CSUN to Face San Diego St. in ’93 Opener : College football: Matadors will be paid $65,000 guarantee for visit to Jack Murphy Stadium.

San Diego State, which ended the 1992 football season playing No. 1-ranked Miami, will open next season against Cal State Northridge.

Northridge Athletic Director Bob Hiegert confirmed Tuesday that the contract for the game, scheduled for Sept. 4 at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, has been signed.

Unless Marshall Faulk bypasses his last two years of college for the NFL draft, the Matadors will make their Division I-AA debut against the 1992 Heisman Trophy runner-up who has led the nation in rushing the past two seasons.

Northridge Coach Bob Burt acknowledges the game will bring the football program unprecedented publicity, but he said he hopes it is not the wrong kind.

“I hope it isn’t Marshall Faulk running for 400 yards,” he said.

The $65,000 guarantee that San Diego State, a Division I-A Western Athletic Conference school, will pay Northridge represents a rare payday for the Matadors.

Northridge also will receive a $20,000 guarantee from its Sept. 18 game at Northern Arizona, a Division I-AA member of the Big Sky Conference. The $85,000 nearly doubles last season’s guarantee total of $47,000.

Northridge could earn even more money if Hiegert succeeds in his plan to sign another opponent for a guarantee. The Matadors have at least eight dates to fill on their schedule because negotiations for a proposed cost-containment Western Football Conference are moving at a snail’s pace.

“Playing San Diego State is going to give our program a shot in the arm,” he said. “It is a great thrill for our kids to play against Marshall Faulk. A win over San Diego State or a competitive game against them and a win over Northern Arizona will help us to be considered for the Division I-AA playoffs.”