CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Titans Get Social With Auction

When Larry Zucker, associate athletic director at Cal State Fullerton, polled members of the Titan Athletic Foundation last fall to identify the organization’s weaknesses, two prevailing concerns were that there weren’t enough social events and that the TAF didn’t reach out to the campus community.

Zucker hopes to address both shortcomings and raise a chunk of money for the Fullerton athletic department with a May 2 auction that he is calling, “A Bid of Excitement.”

The TAF has invited all 3,000 campus employees to the event free of charge and will provide an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets for the auction, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the University Center, are $10 and will be limited to the first 1,200 people. Those interested should call the TAF at 773-3480.

Zucker, who is in charge of athletic department development and marketing and also serves as TAF director, said as of Monday, 650 people had replied to invitations and would be attending.

Among the sports-related items to be auctioned include the blindfold used by former Titan standout Cedric Ceballos to win the recent NBA slam-dunk contest, an NBA basketball autographed by Magic Johnson, a Hall of Fame program autographed by Rod Carew, a baseball autographed by Angel pitcher Jim Abbott and two Super Bowl tickets.

Hockey fans can bid on a Kings fantasy package, which includes two tickets to a 1992-93 game in owner Bruce McNall’s private box and dinner for two in the Forum Club at McNall’s table. Baseball fans can bid on an Angel package that includes six tickets and use of an Anaheim Stadium executive suite for a game.

Winter sports enthusiasts will have their pick of vacation packages to bid on--a one-week stay at a studio condominium in Aspen, Colo., a five-night stay at a Mammoth condo, five nights in a three-bedroom Lake Tahoe home, or a one-week stay at Park City, Utah.

Among the big-ticket items to be auctioned: a one-week vacation in Hawaii, including air fare, accommodations, tennis, snorkeling and two rounds of golf (retail value $3,500); a one-night stay at each of the 13 Red Lion hotels in California and Arizona ($2,500); a 40-inch Mitsubishi television ($3,000), and a one-night stay at all 14 Doubletree hotels in California ($2,000).

“People didn’t expect us to get the high-end items we got,” Zucker said. “There’s never been an event like this here.”

Titan coaches procured many of the items to be auctioned, and their programs will receive 75% of the selling price of those items. The rest will cover costs of the event and go to the general athletic fund.

Zucker couldn’t project how much the auction will raise.

“I’m more concerned with creating a social environment,” he said. “I’d rather have 600 people and raise less money than have 100 people and raise more money.”

Crash Landing: He played a washed-up, minor league catcher named Crash Davis in the box-office hit “Bull Durham,” but come Monday night, May 4, movie star Kevin Costner will be on the mound, throwing out the first pitch before the Fullerton-UC Irvine baseball game in the Titan Sports Complex.

The school has moved the Big West Conference game from Sunday afternoon (May 3) to Monday evening to accommodate Costner, the Fullerton graduate who will be on campus that Monday to receive an alumni achievement award.

Costner, who also starred in “Field of Dreams” and “Dances With Wolves,” will spend part of the afternoon at a reception at the home of President Milton Gordon and has requested to meet with Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido.

The Titans played their first games in the new on-campus stadium Saturday, but the 6:30 p.m. ceremony preceding the 7 p.m. May 4 game will serve as an official grand opening for the facility. The baseball team will give Costner a Titan game jersey with his name and No. 1 on the back.

Those wishing to catch Costner’s pitch, pose with him for photographs and attend the president’s reception can do so for a price. That package will be offered at the May 2 auction.

“He’s a great example of what we want our players to understand, that you can fulfill your dreams and that you can do it from Cal State Fullerton,” Garrido said of Costner. “Plus, he’s a better hitter than most of our guys. Did you see him in ‘Bull Durham?’ ”

Home Stretch: As the Big West baseball season winds down, three teams--Fresno State, Cal State Long Beach and Fullerton--remain in the race for the conference championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

The Bulldogs and 49ers are tied for first with 12-3 records, and the Titans are a game behind at 11-4. Fresno State closes with a three-game series at last-place New Mexico State (this weekend), home against Nevada Las Vegas (May 1-3) and home against Long Beach (May 8-10).

Long Beach plays host to Fullerton this weekend, sixth-place UC Santa Barbara (May 1-3) and closes the season at Fresno State. After the Long Beach series, Fullerton plays UC Irvine at home (May 1,2,4) and closes at fourth-place San Jose State (May 8-10).

Fresno State, which has won nine consecutive games, appears to have the easiest remaining schedule. Fullerton, which would be in first place if not for losses to New Mexico State and eighth-place Pacific, has a fairly difficult road ahead, but that doesn’t bother Garrido.

“We’ve responded better to the good teams, and we have three opponents left who the players respect and damn well should,” Garrido said. “It might make it easier for us. We’ve had a hard time getting up for some mid-week games and the last games of some series, but it will be easy for them to see how important each game is.”

Photo Finish: Fullerton’s Judi Garman and UCLA’s Sharron Backus are running neck and neck in their race to become the first NCAA Division I softball coach to win 650 games.

Garman, in her 13th season as Titan coach, has 644 career victories, and Backus, in her 18th season at UCLA, has 643 victories. Both schools are scheduled to play three doubleheaders this week.

The Titans, ranked fifth in the NCAA coaches poll, play at Cal State Long Beach today and will play host to 11th-ranked Utah State Friday and Saturday.

Titan Notes

Fullerton shortstop Denise DeWalt was named Big West Conference field player of the week Monday, the second time in three weeks she has captured the award. In four games at Hawaii last week, DeWalt was nine for 16 (.563) with four runs, a double, triple and RBI. She had the game-winning RBI in a 2-0 victory last Monday and went five for six in a 14-inning, 3-2 victory Wednesday. DeWalt also had a team-high 13 assists during the week. . . . Maryalyce Jeremiah, Titan women’s basketball coach who also serves as associate athletic director, has applied to become a full-time associate athletic director. If she is offered the job, she said she will accept and relinquish her job as basketball coach. . . . Third baseman Phil Nevin, who leads the Big West with a .428 batting average, also leads the conference in home runs (17), RBIs (57), runs (53) and walks (45). He is second in hits (62) and third in doubles (16). Catcher Jason Moler leads the conference in doubles (21), left fielder Dante Powell leads in triples (seven), and the Titans lead in team batting (.325) and are second in team earned-run average (3.51). . . . As of April 14, softball pitcher Tiffany Boyd ranked 31st in the nation in ERA (0.74), seventh in victories (21) and 11th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.0). DeWalt leads the conference in hits (64) and is second in runs (25). . . . The Titan football team began spring practice Monday.