CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTES : Pending Ruling, Soccer and Golf Might Be Added

Cal State Fullerton is considering the addition of women’s soccer and golf to its athletic program, pending the outcome of Thursday’s court case involving the Titan volleyball team, Athletic Director Bill Shumard said Tuesday.

The volleyball program, which had a $112,000 budget this year, was dropped in January, and Coach Jim Huffman is seeking to have that decision overturned on the grounds that it violates state sex discrimination laws.

Shumard said soccer and golf could be added at a minimal cost to the school while providing more opportunities than volleyball for women to compete.

“If we’re found to be wrong on the equity issue, we want to make it right,” Shumard said. “But we also want to do something that fits more philosophically within our program.”

Shumard said if the court rules in the volleyball team’s favor and the school is forced to provide more opportunities for female student-athletes, Fullerton would not necessarily bring back volleyball.

“We can’t afford it right now,” Shumard said. “We don’t feel we could compete without an additional investment.”

Former Titan football player Mike Brown, arrested in connection with an on-campus altercation in November, was found not guilty on three misdemeanor counts of battery with serious bodily injury, assault, and battery Monday in North Orange County Municipal Court, according to Lee Blumen, an Orange County public defender who represented Brown.

Brown’s scholarship was revoked after the incident, and Blumen said Brown, a cornerback, hopes to rejoin the football team. But Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said he has no scholarships left.