FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State Football unveiled on Monday a custom helmet decal that the Bulldogs will wear in their Nov. 4 home game against Boise State in honor of Native American Heritage Month. In partnership with Table Mountain Casino Resort, the official game sponsor for the contest, Fresno State continues to highlight the various cultures and traditions that make up California's robust Central Valley.
The decal, designed by a graphic artist representing Table Mountain, will feature the American Flag Bulldogs script with tribal feathers extending underneath to acknowledge the proud Native American culture in and around the Central Valley as well as the tribe's patriotism with Veteran's Day falling a week later.
"Here at Fresno State, we take great pride in representing the many cultures and traditions that make our Valley community so unique, while we also strive to advance the pillars of diversity, equity and inclusion on our campus and beyond," said Director of Athletics Terry Tumey. "We thank our partners at Table Mountain for their ongoing support and we look forward to celebrating our Native American community with this tribute, which will be experienced by over 41,000 people inside Valley Children's Stadium and seen from coast-to-coast on national television."
Fresno State is an aspiring Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institution (NASNTI) that honors the fact that the land our campus resides on is recognized with gratitude and appreciation to the Native people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial.
"The Fresno State campus sits in the midst of the San Joaquin Valley, a valley rich in the traditions and representation of Native American peoples and cultures. We are grateful to be in the traditional homelands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples, whose diverse tribal communities share stewardship over this land," quoted from Fresno State's Land Acknowledgement.
The Table Mountain Rancheria Tribal Council added "We are grateful to our partners from Fresno State in what we hope becomes a tradition of recognizing the history and significance of our people and culture. We all share the same vision of honoring the past while ensuring a shared future full of success."
Located just 30 minutes north of Fresno State, Table Mountain Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Native American people from the Chukchansi and Mono tribe.
In addition to donning custom helmet decals, Fresno State Athletics will celebrate Native American Heritage Month in and around the Nov. 4 game with a t-shirt giveaway for the first 10,000 fans, pregame tribal artists on Bulldog BLVD and a special tribal dance performance in-game. Limited tickets to the game remain and can be purchased at GoBulldogs.com/Tickets.