Trojans Might Visit Aztecs in 1992

Miami this week for San Diego State, USC in 1992?

Jim Sterrett, president of the Greater San Diego Sports Assn. (GSDSA), said Tuesday he is optimistic negotiations will be completed within the next month for a USC-San Diego State football game in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium on Sept. 12, 1992.

The Los Angeles Coliseum, home of USC and the Raiders, will likely undergo renovations in 1992 and USC has been notified it will have to find alternate sites to play during that season. The GSDSA contacted USC about the possibility of making its first appearance in San Diego a couple of months ago.

“Although negotiations are preliminary and many factors need to be addressed between the institutions and with the Los Angeles Coliseum before a definitive agreement can be consummated, we are moving forward on a very optimistic basis,” Sterrett said. “We see this as a great opportunity for the college football fans of San Diego and for the programs at both of these universities.”

He added: “In our opinion, no school has a greater marquee value in Southern California than USC.”

Sterrett said contractual arrangements have been approved.

“The remaining points have to do with the schedule and the Coliseum.”

Mike McGee, USC athletic director, was unavailable for comment, but Tim Tessalone, USC sports information director, confirmed the scenario.

“The key thing here is nothing is set in stone,” Tessalone said. “It looks like it’s going to happen if everything up here breaks as we expect it to.”

Tessalone said the renovation will not begin until an environmental impact report is approved, and that the timetable appears to be about 18 months.

“If that’s the scenario, it looks like USC-San Diego State will come about,” he said.

If the Trojans aren’t displaced from the Coliseum in 1992, then things aren’t as certain for the USC-SDSU game.

“I would think we would try to schedule a home game in the Coliseum then,” Tessalone said.

Said SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller: “This is a tremendous asset to our community, and we’re delighted to be a part of it.

“The Aztecs will have their work cut out for them. This is the kind of situation the Aztecs look forward to. It’s the opportunity to step up in class.”

The Aztecs have to juggle their schedule to work the game in, but Miller expressed confidence that can be done. He credited the Western Athletic Conference, Hawaii and Brigham Young with being willing to work with SDSU. To work in the USC game, the Aztecs would have to move a Sept. 12 game with BYU and then play at Hawaii Sept. 19, rather than hosting Hawaii on that date.

NCAA rules limit a school to 11 games unless one game is played off the mainland, such as in Hawaii. In that case, a school can play 12 games.

USC currently has 10 games scheduled for 1992, so a game with SDSU would fill the Trojans’ open date.

The game will be promoted and handled by Holiday Bowl board members. The GSDSA, which sponsors the Holiday Bowl, will use that game’s “model” for a USC-SDSU game, offering seating priority to its members and drawing from the 40,000-ticket base of the Holiday Bowl. Between that and season ticket holders from USC and SDSU, the GSDSA figures it can produce “many of the trappings of a bowl game.”