SDSU to Trim 4 Teams : Athletics: Two junior varsity programs also will be eliminated as the university tries to cut its budget.

Three men’s athletic teams and one women’s team at San Diego State fell victim to budget cuts taking place throughout the California State University system Tuesday.

Fred Miller, SDSU athletic director, took the “narrow and deep” approach favored by school President Thomas Day, announcing the elimination of men’s track and wrestling and men’s and women’s golf for the 1992-93 school year.

Junior varsity programs in men’s volleyball and baseball also will be be eliminated.

“These are painful times for higher education,” said a weary Miller from his office. “I’ve had better days.”

Miller said the cuts represent a savings of about $250,000, approximately 10% of the athletic budget funded by the state. SDSU’s total athletic budget is about $5.2 million, but nearly $3 million of that is generated through attendance and fund-raising.

Miller said the football and basketball programs will remain at their full scholarship level.

The athletic department will save some money by having reached a contract settlement with Jim Brandenburg, fired as basketball coach over the winter just three years into a five-year contract. Neither side would comment on the buyout, but sources said it came to about one year’s salary, in the $70,000 range.

Miller said the football team’s current high profile and the possibility of several sold-out fall games doesn’t soften the fiscal blow, and that an additional $100,000 may be trimmed by the end of June. “You’re chopping up people’s careers,” he said. “There will probably be some additional tightening in the next month.”

Miller said the teams may continue to compete on the club level with no school financial support. The track program was similarly cut several years ago but was reinstated through a private fund-raising effort.

That probably won’t happen this time.

The reductions leave San Diego State with 14 varsity sports, the minimum required by the NCAA to maintain Division I-A status. That three of the four eliminated varsity sports were men’s teams indicates the cuts were made with Title IX requirements in mind--to fund women’s programs and have equitable participation.

The SDSU athletic department recently underwent a Title IX review by the state. While there were no penalties, the administration is obviously sensitive.

“You have to look two, three years downstream--we have this gender-equity policy and we have to keep high participation rates (for women),” Miller said. “We had too many track kids out there. (Track Coach) Gary Stathas is a competent coach and a wonderful human being (but) . . . we’ve got the scenario of trying to load up on the women’s side and scale back on the men’s side.”

Another cost-saving possibility is a move by the men’s basketball team from the Sports Arena to Peterson Gym. However, Miller said no decision will be made until a court ruling on groundbreaking of a new on-campus events center, which has been held up by community protest.

A ruling is anticipated any day.

“Obviously, we’re leaning heavily to a move back on campus,” Miller said.

One of the curiosities of the budget cuts is the situation of Denny Stolz, who was reassigned as golf coach after coaching football for two seasons. He takes his men’s team to the regionals today in Tucson.

“Won’t we be the story of the regional?” Stolz said. “I don’t know how to answer people. It’s discouraging. They said they would contact me in June and discuss the remaining part of my contract and my options. I assume they’ll reassign me.”

The options these days are dramatically slimmer. Miller said, “We’re getting down not only to the bone, we’re scraping marrow.”