2023 INDUCTEES

The modern Olympic Games have always featured track & field. Known as “athletics,” it dates back to 1896. Exactly 100 years later, in the summer of 1996, Todd Riech became a part of Olympic history.

Riech grew up in Hot Springs, Montana. A small town of only a few hundred people, there were approximately 65 students in his high school! He was his school’s track & field team, single-handedly winning enough events as both a junior and a senior to win back to back state championships.

Because of his success in multiple events, Todd Riech was recruited as a decathlete. However, a hip injury forced him to just focus on the javelin when he enrolled at Fresno State.

Riech thrived with the Bulldogs. A four-time all-American, he broke the NCAA record in the javelin as a senior in 1994, throwing it 266′ 9″ (81.30m) to win an NCAA title. He then followed that up by winning a national title two weeks later at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

In 1995, Todd Riech competed in the Pan American Games in Argentina. He won the bronze medal in the javelin, which set the stage for the Olympic trials one year later. Riech set a new personal best at the trials, 268′ 6″ (81.86m), to qualify for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He finished in 17th place that summer, representing both the United States and Native Americans everywhere, as Todd Riech is a proud member of both the Salish and the Kootenai tribes.

He just missed out on qualifying for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but he did get to watch his son, Nate, win a Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 in the 1500-meter run.

On May 22nd, 2019, the Clovis High School baseball team defeated Frontier, 14-3, to win the Division I Central Section championship. It was the ninth section championship in Cougar history; it was also the last game in the coaching career of James Patrick.

The first game in the coaching career of James Patrick was in 1979. Just 21 years old, Patrick was hired as an assistant coach at Kerman High School. He was with the Lions for one season before becoming an assistant coach at San Joaquin Memorial, his alma mater (where he coached baseball and football).

A 1976 graduate of Memorial, James Patrick was a three-sport athlete for the Panthers: baseball, basketball and football. He would go on to play baseball and football for one season at Reedley College, before transferring to Fresno City College for one season where he played just baseball.

In 1983, James Patrick became the head baseball coach at Memorial. He coached the team for two seasons, winning 24 games and a section championship in his second year. In 1985, he joined the staff at Clovis High School. He was an assistant coach for three years with the Cougars, before taking over as the head coach in 1988.

Over the course of 32 years at Clovis, James Patrick reached many milestones. He coached the team to its first-ever section championship in 1995. Two years later, in 1997, he coached the team to a (mythical) national championship. And he did so again the following year, in 1998.

In 2014, Clovis was again a No. 1 team. A record of 33-5, the Cougars were Cal-Hi Sports’ State Team of the Year for the third time.

In April of 2017, James Patrick earned career win No. 709. He officially passed Mike Noakes to become the all-time winningest baseball coach in Central Section history. Two years later, Patrick would finish his career with 757 wins.

James Patrick coached one player who would go on to play in the major leagues: pitcher Ryan Cook. A 2005 graduate of Clovis High School, Cook was an MLB all-star in 2012 with the Oakland A’s.

Patrick also coached both of his sons at Clovis High School, Chris and Kevin, who each followed in his footsteps and became head baseball coaches in the TRAC.

On May 22nd, 2019, the Clovis High School baseball team defeated Frontier, 14-3, to win the Division I Central Section championship. It was the ninth section championship in Cougar history; it was also the last game in the coaching career of James Patrick.

The first game in the coaching career of James Patrick was in 1979. Just 21 years old, Patrick was hired as an assistant coach at Kerman High School. He was with the Lions for one season before becoming an assistant coach at San Joaquin Memorial, his alma mater (where he coached baseball and football).

A 1976 graduate of Memorial, James Patrick was a three-sport athlete for the Panthers: baseball, basketball and football. He would go on to play baseball and football for one season at Reedley College, before transferring to Fresno City College for one season where he played just baseball.

In 1983, James Patrick became the head baseball coach at Memorial. He coached the team for two seasons, winning 24 games and a section championship in his second year. In 1985, he joined the staff at Clovis High School. He was an assistant coach for three years with the Cougars, before taking over as the head coach in 1988.

Over the course of 32 years at Clovis, James Patrick reached many milestones. He coached the team to its first-ever section championship in 1995. Two years later, in 1997, he coached the team to a (mythical) national championship. And he did so again the following year, in 1998.

In 2014, Clovis was again a No. 1 team. A record of 33-5, the Cougars were Cal-Hi Sports’ State Team of the Year for the third time.

In April of 2017, James Patrick earned career win No. 709. He officially passed Mike Noakes to become the all-time winningest baseball coach in Central Section history. Two years later, Patrick would finish his career with 757 wins.

James Patrick coached one player who would go on to play in the major leagues: pitcher Ryan Cook. A 2005 graduate of Clovis High School, Cook was an MLB all-star in 2012 with the Oakland A’s.

Patrick also coached both of his sons at Clovis High School, Chris and Kevin, who each followed in his footsteps and became head baseball coaches in the TRAC.

On April 21st, 1970, Rolland Todd was just 35 years old when he was hired to be the first-ever head coach of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers were one of three expansion teams to enter the NBA in 1970. Todd coached them for their first 138 games, winning 41 of them.

Rolland Todd grew up in Strathmore on a citrus farm. He remembers saying in the sixth grade that he wanted to one day be a professional athlete and a coach.

The dream of becoming a professional athlete came first, and it really got started for Todd when he attended College of the Sequoias. He played basketball for the Giants, and he helped them win a state title in 1953.

The next year, he transferred to Fresno State. That was in 1954. By the time he was a senior, in 1957, he was team captain. He helped the Bulldogs win the California Collegiate Athletic Association that season, and he finished his Fresno State career with 965 points.

While at Fresno State, Rolland Todd’s roommate was Jerry Tarkanian.

After graduation, Rolland Todd got his chance to play professionally. He had a brief stint in the National Industrial Basketball League, which led to a tryout for both the 1960 Olympic team and the NBA’s St. Louis Hawks. Todd also played in the American Basketball League.

In 1963, Rolland Todd transitioned into coaching. He was an assistant at Riverside City College for one season (under Jerry Tarkanian), before becoming an assistant at Cal State Los Angeles for one season (under Porterville native and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Sharman).

In 1963, Rolland Todd transitioned into coaching. He was an assistant at Riverside City College for one season (under Jerry Tarkanian), before becoming an assistant at Cal State Los Angeles for one season (under Porterville native and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Sharman).

Rolland Todd is the founder of Todd Team Coaching. Since 1986, his company has worked with both individuals and organizations to provide leadership training at the highest level.

In May of 2019, the Fresno State men’s tennis team played in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history. It turned out to be 14 times in a span of only 25 years, though, because the Bulldogs’ first NCAA Tournament appearance was in 1994. 23 years earlier is when Fresno State began competing in Division I. But it was actually three years before that, in what is now known as Division II, when the Bulldogs first made their mark.

They won a national championship in 1968.

Coached by Richard Murray, who was actually a basketball player and a football player at Fresno State (he was a member of the Mercy Bowl team in 1961), the Bulldogs came out of nowhere in 1968. They only had one returning player from the previous season, a season in which they did not win a single conference match.

The Fresno State men’s tennis team had an 11-1 record in dual meets in 1968 en route to the program’s first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association championship. The Bulldogs, whose only loss was to Oregon, earned a berth in the NCAA Western Regionals in Santa Barbara. After winning that tournament, beating out 23 other teams, they qualified for the NCAA College Division Tennis Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jim Powers entered nationals as the No. 2 seed in singles. At regionals, he won the individual title in singles, after beating the No. 4, No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in consecutive matches.

Powers did not win the singles title at nationals; however, he and Gary Ogden did win the doubles title for Fresno State. And they helped the Bulldogs defeat Cal State Los Angeles to win the team title.

In the 1960’s, Cal State Los Angeles was a men’s tennis powerhouse, winning three national titles and finishing runner-up in two more. One of those runner-up finishes was to Fresno State in 1968, by a score of 19-14.