FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the Fresno State Athletics Department announced that Tim DeRuyter will be the new head football coach.
A new era of Bulldog football kicked off Wednesday after Tim DeRuyter was named the 17th head coach in program history. The Texas A&M assistant brings 22 years of college coaching experience to the Valley, including the last two spent as Aggie's Defensive Coordinator.
"Couldn't be more excited about this opportunity to take over the program at Fresno State. It's a dream for me. And I really look forward to building champions and building on the foundation that's been laid," said new Bulldogs Head Coach Tim DeRuyter.
Deruyter, who grew up in Southern California, takes over a program that lost nine games this season while giving up a number of big plays along the way. But his reputation for building aggressive defenses is what made him an attractive candidate for Fresno State.
Bulldog fans are hoping the new coach will be able to do something Pat Hill struggled to do over the years -- win conference championships. DeRuyter said his top priority next season will be to challenge for the Mountain West Conference crown. "Our number-one Goal is to win conference championships -- is to win the Mountain West Conference"
Although he was named coach on Wednesday, DeRuyter won't start the job full-time until after he coaches Texas A&M in its New Year's Eve bowl game against Northwestern.
