Cleary: Cost Cuts Would Bring CSUN Closer to Division I

Since November, when Cal State Northridge coaches voted unanimously to recommend that the university step up from Division II to Division I, members of the athletic department have anxiously awaited an encouraging word from CSUN President James W. Cleary.

But Cleary, 58, has gained a reputation of being steadfastly opposed to big-time collegiate sports--and the improprieties that often go with them--in his 18 years as school president.

So when more than a month passed without a yea or a nay from the president’s office, many Northridge coaches reasoned the move was doomed.

“The longer he waits, the more second thoughts he’ll have,” lamented one coach recently.

But if Cleary’s comments in an interview at the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. convention on Friday are any indication, the reverse may be true.

Cleary said the adoption of cutbacks at a special NCAA convention on cost-cutting in June would enhance the chances of Northridge--and possibly other California Collegiate Athletic Assn. schools--moving to Division I.

“Some of the issues Cal State Northridge is obviously confronted with in considering such a move are fiscal,” said Cleary, who is the Division II chairman on the Presidents Commission. “We should be able to utilize whatever results at that convention as far as cost containment.”

Cleary said he has already formed a committee to help him gather the information he needs to make a decision. Bob Hiegert, athletic director, Judy Brame, women’s athletic director, Sam Winningham, chairman of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, and Lenin Glass, dean of the School of Professional Studies and Communication, are members of the committee.

“That group is now preparing a specific proposal analyzing the causes of the problems we find ourselves in as far as the future of Division II and the future of the conference,” Cleary said. “They will then identify alternative solutions to the problem. Those solutions will have alternatives--one of which would obviously be to go to Division I except in football. Another alternative would be to stay status quo, or maybe some other approach that I’m not aware of.”

Among the problems Northridge faces if it decides to stay in Division II is an evaporating pool of competition in Southern California. A related problem is the travel cost incurred in visiting opponents in its nonconference schedule. The Matadors may have to start traveling further for such opponents because guidelines for the selection of playoff teams in some sports has made Division II teams like Northridge less attractive to many Division I teams in the area.

The future of the CCAA is also in doubt because Cal State Los Angeles has already announced its intent to leave the conference to move to Division I, a move that is also being seriously considered by UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield.

Cleary said the committee may need outside help in completing its study. “It’s a big order. We’re asking them to not only identify problem areas, but also to

come up with some solutions, specifically in the area of cost,” he said. “It may well be that we’ll have to hire outside consulting assistants to do a community study to see whether there is enough support. We will need some kind of funding or revenue from the community to assist in our direction of Division I.”

Cleary initially said he hoped that Northridge could make a decision about its future by June 1. It won’t.

“It looks right now like we may not be able to make that final decision by this June and submit our declaration of intent to the NCAA,” Cleary said. The subject of a move to Division I will be considered by the University Planning Council, the Academic Affairs Planning Committee, the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, the Associated Student Senate, the University Advisory Board, and the Alumni Board, as well as several off-campus support groups.

“It’s a serious decision and one that’s not to be taken lightly,” Cleary said. “I have asked specifically for answers to the tough questions. Are we going with an athletic program with great breadth? If we are, what is the cost factor? Will there have to be some realignment or down-scoping of the breadth?”

Cleary has already encountered problems with some faculty.

“There are a lot of members of the faculty that don’t understand the difference between Division I and Division II,” Cleary said. “There are a lot of people out there in the community and university community that think we’re talking about going out there and taking on USC and UCLA right away. Well heavens, there are a lot of Division I institutions that are almost exactly as we are.”

Cleary said he will call a February meeting of CCAA presidents to talk about the future of the conference and what additional cutbacks by Division I could mean to Division II teams. He said he had been approached by “several presidents from institutions in the Far West”--most likely from Cal State Sacramento, Grand Canyon, Ariz., Southern Utah State and U.S. International University--about the possible formation of a new Division I conference.

Northridge has the athletic diversity and student enrollment to match up favorably with most Division I schools. That has helped Cleary contend with his misgivings about leaving what he considers to be a “more academically pure” division for the sometimes perilous waters of Division I sports.

“Division II institutions tend to be much smaller than we are and academically and athletically less diverse,” Cleary said. “I know at several playoffs we were hosting in last couple of years I’ve walked into the gym and heard parents and friends of the opposing team say, ‘Is this really a Division II institution? I can’t believe it.’ ”

Cleary said he is also beginning to see more public interest.

“I think the university has grown and developed in size, stature, quality and in reputation in last four or five years,” Cleary said. “People have become aware of that growth and I almost feel that they expect us to go Division I. I did not sense that five or six years ago. This is all intuitive, however, which is why we have to go out and test the waters and do the studies in the community.”