THE COLLEGES : NCAA Changes Bring CSUN More in Line With Major Schools

When university presidents started throwing their collective clout around at the recent NCAA convention in Nashville, Tenn., the beliefs and opinions of some well-respected athletic figures were crushed underfoot.

John Mackovic, football coach and athletic director at the University of Illinois, told convention delegates, “I feel like I did (New Year’s Day) when we were steamrolled by Clemson.” He was speaking in vain against coaching-staff reductions--a resolution that passed rather easily.

It was not a good week for Division’s I largest--and smallest--athletic programs.

The big-timers were hit by scholarship and staff reductions. The small were struck by a one-two punch that increased the minimum number of sports needed to qualify for Division I and required that schools spend at least $250,000 annually on each of their men’s and women’s programs, excluding football and basketball.

Cal State Northridge, fortunately, exists comfortably in the middle.

With each reduction in scholarships, CSUN came a step closer to the allowable maximum and, presumably, competitiveness. In basketball, for example, Northridge has 10 full scholarships to award. The NCAA limit is 15, by 1993 the maximum will be 13.

And while Pepperdine must add a women’s sport and Loyola Marymount must add 8 1/2 scholarships to its programs to keep pace with the new NCAA requirements, Northridge seemed to emerge better off with each passing resolution.

Northridge’s scholarship allocation is slightly below what will be required, but it is projected to be at an acceptable level by 1993 when the legislation goes into effect.

Measures that increased sports participation and provided additional scheduling criteria were particularly well-received by Bob Hiegert, CSUN’s athletic director.

“Both of those really help us in terms of scheduling,” Hiegert said. “We came out of this thing closer in parity than what we were.”

More cost-containment reform legislation is expected to be heard at next year’s convention in Anaheim. Will the school presidents be able to keep their momentum going?

Northridge can only hope so.

Depth charge: Coach John Price will know by the end of the month whether the Northridge men’s volleyball team has the necessary depth to challenge the likes of USC and UCLA for a national championship.

That’s when Bill Ortgiesen, a powerful hitter, should find out if he has successfully contested a first-semester grade that has left him a couple of units short of gaining his eligibility.

Ortgiesen is a transfer from UC Santa Barbara and his presence as a force off the bench could be critical for the Matadors. The 6-foot-6 junior is an outside hitter, but he would also give Price the option of moving starting hitter Mark Root to middle blocker should starters Coley Kyman or Raphael Tulino be injured.

Add volleyball: There are 18 players on Northridge’s roster, but Price took just 12 to this weekend’s tournament at UC Santa Barbara. Included was Sherdrick Bonner, a volleyball rookie who is best known as the quarterback of the Matador football team.

Price said Bonner still has a lot to learn as a player but added that his leadership qualities made him an important member of the team--and a player worth taking along.

“He’s really improving fast,” Price said. “He’s still not there, but the more I see him out there, the more encouraged I am that he may see the court this year.”

Bonner’s role would be as a front-row defensive specialist.

Making a point: United States International will play Northridge twice in the next five weeks--on Jan. 28 at Northridge and on Feb. 14 in San Diego.

These games could be particularly entertaining if Northridge chooses to try some of the run-and-gun tactics it favored early this season. USIU has been on the losing end on both occasions when Loyola Marymount scored the most points in NCAA single-game history--181 two years ago and 186 last week.

Unfortunately for USIU, it accumulates debts even faster than points. The school has filed for bankruptcy and announced it will cease to compete at the NCAA Division I level at the conclusion of the school year.

A quantum leap: St. Mary’s Dave Fehte might be the nation’s only Division I basketball coach with no previous experience as a head coach.

Fehte, 30, a Northridge assistant the past five seasons, took over the St. Mary’s program Jan. 3 when Paul Landreaux resigned.

Before joining the CSUN staff, Fehte had been an assistant at Pierce College for one year. Before that, he was at Chatsworth High for two years and at Cleveland High for one.

St. Mary’s was 5-10 overall under Fehte as of Friday.

“I’m just trying to ride this out and get the guys to play hard,” Fehte said of his first head-coaching assignment. “Any pressure I feel is self-imposed.”

Briefly: Occidental might not have the best basketball team in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but the Tigers are possibly the most balanced. The averages of Occidental’s top five scorers are separated by 3.3 points. Brett Dennis leads the way at 12.6, followed by Ryan Cartnal (12.4), Blair Slattery (11.4), Sandy Brown (10.3) and Hung Duong (9.3). . . .

The Northridge basketball media guide lists the favorite athletes of 10 Matador players. As would be expected, professional basketball players dominated the polling. Charles Barkley got three votes, Michael Jordan had two and Julius Erving, Rex Chapman and Magic Johnson each got one vote.

That, of course, adds up to nine. Then there was Shelton Boykin’s choice: tennis star Boris Becker.

Boris Becker?. . . .