CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK / ROBYN NORWOOD : Cobb Gives Murphy 20 Reasons to Stay Around

Cal State Fullerton’s football banquet Tuesday night turned into a plea for Gene Murphy to remain as coach when University President Jewel Plummer Cobb pledged up to 20 additional scholarships for the program.

Murphy has spoken with Nevada Las Vegas Athletic Director Brad Rothermel on the telephone about UNLV’s vacant football coaching position, but has not declared himself a candidate, Rothermel and Murphy said.

Murphy has said he is “interested” in the position. He must make a decision by Dec. 16, the deadline for applications, Rothermel said.

“I’m not a candidate, but that doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind,” Murphy said.

Murphy has said that the larger football budget and better facilities at UNLV make the job appealing. An on-campus stadium at Fullerton is scheduled for completion in time for the 1992 season.

Calling Murphy “a wonderful human being” and “a fine coach,” Cobb pledged seven additional scholarships immediately with the intent to provide a total of 20 over the next two years.

“I intend for him to stay,” she said.

“Friends of Fullerton football need to be assured that when the stadium opens, the football coach who persevered longest will be at the helm when the Titans take the field,” Cobb said.

Cobb’s comments drew a standing ovation.

Twenty scholarships represent about $120,000, said Murphy, who responded to Cobb’s comments by praising her for her support of athletics.

Cobb is retiring next July after eight years as president of Cal State Fullerton.

Before opening its season Saturday, the wrestling team announced a memorial to Erin Millsap, the Fullerton wrestler who was killed in a motorcycle accident in September.

The Erin Millsap Most Improved Wrestler award will be given annually to a member of Fullerton’s team. The award is sponsored by Sigma Pi, Millsap’s fraternity.

Cedric Ceballos, rapidly becoming the country’s best-publicized “unknown” player, is one of 50 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, given each year to the country’s best player by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Ceballos, who led the Big West in scoring last season with a 21-point average, already has been called a “best-kept secret” and the sixth-best small forward in the country by The Sporting News.

But the raves may be getting out of hand.

In the Dec. 15 issue of the Basketball Times, columnist Sonny Vaccaro calls Ceballos not only “the best unknown player in America,” but also one of the top 10 players in the country. Vaccaro, who is a Nike shoe representative, also writes that “some of my friends in the NBA think he might just be a lottery pick next June.”

For now, that’s stretching it.

The football team finished in a tie with San Jose State for second place in the Big West Conference. Each team had a 5-2 record. Although there is no tiebreaker, Fullerton can claim an edge on the Spartans, the team they beat, 28-14, to finish 6-4-1.

Who Knows What: The Titans’ two-sport athletes are proliferating. Last year, Jill Matyuch played basketball and softball, and Mark Hill played football and ran track. Contrary to appearances, Hill did not add basketball to that schedule; the basketball player is a different person by the same name.

This year, freshman Tracy Tousley will join Matyuch on the basketball and softball teams. And freshman Phil Nevin, who had a fine year as the football team’s kicker, finished the season just in time to catch the tail end of the baseball team’s fall schedule. Nevin played in two games, as a designated hitter, third baseman and shortstop. He had one hit--a double--and two stolen bases.

Titan Notes

Offensive lineman Reggie Redding will play in the Senior Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., next month, and Mike Pringle is expected to play in both the Japan Bowl in Tokyo Jan. 14, and the Martin Luther King Bowl in San Jose Jan. 15. . . . Redding and Pringle also were named to All-American teams by the publication NFL Scouting Report. Pringle was chosen first-team all-purpose runner, and Redding was an honorable mention lineman. . . . Gymnasts Margot Gumerlock and Bill Barham recently won a mixed pairs invitational at DeKalb, Ill. . . . Three Titan women gymnasts--Lisa Dolan, Heidi Greer and Stacey Harris--were among 77 named nationally as All-American scholar-athletes.