CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Murphy Meets Utah Official to Discuss Job

Cal State Fullerton’s Gene Murphy met with Utah Athletic Director Chris Hill in Denver to discuss the school’s vacant football coaching job, sources said Tuesday.

Murphy flew on Monday to Denver, where Hill is attending Western Athletic Conference meetings, and flew back to Fullerton Tuesday, the sources said.

Murphy also is one of six finalists who will be interviewed for the vacant Nevada Las Vegas job.

Murphy said Tuesday that he had spoken with Hill by telephone last week, but would not comment on whether he had met with Hill in Denver.

“I’m going to interview at UNLV,” Murphy said Tuesday.

Murphy, who was offered the Utah job after the Titans went 11-1 in 1984, has coached the Titans for 10 seasons, during which his teams have a record of 54-60-1, not including two forfeit victories. Fullerton finished 6-4-1 this season.

In 1984, Murphy let other job options pass by as he held out for the job at Missouri, for which he finished second.

The Utah job became available again Nov. 28 when Jim Fassel was fired after five years. Fassel had a 25-32 record at Utah, 4-8 this season.

Hill could not be reached for comment, but a source said he has met with at least one other candidate in Denver.

The men’s basketball team can match the 5-0 start of the 1983-84 team with a victory Saturday over Cal State Northridge, the second Division II team the Titans have played this season.

Fullerton already has beaten West Texas State, a Division II team that, surprisingly, gave the Titans their closest game so far, a 15-point victory.

Northridge is 2-4.

“They will be jacked up to play us,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed. “We out-man them on paper, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. The game is played on the hardwood.”

Fullerton got off to a 5-1 start last season, losing to Pepperdine in its second game, before losing its next seven in a row.

Ron Caldwell, a transfer forward from Washington, could become eligible in time for the Northridge game if his grades are in by Friday. But Sneed said that although Caldwell has been practicing, he isn’t ready to contribute substantially, in part because he is not in top shape after recovering from knee surgery last year.

Genia Miller, who scored 57 points in two games last week, has been named the Big West Conference women’s basketball player of the week.

In an 84-75 loss to UCLA Friday, Miller scored 34 points, the second-highest total of her career. She scored a school-record 38 against UC Irvine last season.

In a victory over Pepperdine Tuesday, she scored 23.

She made 19 of 27 shots from the field in the two games (70.4%) and 19 of 22 free throws (86.4%). She also had 25 rebounds, nine blocked shots, six assists and three steals.

Despite Miller’s performance against UCLA, the Titans lost. One reason why: Fullerton had 30 turnovers. Turnovers have been a consistent problem in the first five games--the Titans’ are averaging 25 a game.

Tough Schedule: Nine of the top 20 wrestling teams in the country as of late November are on Fullerton’s schedule this season. The Titans already have met second-ranked Arizona State, losing 32-8. Still ahead: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 12 Cal State Bakersfield, No. 13 Northern Iowa, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 Indiana and No. 18 Edinboro. .

Fullerton drew 1,672 fans to Titan Gym for the match against Arizona State, Coach Dan Lewis said. The only remaining home match against a top 20 team is against Northern Iowa Jan. 6.

Blue-Gray Game: Mike Pringle, who led the nation in all-purpose running and finished second to Indiana’s Anthony Thompson in rushing, has been selected to play in the Blue-Gray all-star game Dec. 25 in Montgomery, Ala.

The men’s basketball team asks that fans bring canned foods to the Titans’ game against Northridge Saturday. The cans will be donated to the needy by the Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services group.