Tuesday's agenda was simple: The Bulldogs host University of the Pacific in a non-conference game on Dec. 1.

UOP, located just up the highway in Stockton, is a nearly century-old athletic rival of Fresno State. Because of a scheduling conflict at the Save Mart Center, the game will be played at Selland Arena. Selland was the scene of many of the Bulldogs' greatest victories under Grant.

There's a good reason Selland was nicknamed Grant's Tomb.

Cleveland and Grant encouraged fans to attend the game. Grant's 1977-78 team, his first at Fresno State, will be honored. Coming off a 7-20 season, the Bulldogs that year went 21-6 and won the Pacific Coast Athletic Association title.

"I hope everybody will come back and support [the Bulldogs]," Grant said. "This will be a night everyone will remember. Every once in awhile, we like to go back to the past. And when we go back to the past, we like to go back and feel that moment again. I hope everyone is there and I hope Coach Cleveland just beats the dog out of UOP."

But there was more to the Cleveland-Grant agenda than mutual admiration (plenty of that, and it all appeared sincere) and a walk down memory lane (Grant called the 1977-78 team his favorite because the players worked so hard).

More importantly, the coaches (coaches are like mayors and colonels -- once earned, the title is forever) gently suggested to Fresno State fans that it's finally time to bury the hatchet. In the interval between the Grant era (1977-1986) and the Cleveland era (2005-present), the men's basketball program saw no shortage of stress and anger and controversy. Coaches came and went, and it's no secret that many fans still resent the departure of some, and how they were sent on their way.

In essence, Cleveland and Grant -- and especially Grant -- were saying to fans: Enough. Come back.

Grant said the turning point in the 1977-78 season was the Dec. 7 game against Cal at Selland. The Bulldogs upset the Golden Bears, 60-55.

Said Grant: "When that happened, it seemed like the whole world took over because the Red Wave took over.... All the cars got red. All the houses turned red. People started to dye their hair red."

A new coach, a new team, a new beginning. That was 1977.

Cleveland picked up on the theme, essentially saying the same can be true for this year.

"We've got a lot to prove," Cleveland said of the 2009-10 Bulldogs. "In some ways, this year for us is like our first year. We've had to overcome a lot of hurdles and challenges. I think there's a similar focus and a similar type of young men [between what Grant had] in his first year here and the group we have now."

The NCAA sanctions handed down for infractions under pre-2005 coaches are gone. The Bulldogs' grades are up, and the team has a full complement of scholarships for the first time in the Cleveland era.

Here's Cleveland on this year's team:

"Our expectation is to win a [Western Athletic Conference] championship. There's not another expectation. For this group of young people, it doesn't matter any more how much experience we have or who's done this or who's done that or what [record] we were last year. The commitment that they've made from April through August [is outstanding]. They stayed here the entire summer. They lifted, they shot, they went to summer school. They've done the right things off the court. What great chemistry. I know it's never going to be easy and you never know what's going to happen. But we really believe. We're excited about this group and they're excited about each other. If our skill development for two hours a week is any indication of how practices are going to be, it is really competitive. Guys are really getting after it. That's how you get better. You get better in practice. I really like our energy. I like our leadership. We've got to make baskets and we've got to make stops. But there's a real sense of optimism among the young men, and it's genuine."

Yes, that's a mouthful. But Cleveland's sheer exuberance is telling. It's hard to imagine him saying the same thing in past seasons.

Practice starts Oct. 16.

At the end of the news conference, Grant said he has faith that fans will fill the Save Mart Center just as they filled Selland in his best years.

"Fresno is a sports town," Grant said. "They'll be here. And, in the end, they'll get to cut the nets down."