New Coach for Northridge Arrives as Old Slumbers Depart

Bob Burt referred to Cal State Northridge Friday as a “sleeping giant.”

The school’s new head football coach may be right, but the giant, 28,000 students strong, is at least stretching, if not yet fully awake.

In introducing Burt to the media on Friday, CSUN officials staged a full-bore press conference, complete with a press kit, a luncheon and college officials from James Cleary, the school president, on down. Such extravagances are unprecedented on this campus.

After the press conference, Lorin Pullman, the school’s sports information director, was pulled away to handle a request from a downtown sportscaster wishing to interview Burt.

“Do you guys pay this much attention to every new professor around here?” Burt asked a reporter.

Not hardly.

But then, this much attention wasn’t paid to football coaches around here, either. In the past, when Northridge named a new coach, most people didn’t know the old one had left.

The arrival of Burt, however, may coincide with a new emphasis on the football team.

Northridge has increased its athletic budget, and the Division II school’s conference, the Western Football Conference, is up from an original four schools to its current seven members. There is talk it may eventually expand to 10.

Not exactly the Pac 10, but definitely a program on the rise.

“This is a pot of gold here. He’ll discover that,” said Mark Banker, a holdover Northridge assistant football coach, referring to his new boss.

At least, his temporary boss.

Banker, defensive coordinator under former head coach Tom Keele, has been given a six-month extension by the college to bridge the gap between administrations. Rich Lopez, the offensive coordinator, has been given a one-year extension.

Keele, after serving on the job for seven years, was terminated last month. It was later revealed that Keele had held a tryout for kickers in violation of NCAA regulations.

“The firing, the NCAA, the whole cloud of dust surrounding our program,” Banker said, “maybe it was a good thing. Now we’ve got the media here, everybody involved. I’m sorry it had to be a negative thing, but now we’re going to get some positives and we will be a lot stronger.”

Will Banker and Lopez be a part of all that? Burt said he will talk to both.

“I would like to have them both stay,” he said, “if our philosophies are similar and we can work comfortably together.”

Banker has been a member of the Northridge staff for five years.

“I have been in Division II as both a player and a coach,” he said. “I might like to go to another level. But I would like to see this school win, if it’s from here or from afar.

“If I was offered a job here, I would be happy. If a better offer came along, I would have to consider it. Right now, the word ‘security’ is not in my vocabulary.”

Lopez has just finished his fifth year running the Matador offense. He had hoped to get the head coaching job himself.

Whether Lopez will stay remains to be seen, but the CSUN offense definitely will not. Burt officially declared the one-year experiment with the run-and-shoot shot. He will go instead with a “Pro I” formation.

Burt must not only dispel Keele’s offensive philosophy, but the cloud of dust the football program was left under after the violation was revealed.

“The guy made a mistake,” Burt said. “We all do. It was an unfortunate thing. But now, we have a real sleeping giant here. We are where Cal State Long Beach and Fullerton once where.

“Don’t get me wrong. We are not going to go down to UCLA and win. No way. There is no talk that I have heard of about our going to Division I. But we are going to be the best Division II club we can possibly be.”

Before that can happen, there are certainly problems to deal with. CSUN is coming off a 4-7 season. The Matadors haven’t had a winning year since 1983 and only two in the last nine years.

One assistant coach this past year complained about a lack of heart by team members. One player complained about postgame apathy after losses.

None of this seemed to faze Burt.

“When the job was offered,” he said, “I hesitated long enough to catch my breath and say, ‘Yes sir.’ I don’t know how long it’s going to take us to become successful in our program. I’d like to see it by the end of spring practice.”

Asked how he would attract kids to his program, Burt told reporters, “There are places where it’s 30 below and you can’t get out the door. I know. I’ve been there. But we are going to tell students, if they want an education, they don’t have to leave the Valley. The word will get out. It may not happen overnight, but it will get out.”

At the press conference, Burt certainly looked as if he was ready for the season to begin. In about five minutes.

“I’m getting cranked up right now,” he said.

Sleeping giants, beware.