FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — An eye-popping donation of $1 million has set a Fresno State Athletics record.
The donation, which was announced Friday afternoon, comes from the Diamond Learning Center and Jami Hamel DeLaCerda. It marks the largest single gift by a woman in the history of Fresno State Athletics.
The gift will directly support Fresno State Football’s operational needs.
Something athletics director Garrett Klassy calls transformational.
“If we can get a million people, that’s a pipe dream. But if there’s 3 million in this valley, if we can get a third of the people to give us $10, we will be competing for national championships in every sport,” Klassy said in an exclusive interview with Action News.
Hamel DeLaCerda is the founder and President of Fresno’s Diamond Learning Center, which recently opened a newly expanded 60,000-square-foot facility in Clovis.
Fresno State Athletics also announced a new campaign initiative alongside the donation.
“The Valley Co-Op: Born, Bred, Built to Win” is a coach-led giving model that ties the Red Wave’s donations with the coaches’ attempt to recruit, develop, and retain bulldog student-athletes.
