(7th day of blogs looking back on Fresno State athletics in 2007-08.)

Fresno State did plenty of brand-building in 2007-08. Bulldogs football coach Pat Hill showed how.

On June 1, Hill joined several current and former players for a three-hour event -- billed as a tailgate party -- at the International Agri-Center in Tulare.

Snacks and soft drinks were on sale. So were Bulldogs t-shirts and season tickets.

Dozens of youngsters lined up early to take part in non-contact drills: high-stepping through tires with football in hand; sprinting 40 yards in a timed dash; catching long passes at full speed.

Mothers, fathers and grandparents watched with smiles.

"I want to show the boys that I can do what they can do," said Allison Souza, a fifth grader from Bakersfield who participated along with her younger sister.

Angel Manzano of Tulare watched his son, Angel Jr., fire 25-yard passes through several car tires suspended about six feet off the ground.

"He wants to go to college and be a football player," Manzano said. "That's his dream."

Asked why he came, Angel Jr., a seventh-grader, said: "I wanted to see Pat Hill."