CSUN Season Didn’t End, It Bottomed Out : College football: Matadors finish tumultuous campaign with 4-6 record and in last place.

By losing its finale to Southern Utah (2-7-1), the Cal State Northridge football team hit bottom--last place in the American West Conference standings.

On and off the field, Northridge’s 4-6 campaign was surely the most frustrating in Coach Bob Burt’s eight-year tenure with the Matadors.

But is there a silver lining among the thunderheads? Burt says there is. He sees an advantage to being first to hit the ground floor.

“I believe where we are is where other (universities) need to be,” Burt said. “At some point, that should give us an edge.”

Whether that leverage will be evident as soon as next year--or ever--is debatable.

Northridge’s football program has survived on a shoestring since its inception in 1962. Less than a year ago, the sport was examined under a wet slide by more than one campus committee.

The concern then, as it will be in the foreseeable future, was the financial viability of the program. Nonconference road games against San Diego State, Nevada Las Vegas and Weber State brought $140,000 in guarantees to the Northridge coffers this season, but football still operates in the red.

Estimates by the athletic program’s business manager place the bottom-line cost for a season of football around $200,000, most of which is tied to coaches’ salaries.

Northridge’s situation is not unique. At last count, football was profitable at only 70 of 524 NCAA universities.

Per athlete, football loses no more money than most other sports at Northridge, all of which operate at an annual loss.

“Football is always the whipping post and that’s ludicrous,” Burt said. “All people know is that it costs money.”

And now another issue further complicates the sport’s future at Northridge.

The California State University system has agreed to require funding and participation parity in men’s and women’s sports by the 1998-99 school year as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the California chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Among the terms of the agreement, Cal State universities must fund men’s and women’s sports programs within 10% of each other.

Northridge operated in 1992-93 at a 60%-40% split favoring men’s sports. Without football, however, the school already would fit comfortably within future guidelines.

Top university administrators say the Northridge football program is not in danger of being dropped. Yet Athletic Director Bob Hiegert said all CSU system schools with football will be forced to give their programs “a hard look.”

Northridge split 17 full scholarships among its 60 or so football players this season and such slicing and dicing is sure to continue.

What will apparently change is the quality of the Matadors’ schedule.

Marshall Faulk and San Diego State have been replaced by Cal State Hayward. Nevada Las Vegas at the Silver Bowl has been replaced by a date against St. Mary’s in picturesque but tiny Moraga, Calif.

Northridge’s 1994 football schedule does not yet include a big-name opponent. Not unless you count Boise State and Northern Arizona of the Big Sky Conference.

The Matadors, who are still seeking an additional opponent, are tentatively set to open against Boise State in Idaho on Sept. 10. Northridge’s other nonconference games are Oct. 1 at Sonoma State, Oct. 8 at home against Cal State Hayward, Oct. 15 at St. Mary’s and Nov. 12 at home against Northern Arizona.

A home game against UC Davis on Sept. 17 opens the Matadors’ American West Conference schedule, which also includes a home game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Oct. 22 and road games against Cal State Sacramento on Oct. 29 and Southern Utah on Nov. 5.

A similar schedule this season, Burt said, would have resulted in a “10-0 or 9-1” record.

Perhaps such a record would have meant larger home crowds. The Matadors played before a school-record 91,618 fans in 10 games, but that includes a crowd of 40,872 at their opener against San Diego State.

At North Campus Stadium, an average of 3,343 fans per game filed through the turnstiles, the second-worst home attendance in nine years.

Some of the moderately faithful might have stayed away because of the controversy that surrounded the team this season.

There was a one-day boycott of practice to protest the lack of a meal plan for athletes. There was a one-game suspension of Vincent Johnson, a starting cornerback, after he cursed Hiegert during a meeting witnessed by university President Blenda J. Wilson. There was a one-game suspension of starting safety Gerald Ponder, who said he skipped a road trip to protest Johnson’s suspension.

There was the early morning shouting match between some players and members of the school’s Black Student Union, who jeered the team as it boarded buses for its trip to Las Vegas. The BSU tried to encourage players to boycott the team’s game against UNLV to protest what that organization’s membership considers poor treatment of athletes.

Jon Beauregard, a starting offensive guard, was temporarily swayed. He asked off the bus shortly after it left the locker room parking lot. Ten hours later, he rejoined the team, flying to Las Vegas at his own expense.

The following night, Oct. 9, Northridge upset UNLV, 24-18--the highlight of the Matadors’ season taking place only 24 hours after perhaps its lowest moment.

It was that kind of season.

Soon, Burt and staff will discover whether the turmoil will adversely affect recruiting.

Northridge needs help most at tight end, offensive tackle, the defensive line and linebackers. Money, as usual, is short.

Soon, Burt and staff will discover whether the turmoil will adversely affect recruiting.

Northridge is fairly well set in the offensive backfield even though Robert Trice, who finished his two-year career third on the school’s all-time rushing list, has completed his eligibility.

J.J. O’Laughlin is expected to return at quarterback, provided the tear in the rotator cuff of his throwing arm heals. O’Laughlin, a junior transfer from Illinois, gave the Matadors a jump start after leg injuries sustained against San Diego State sidelined Coley Kyman for the season.

Fullback Mark Harper will step back to take over Trice’s spot at tailback with Shaun Coleman, a bruising runner and sure-handed receiver, taking over full time at fullback.

Burt finds some consolation knowing most of his competition is “in the same boat” financially.

“Sure, it’s tough,” he said. “But at the same time I think we’re going through now what other people will be going through in the future. Other people living high on the hog are going to be coming way down.”

And he hopes to pass them on the way back up.