Fresno State Top Dog awards dinner halted after former basketball star has medical emergency
Scott Barnes, a former Fresno State basketball standout and now athletics director at Oregon State University, was in stable condition Sunday following a medical emergency while attending an awards ceremony at Fresno State on Saturday night.
Barnes was one of more than a dozen Fresno State alumni receiving Top Dog awards Saturday during ceremonies at the Resnick Student Union on campus. Witnesses said the medical emergency occurred near the start of the formal ceremonies. The proceedings were halted as the emergency occurred.
Barnes was immediately given medical aid from doctors who were at the ceremony. They included Dr. Danielle Campagne, interim chief of emergency medicine at UCSF Fresno. She was there to receive the Distinguished Alumna Award.
“We are grateful to Dr. Campagne ... and fellow physicians who were in the audience — they provided excellent immediate emergency services,” said Lauren Nickerson, Fresno State spokeswoman.
More than 300 who attended the program went outside as medical personnel worked on Barnes inside the student union building before he was taken to Saint Agnes Medical Center. Many attendees, shaken by the events they had witnessed, were in tears and embracing each other.
Barnes was a forward at Fresno State under Boyd Grant in the early 1980s, when the team won the National Invitation Tournament against the DePaul Blue Demons in 1983.
In a statement Sunday night, Oregon State said Barnes remains in stable condition, while showing signs of improvement. Barnes has been able to communicate with family members throughout the day.
Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy said she’s grateful for the care Barnes is receiving.
“Scott Barnes is a dear friend, trusted colleague and incredibly loved man across the Oregon State and Pac-12 families and the entire college sports community,” she said. “Our thoughts are with Scott and his family at this time.”
Barnes, 60, has been Oregon State’s athletics director since December 2016, after previous stops as AD at Pitt and Utah State. He also served as athletics director at Eastern Washington and Humboldt State earlier in his career.
Barnes graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in 1986 and a master’s degree in 1993. He was a Fresno State basketball fan favorite at a time when the Bulldogs were playing before sellout crowds at Selland Arena.
Barnes was a second-team all-conference player as a senior before playing professionally in Germany. He and his wife, Jody, a fellow Fresno State alum, have two children, Milanna and Isaac.
