CSUN Sets Priorities for Rise to Division I

A beacon has been selected for Cal State Northridge’s maiden voyage into major college athletics, and to no one’s surprise men’s basketball was the sport of choice.

Bob Hiegert, CSUN athletic director, announced a priority list for the school’s 16 programs at a meeting of athletics administrators and coaches Wednesday. In addition to men’s basketball, the big winners were women’s basketball and men’s volleyball. All three sports, according to the school’s projections, will reach NCAA maximum scholarship levels for Division I by the 1992-93 school year.

In addition, baseball, soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, women’s tennis and golf will be within two scholarships of the limit. Northridge is projecting a budget of 147 full scholarships by 1992-93. The NCAA maximum for the sports CSUN fields is 190.

Northridge announced April 26 that it was petitioning the NCAA for Division I status in all sports but football. NCAA regulations require a school to undergo a two-year probationary period before changing its status in athletics.

A ranking of sports was required, Hiegert said, for budgeting, staffing and fund-raising purposes. Men’s basketball headed the list, followed by football, women’s basketball and baseball.

The top criterion used to choose among the sports was money-earning potential as qualifiers for NCAA championship events. In men’s basketball, for instance, each of the 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament field earn shares of the revenue generated by the playoffs.

“In some of the championships there is a tremendous income generated,” Hiegert said. “In some, there’s none. So, if we’re looking for the national office to help us, which is what most institutions do, we needed to make that a priority.”

Also a consideration in the selection process was: media coverage, the university’s future construction plans for athletics facilities, fund-raising potential, projected growth and net cost of the program, predicted success against Division I opponents and possible alignment in conferences with other major colleges.

The coaches expressed little surprise over the order in which the programs were placed, largely because they were given the opportunity to play a significant role in the ranking process. Hiegert and Associate Athletic Director Judy Brame met with each head coach during the past six weeks to discuss priorities.

“The main concern around here has been that while we were Division II, we subscribed to a broad-based philosophy,” Hiegert said. “We really treated each of the sports as equally as we could. In every Division I model we looked at that was not the case. Most have a two- or three-tiered approach for funding.”

Although it will remain a Division II program in the immediate future, football was kept high on the priority list because of the public interest a winning team can generate.

“The thought is, if you’re going to have football you had better do it right because it reflects on the whole program,” Hiegert said. “We plan on building a 30,000-seat stadium. If we’re not able to fill an on-campus facility right now, there is no reason to think in terms of building a bigger one. The real successful programs across the country have strong football and basketball programs.”

Bob Burt, CSUN’s football coach, said planned improvements in funding should enable the Matadors to challenge the best Division II teams.

“They are trying to give us a chance to be successful not only in our conference but also on a national level, and that’s all we can ask,” Burt said. “We’re certainly not spoiled by the silver spoon, but we’re not the Little Sisters of the Poor, either.”

Basketball Coach Pete Cassidy said he welcomes the opportunity to be the point man for CSUN’s charge into Division I.

“I’ve always thought men’s basketball should be the top priority anyway. I’d be a fool if I didn’t,” Cassidy said. “It’s an exciting time for everyone, for all the sports. We’re entering new horizons and enthusiasm is high.”

In addition to projected increases in scholarship money, coaches also should benefit from expanded staffing. For example, the men’s and women’s basketball programs, which each will have a full-time assistant next season, should have another part-time position available by 1990. The baseball team, which has been allotted 1.3 coaching positions for next season, will have two fully paid positions by the 1990 season.

Head coaches and assistants also are expected to gradually receive more release time from their classroom assignments in order to coach, recruit and schedule opponents.

“We’re trying to reduce the load placed on all of our coaches to the best of our ability,” Hiegert said. “They can use every hour we can get them.”

A MATTER OF PRIORITY Emphasis CSUN Places on Its Programs

NCAA CSUN Sport Limit Projection Men’s Basketball 15 15 Football 40 31 Wom. Basketball 15 15 Baseball 12 13 Soccer 9 11 Wom. Volleyball 10 12 Men’s Volleyball 5 5 Softball 10 11 Track and Field 15 30 Swimming 15 25 Golf 4 5

* Scholarship projections are based on forecasts for the 1992-93 school year.

* Projections for swimming and track and field reflect total scholarships for

men’s and women’s programs combined. Cross-country scholarships count

against the track total.