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HOUSTON, Texas - Fresno State head football coach Jeff Tedford was one of the seven finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award that was in attendance at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston, Texas on Wednesday night.

Clemson's Dabo Swinney, who led the Tigers to its second national championship in the last three seasons, took home the award for the third time in his career, but Tedford and the Bulldogs were on the grandest of stages recognized for its unforgettable season in front of college football's elite.

ANAHEIM -  The Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Washington Huskies, have won berths in the 2019 Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual in Pasadena, Calif., and their first stop along the way was a traditional visit to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 26.

The teams will play in the 105th Rose Bowl Game on Tuesday, January 1, 2019. Ohio State finished the regular season with a 12-1 record and claimed the Big Ten Conference title, while Washington defeated Utah to win the Pac-12 Championship, finishing with a 10-3 record. Before meeting on the field, the teams met for their first official pre-game appearance, and only joint appearance of bowl week, at the Disneyland Resort.

FRESNO -  The Fresno Grizzlies and several partners including Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, Fresno Fire Chiefs Foundation, Noble Credit Union, Agrian, DoubleTime Fitness - BitWise South Stadium, Agajanjian Vineyards, Pieology, Krispy Kreme, Ariat, Professional Sports Catering, Manchester Center and California Highway Patrol teamed up for one of the largest supply and donation drives in the Central Valley, in response to November wild fires in both Northern and Southern California.  

The #GrizzCares Supply & Donation Drive ran for two weeks (Novermber 16-30), designed to benefit families affected by the wildfires in Ventura County (Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire) and Butte County (Camp Fire).  The coalition of the Fresno Grizzlies front office and their partners we were able to raise $3,250 in monetary donations with 100% of the proceeds going directly to several teachers who lost their homes in the Camp Fire.

LAS VEGAS – For the first time in program history, Fresno State earned its 12th win in a single season, defeating Arizona State 31-20 at the 2018 Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium. Sophomore running back Ronnie Rivers was named the game's Most Valuable Player after accounting for 286 all-purpose yards, the fourth-most in program history. He totaled 212 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries, while also posting 41 punt return yards and 33 receiving yards.
 
While Rivers accounted for nearly half of the Bulldogs' 436 yards of offense on the ground, senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion passed for 176 yards on 15-of-29 attempts while rushing for 41 yards. Having surrendered 230 yards and 17 points to Arizona State in the first half, the Bulldog defense shut down the explosive backfield duo of running back Eno Benjamin and quarterback Manny Wilkins in the second half as the Sun Devils gained only 63 yards and registered one field goal during the final 30 minutes.

FRESNO - The USL Championship unveiled its full slate of home openers for the 2019 season Friday with Los Zorros debuting in front of their home crowd on March 23rd against Reno 1868 FC at Chukchansi Park.

Fresno Football Club officially kicks off its second year in the USL Championship on March 9, when they play at first-year franchise New Mexico United. That match will take place at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. The following weekend, March 16, Fresno will play at Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Official kickoff times will be announced in the near future.

AUBURN, Ala. -  News of traumatic brain injuries and suicides among professional and college football players has made many question the violent nature of the game. Rule changes, such as the NCAA's targeting rule, have been imposed to promote player safety, and yet concussions continue to occur.

Using Auburn University's functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, machine, to study the brain functions of college football fans and non-football fans when they were exposed to violent imagery, a team of researchers suspect additional regulations that improve player safety and make the game less violent could impact fandom.