Second Titan Candidate Withdraws : Cerritos’ Horton Says He’s Not Interested in Fund Raising

Cerritos College Coach George Horton has withdrawn from consideration for the Cal State Fullerton baseball job, becoming the second acknowledged front-runner to do so in less than a week and raising questions about the amount of fund raising required in the program.

Fullerton administrators still hope to name a coach by Friday, however.

Jack Smitheran, who has coached UC Riverside to two NCAA Division II championships and who was interviewed Tuesday, said “things went well” in his interview and that he is “still interested.” Smitheran called the fund-raising issue a “concern,” but added “it obviously has been done before.”

Northwestern Coach Larry Cochell was interviewed Wednesday but could not be reached Wednesday night.

Augie Garrido, who coached Fullerton for 15 seasons, accepted the baseball position at Illinois Aug. 12.

Horton, who played at Fullerton and has coached Cerritos to two community college state baseball championships in three years, was interviewed for the position Monday. Tuesday night, he withdrew his name from consideration.

“I just didn’t feel like I wanted to undertake all the fund raising,” Horton said Wednesday. “I don’t want to make it sound like a bad job. It’s a great job, but fund raising is something I don’t see myself enjoying.”

Loyola Marymount Coach Dave Snow, a former Fullerton assistant under Garrido and the early favorite because he was recommended by Garrido, on Saturday withdrew citing personal reasons after discussing the job informally last week.

The Fullerton coach is responsible for raising about $80,000 through gate receipts, season tickets, advertising and other fund-raising projects, candidates who have been interviewed said and Athletic Director Ed Carroll confirmed. That amount is about 30% of the baseball program budget, including salaries and benefits, Carroll said.

Contacted in Illinois, Garrido estimated fund raising required “about 30%” of his time as coach.

“It’s just part of the job, and has been a part of the job,” he said. “I think some of it is in place, and some of it (the new coach) would have to start over on. Main projects that require the attention of the head coach include selling advertising for the outfield fences and recruiting supporters for the Diamond Club.”

Snow said that although raising $80,000 was “a pretty hefty toll,” it was not the main reason he withdrew.

“In my case it was not so much what I didn’t like there, as what I did like here,” Snow said.

A third candidate, Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon, who Fullerton administrators had seriously considered interviewing, said he let it be known that he was not interested, also because of the fund raising.

“In (community colleges), you don’t have to raise money,” Sneddon said. “It’s not our forte. It is Augie’s forte. It’s a lot of pressure. The people who raised money in the past were Augie Garrido men. You just don’t know if they’re going to be your people.”

In the wake of the second withdrawal, Fullerton administrators sought to lessen the impact of the withdrawals, all by people with ties to the program.

“We’re not offering people the job,” Carroll said. “We’re interviewing them. . . . My position is that it takes a very special person to work at Cal State Fullerton. We expect a lot of people and that is maybe not the same as other places. I think it’s wise, if a person doesn’t feel he’s the right person for what we need, to withdraw. We are very up-front. We don’t want anyone here because they’re misled, and we don’t want someone who doesn’t believe they could do it.”

Fullerton has not ruled out interviewing more candidates.