As the Fresno State football team gained national recognition in the 1980s, a new street gang took notice and adopted the color red and the Bulldog logo as their own.

More than two decades later, the Bulldog gang has grown to include 5,000 validated members and about 5,000 associates who identify themselves by wearing the Fresno State Bulldog logo, according to the Fresno Police Department’s Public Information Officer, Jeff Cardinale.

And those gang members buy a lot of Bulldog merchandise.

The buying power of the gang has helped catapult Fresno State to the top third of universities nationwide based on how much revenue is collected through licensing.

There seems to be a correlation between the amount of Bulldog gang members and the amount of revenue generated from licensing Fresno State’s logos.

Eight years ago, the licensing royalties were just $30,000. Today that number has jumped ten-fold, to nearly $300,000, said Fresno State Director of Licensing Clarence Chiong.

The past eight years have also been a growth period for the Bulldog gang as it has increased from having about 1,500 members in 2000 to the more than 5,000 validated members today, according to Cardinale.

When asked about the association of the gang with the school logo and mascot, Fresno State Associate Athletics Director Paul Ladwig said that he has been asked multiple times about the connection.

“If anyone thinks that we sell merchandise to be used for an illegal street gang that is just absurd,” Ladwig said. “There are plenty of fans who buy the merchandise to support the teams.” …