Garrido Said to Be ‘Very Interested’ in Coming Back to Coach the Titans : Colleges: Neale Stoner says Fullerton might be able to persuade baseball coach to leave Illinois.

Cal State Fullerton athletic department officials have contacted Augie Garrido about the school’s vacant baseball coaching position, and Garrido, the former Fullerton coach who is now at Illinois, apparently is interested in returning.

According to Tere Garrido, Augie’s wife, Titan associate athletic director Steve DiTolla spoke to Garrido by telephone Wednesday. DiTolla had received permission from Illinois athletic director John Mackovic to speak to Garrido about the job.

“It seems like Fullerton would like Augie to come back, but I don’t know if they can or can’t (afford to bring him back),” Tere Garrido said by telephone from Champaign, Ill. “They’re trying to figure it out for themselves.”

Garrido is in Cuba with Team USA preparing for the Goodwill Games, and could not be reached Friday. But Neale Stoner, the former Fullerton and Illinois athletic director who hired Garrido at both schools, said Garrido is “very interested” in returning to Fullerton. Stoner, now the executive director of the California Raisin Bowl, said he spoke Wednesday to Garrido.

“If the offer is in the ballpark with Illinois, I think he’ll come back,” said Stoner, who was on Fullerton’s campus to attend Friday’s ceremonial ground-breaking for the Titan Sports Complex.

“There has been ongoing discussion between him and the university, and Augie seemed pretty positive in his remarks to me. He likes what’s happening with the new sports complex at Fullerton, and he’s held in high regard by people in the university.”

Stoner said Garrido’s interest in the Fullerton job is based in part on a change in commitment toward baseball at Illinois. Garrido, whose three-year contract expires in August, said last week that his salary will be cut by about $25,000.

However, Garrido added that his base salary will still be more than $90,000--significantly more than what Fullerton can offer--and that he will make up the salary cut in revenues from summer baseball camps.

“If he makes a move, this would be the year,” Stoner said. “He feels strongly about the Southern California area and the wonderful job he did here. I’ve always said he’s the best college baseball coach in the country.”

The primary factor in negotiations appears to be money. Fullerton has advertised the position as having an annual salary of $55,464-$66,984, but there has been talk among Titan boosters of supplementing a coaching package in an effort to attract Garrido.

“Some boosters have been talking among themselves, but nothing has been firmed up,” said Pierre Nicolas, a Fullerton real-estate investor who is a Titan baseball supporter. “Some people have asked me if I’d be interested (in donating money). I’d love to have Augie come back.”

Fullerton athletic director Ed Carroll would not comment on any of the candidates to replace Larry Cochell, who resigned July 3 to accept the job at Oklahoma. But it appears the department is making a big push to get Garrido, who guided the Titans to College World Series championships in 1979 and 1984.

“Ed and his people talking to Augie must be doing a good job, because the interest level is high on Augie’s part,” Stoner said.

Garrido, 51, said last week that he wouldn’t consider returning to Fullerton “unless something changes dramatically” in the program and the school’s commitment to baseball.

Among the reasons for his departure in 1987, Garrido listed the lack of a first-class playing facility, fund-raising responsibilities--the Titan coach must raise about $100,000 a year to sustain the program--and the fact that neither he nor his assistants were benefitting personally from their fund-raising projects.

“I felt I wasn’t able to act on ideas that I had,” Garrido said. “I felt like I was in a maintenance mode, just keeping the program going. There wasn’t time to develop yourself personally.”

Tere Garrido said Augie has mixed feelings about the possibility of leaving Illinois, where he has won two Big Ten championships in three seasons.

“The job here is challenging, but he has pretty much proven his point here,” Tere said. “There are reasons to stay here and reasons to go back to Fullerton.”