ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Time Out From Football?

Cal State Fullerton has a football stadium that is going up even as its football program appears to be going down. That may be as telling a juxtaposition as one can find in these times of expectations that are out of step with dwindling budgets.

The scene in recent days at the school has been confusing. One day, the coach was suggesting that players send out their football resumes; another day, the college president was calling a death sentence premature.

President Milton A. Gordon, now reportedly deciding the program’s fate, has to make about $14 million in cuts. For those who care about more than football, the most painful story may yet unfold. What other university programs may have to fall? What costs lie ahead for students, already reeling from recent tuition hits?

The football program has been at the bottom of the heap in national rankings, and it lacks a following. It has taken a crisis and a suggestion that it could be eliminated in order to galvanize campus attention. For those who do follow the team, there have been hopes that the new stadium, now under construction, could turn things around at a largely commuter school. But with the cash crunch, the attention has shifted to the need to raise about $650,000 merely to keep the program alive.

The recommendation of a university advisory committee is that the program be terminated. Without quick and substantial financial help, the football program is likely to end, at least for now. But there could be a silver lining in the cloud.

Being in big-time football has brought Cal State Fullerton big-time disappointment. This year, playing over its head, the school compiled an embarrassing 1-11 record, last among 106 Division I-A schools. In a few years, after the new stadium is ready, perhaps it could play host to a less ambitious but more rewarding program.

The budgetary crisis is painful, but it does afford an opportunity for realistic thinking and planning. Both are in order.