus resources and attention on ensuring financial stability for the program, addressing stadium improvements, and ensuring a solid season-ticket base.
"We're excited by the growth and tremendous community support for all of our athletic programs, and want to ensure we focus our resources on having football join so many of our other sports as a perennial top-25 program," athletic director Jim Sterk said. "We have been implementing a plan and investing in improvements, both on and off the field, over the past few years, and now is the time to give it greater focus and attention."
To carry the plan forward, SDSU will actively engage the entire San Diego community to achieve a clearly established series of goals, including:
• Investing in major enhancements to improve the Qualcomm Stadium experience for fans and players
• Improving the game day experience for fans
• Improving the student-athlete experience
• Increasing attendance at home football games
"Just as the community has rallied around our men's basketball program, our goal is to generate the same level of excitement for football," Sterk said. "We are excited to work with the entire San Diego community, and will provide greater detail and specific plans to achieve these goals in the coming months."
To date, the football program already has accomplished several milestones on and off the field. A generous $5 million challenge gift from Ron and Alexis Fowler in 2011 resulted in $5 million in matching gifts for athletic improvements, including:
• Football practice field grass renovation
• Turf field replacement
• New film towers for football practice field
• New lights for football practice field
• Renovated football locker room in Fowler Athletics Center
• Renovated football locker room at Qualcomm Stadium
• Compensation for coaching staff
• Added athletic medicine staff
• Added rehabilitation equipment to the athletic medicine area
• New computers for football staff
• Renovated Fowler Athletics Center football suite and meeting rooms
• Improved stadium branding
• Upgraded video system for coach and student-athlete viewing
• Increased department staffing
In the coming months, SDSU will unveil additional program information and details.
Over the past five years, SDSU has been one of the most successful football programs in the country, joining Stanford as the only football teams in California - FBS or NFL - to advance to the postseason in each of those seasons. Now in his fourth season as head coach, Rocky Long is one of just 19 active FBS coaches to guide their current school to a bowl game in each of his first four seasons.
This year, San Diego State is one of just four schools in the nation to post a winning football record and have each of its victories come by double figures.
The Aztecs will conclude the 2014 campaign tonight against Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT with national coverage on ESPN, Watch ESPN and ESPN Radio. The game can be heard locally on The Mighty 1090 and The Max 105.7 FM.
SDSU has developed into one of the most successful athletic programs in the country. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year, San Diego State's 19 varsity athletic teams have combined to win 21 conference titles. This decade, the Aztecs have had nine different programs finish an NCAA championship in the top 25 and six teams finish in the top 10. Since the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year, the Aztecs own the third-highest combined football and men's basketball winning percentage in the nation, trailing only Ohio State and Louisville.