Northridge Exploring Its Options : Conferences: Independent Matadors bidding for a spot in Big West vacated by Fresno State. Big Sky alignment is another possibility.

Cal State Northridge Athletic Director Bob Hiegert has been running up the phone bill since June 12, the day Fresno State left the Big West Conference for the Western Athletic Conference.

Hiegert wants Northridge to take Fresno State’s place in the Big West and to that end has made his pitch to half the athletic directors in the conference as well as Jim Haney, the commissioner.

Haney insists that his conference is committed to Division I-A football, and CSUN has no plans to play football at that level. But Hiegert still believes his school’s athletic program is suited for the Big West.

The key is convincing Big West membership that it cannot afford I-A football. Hiegert believes the financial struggles of several football programs in the Big West, coupled with the loss of Fresno State, merit a realistic look at the feasibility of continuing at the 1-A level.

Fresno State, the conference leader in attendance, averaged 31,726 for football, nearly double the next-closest school, Nevada Las Vegas, which averaged 17,926.

It is doubtful that Nevada Reno, the current front-runner to fill Fresno State’s spot beginning in 1992, would draw similar numbers. Nevada Reno currently plays in the I-AA Big Sky Conference.

Nevada Reno Athletic Director Chris Ault admits as much.

“I’d like to think we are an excellent draw but you can’t put us in the category of Fresno,” Ault said, noting that when Nevada Reno plays on the road in the Big Sky, “they close the towns down.”

But the towns are bigger in the Big West. Fresno State averaged 23,789 on the road last season compared to the 15,542 that Nevada Reno attracted. At home, Fresno State drew 31,726 to 15,737 by Nevada Reno.

“The concern we have,” Hiegert said, “and we hope the Big West realizes, is that the immediate need needs to be solved, but we hope in the long run that if over half the membership is in financial trouble in football, and then you bring in an untested I-A football institution (Nevada-Reno) to the table as a life-support system, it doesn’t make sense.”

Bill Shumard, who became Cal State Fullerton’s athletic director June 14, already has questioned the viability of I-A football and expressed an interest in the more cost-efficient I-AA or I-AAA football. Last season, the Titans averaged a conference-low 2,738 and went 1-11.

If Shumard is persuasive with his fellow Big West members, particularly Cal State Long Beach, which averaged only 2,738 at home last season, and Pacific, which drew 7,692, then Northridge might be of interest to the Big West.

Hiegert also is pushing the Matadors’ 16-sport menu.

“From our vantage point, I wanted to re-emphasize our broad-based programs and the ease in which we can move to existing schedules,” Hiegert said. “The quicker they make the decision, the worse it looks for us and (Cal State) Sacramento (another interested independent). The longer they take, the better for us and Sacramento.”

According to Haney, no decision will be made until at least the end of July, when the conference athletic directors and presidents meet in Los Angeles.

Haney, though, is intent on limiting the pool of replacements for Fresno State to institutions in the West with the ability to meet I-A football requirements, and only Nevada Reno and Boise State meet those criteria, based on stadium size.

“We’re aware of the (financial) problems some institutions have and some are making strides,” Haney said. “At this point, I don’t see us at all abandoning I-A football.”

After filling that spot, expansion is a possibility.

“The problem for us is that we anticipated having a very thoughtful discussion over the next few months about expansion and the issues involved, but with Fresno’s departure and the WAC conduct of the invitation, behind closed doors and in secret in a very short time frame, we are in a tough position,” Haney said.

“Any time you lose a member, it puts you in a thoughtful mode of what you are doing, where you are heading. We want I-A football and we are looking at Reno and Boise State. We’ll bring in one or both, and amid that is the broader picture of where the conference is headed at the end of the decade.

“We have a number of options: take one (Reno or Boise State) and stay at 10, or go beyond 10, go anywhere from 11-14 or 16. You could go as high as you want if you are willing to play in divisions and if you are willing to remove the qualifier of 1-A football as a basis to be considered.”

Under the scenario without the I-A football requirement, Northridge could compete in all sports except football, such as Big West members UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. In football, it could play in a separate I-AA or I-AAA arrangement.

As for the Big Sky Conference, which plays I-AA football, Hiegert has completed and returned a survey to the conference committee studying expansion.

According to Hiegert, Northridge is interested in the Big Sky provided it realigns into divisions to cut down on travel expenses.

Big Sky Commissioner Ron Stephenson has received completed surveys from three schools and expects to receive surveys from two others, all of which requested anonymity.

Like the Big West, the Big Sky planned to methodically explore expansion, but now that Nevada Reno and/or Boise State could leave for the Big West, the Big Sky might have to move faster.

Not counting Spokane, which is 10 miles from Cheney, home of Eastern Washington, Reno and Boise State represent the largest Big Sky markets.

They also are the leaders in football attendance. Boise State drew an average of 19,325 to eight home games last season in Bronco Stadium, which seats 22,600, and Nevada Reno averaged 16,500 for nine games in Mackay Stadium, which is being expanded from 21,000 to 30,000.

“We hate to lose any institution and overall they are two of the most competitive,” Stephenson said.

Eighteen months ago, Nevada Reno began a drive to expand its stadium to meet I-A football requirements. Construction began three months ago. “We anticipated conference shake-ups and we wanted to position ourselves,” said Nevada Reno’s Ault.

Even if Fullerton and Long Beach can’t hang on financially in I-A football in the Big West, Ault is convinced his program can, which would give the Big West the minimum six football participants needed for conference play.

Any shuffling by teams in the West is good news for Northridge. “At this point, we’re simply happy there’s been movement,” Hiegert said.

How the Schools Stack Up BIG WEST (Division I-A in football)

1990 Avg. Home 1990 School Attendance Games Record Nevada Las Vegas 17,926 5 4-7 San Jose St. 17,105 5 8-2 New Mexico St. 17,094 5 1-10 Utah State 12,112 5 5-5-1 Pacific 7,692 5 4-7 Cal State Long Beach 4,697 6 6-5 Cal State Fullerton 2,738 3 1-11

Note: UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara do not field football teams.

BIG SKY (Division I-AA in football)

1990 Avg. Home 1990 School Attendance Games Record Boise State 19,325 8 10-4 Nevada Reno 15,737 9 13-2 Montana 12,137 6 7-4 Idaho 9,340 5 9-4 Montana State 9,055 5 4-7 Weber State 8,041 4 5-6 Northern Arizona 6,819 6 5-6 Idaho State 5,828 7 3-8 Eastern Washington 4,605 5 5-6

LOOSE ENDS

Cal State Northridge--Division I independent in all sports except football, which competes in Division II. Looking to join the Big West either as replacement for Fresno State or as part of expansion. Also considering joining the Big Sky if that conference expands.

Cal State Sacramento--Beginning this fall, a Division I independent in all sports except football, in which it competes in Division II. Interested in joining the Big Sky if that conference expands.

Nevada Reno--Being considered by the Big West to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Fresno State, which is moving to the Western Athletic Conference.

Boise State--Being considered by the Big West as a replacement for Fresno State.