CS Fullerton Cuts Salary of Gym Coach in Half

Cal State Fullerton’s recent decision to save its men’s gymnastics program didn’t come without a price--the salary of Dick Wolfe, the Titans’ 22-year coach, has been virtually cut in half.

The school has offered Wolfe a contract for the 1990-91 school year but has reclassified his position from full-time to half-time, meaning his salary will go from $63,000 a year to $33,500.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of things here, and I’ve come to expect the unexpected,” said Wolfe, whose program was on the verge of being cut because of financial difficulties in the athletic department. “But I never expected this one. I feel I’ve spent my whole life trying to get where I’m at, only to find where I’m at isn’t so good.”

Wolfe, who received the contract Thursday, said he will remain at Fullerton for at least one more year, despite his bitter feelings toward the school. He must sign the contract by Thursday if he is to continue coaching at Fullerton, and one week is not enough time to pursue other options, he said.

Wolfe also says he owed it to his gymnasts to stay.

“The guys have been loyal to me--none have transferred to other schools--so I feel like I have to be loyal to them,” he said. “But trying to figure out your finances on half a salary is no fun. It would be nice if my mortgage was cut in half like my salary.”

Fullerton President Jewel Plummer Cobb, who made the final decision on Wolfe’s contract, could not be reached Tuesday, but Dr. Thomas Coley, an executive assistant to the president, said the cut was imperative if the school was to save the program.

“I realize it’s hard to separate the coach from the decision, but that’s all we could afford to pay for that position,” Coley said. “It was either that or make a hard decision on whether or not to keep the program.”

Coley said fund-raising efforts in late April and May fell well short of the $158,000 goal the school had set to generate enough money to keep men’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s fencing. Wolfe’s salary represented more than 60% of the men’s gymnastics program’s annual budget of about $100,000.

“The budget problem we’re faced with is most unfortunate, but I think it’s certainly better than not having the program,” Fullerton Athletic Director Ed Carroll said. “The Athletics Council recommended the program be discontinued, so this is a compromise between cutting it and maintaining it at its current level.”

Wolfe, a four-time National Coach of the Year, met with a union representative from the College Faculty Assn. Tuesday and plans to file a grievance.

“I’m not sure if I have any recourse or not, but if I do, I’ll take it,” said Wolfe, who owns a house in Laguna Beach. “They just cut my salary in half. That wouldn’t happen to a box boy at Vons. I’m just thrown back by this whole thing.”