Campanelli’s Firing Still Being Discussed : College basketball: Cal officials say they don’t regret decision to dismiss coach at midseason.

As the homeless huddled for warmth in rain-soaked People’s Park on Friday morning, signs were everywhere that times have changed in the original hippie haven.

The halcyon days of the late ‘60s have been tempered by the harsh realities of a less-than-optimistic world.

Even the graffiti greeting commuters leaving the BART station in downtown Berkeley is stark: When in Paradise Do Not Destroy .

Lou Campanelli might have reflected on that had he been acutely aware of his surroundings. But even to the end, Campanelli, 54, failed to recognize that paradise was indeed lost.

Two weeks ago, Campanelli was abruptly discharged as the California basketball coach, although he resurrected the Golden Bear program during an eight-year tenure.

The sudden firing sent shock waves across the nation, and even today, on the eve of one of Cal’s biggest games of the season, the ground is still shaking.

“We knew that it would not be an easy thing,” said Daniel Boggan Jr., a vice chancellor who was involved in the firing. “But we didn’t realize how threatened the national coaching (community) would feel.”

Stung might best describe the coaches’ reaction.

Without warning or public explanation, Cal officials released Campanelli with 10 games left in the regular season, although the coach had signed a five-year extension a year ago. After this season, Cal is contractually bound to pay Campanelli $180,000 during the next three years.

It is a decision officials do not regret.

Cal (13-7 overall, 6-5 in the Pacific 10 Conference) has won three in a row since Campanelli’s dismissal, including an 86-83 overtime victory over USC on Thursday night.

The Bears will play UCLA today in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The last time the teams met, on Jan. 24 at Pauley Pavilion, Cal defeated UCLA, 104-82. The loss, UCLA’s worst ever at Pauley Pavilion, prompted Bruin fans to disparage Coach Jim Harrick, whose job status has been cast in doubt since. At the time, Campanelli and his brethren strongly defended Harrick and his 4 1/2-year record at UCLA.

On the surface, it was Harrick, not Campanelli, who was in a tenuous situation. As criticism in the Southland continued, Harrick took a call from Jim Haney, executive director of the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches.

Haney, an old friend, wanted to offer some encouraging words. While they talked, Campanelli’s firing was announced.

Because Cal officials chose not to publicize their reasons for the firing, they were vulnerable to criticism. Next time, they say, they will be more open. And for the last week, they have recounted the incidents that led to Campanelli’s termination.

Although the reasons were many, Campanelli’s fate was determined during the first weekend in February when the Bears traveled to Arizona for two Pac-10 games.

Also making the trip was Robert Bockrath, Cal’s athletic director, who said he overheard Campanelli’s tirades against his players after a loss to Arizona State.

Bockrath said Campanelli’s behavior was inappropriate for any coach or teacher. He told himself something had to be done.

“If I hadn’t made that wrong turn, I wouldn’t have known the fix the team was in,” he told reporters.

He was about to find out. After the weekend games in which Campanelli derided his team with coarse words, the players decided to complain to Bockrath. Players and Cal officials insist the team did not know that Bockrath already had heard enough.

Bockrath said Friday that if he had waited until the season ended to fire Campanelli, he would have jeopardized the players.

“They were in terrible shape academically, and there was a strong likelihood a number of athletes would have transferred,” he said.

Because the players were beaten down and troubled, Bockrath said they lost interest in schoolwork.

“Some still might be ineligible next season,” he said. “But this is a different team now. You’ve got happy people.”

Campanelli maintains that the firing was unjustified.

His dismissal is part of a recent trend in which coaches are being held accountable for behavior toward athletes. Tom Miller, Army coach, was fired for degrading his players after being warned twice to stop. Last November, Earl Bruce was fired as football coach at Colorado State because of his mishandling of players.

“A lot of old coaches think student-athletes are like sheep or cattle,” Bockrath said. “That doesn’t work in today’s world.”