Drive to Revive East L.A. College Football Falls Short

The East Los Angeles College Academic Senate narrowly rejected a proposal last week to force the school’s administration to reinstate the football program, which was eliminated in April for budgetary reasons.

Athletic trainer George Mrvichin asked the senate, which consists of 28 department directors, to approve a motion to “charge the college president to immediately reinstate football.”

Of the members present, seven were in favor, seven were opposed and three abstained. Academic Senate President Doug Kopinski, a photography teacher, broke the deadlock by casting his vote against the motion.

“I didn’t feel it’s in our purview to tell the president to reinstate football,” Kopinski said. “The purpose of the Academic Senate is to help decide our (school’s) fate with the administration, not to develop our own policies or budgets. We had input during the decision-making process and I did not think it was in our best interests to make new demands.”

Instead, the senate passed a motion to send a letter to ELAC President Omero Suarez that “voices a strong concern that he not eliminate the football program for the 1993-94 academic year.”

Because of shrinking funds, Suarez was required to cut $280,000 from student affairs, which covers athletics, counseling and financial aid. He chose to eliminate the $90,000 football program as part of the cutback instead of scaling back other services or laying off employees.

East Los Angeles is the only community college in the state that is dropping its football program this year.

Athletic director Gil Rozadilla said he was not consulted about the elimination of the football program and appealed the decision without success to the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees on April 14. He organized a student petition drive that gathered more than 1,200 signatures in a two-day period and presented them to the trustees.

Rozadilla and football Coach Al Padilla also have received support from former players and influential alumni such as county Supervisor Gloria Molina.

However, Hozadilla said he thinks the football program’s fate was determined last December. The Huskies finished with an 0-10 record in 1992.

“I think the elimination of the football program was a done deal without any input from me or anyone in the student services administration,” he said. “I’m very angry, frustrated and depressed. But no matter what I do, it is a dead issue.”