Fiscal Woes Plague CSUN Athletics : Funding: Proposed referendum seeks additional $49 per student per semester to offset shrinking budget.

The future of Cal State Northridge athletics may be tied to the most superfluous of sports-related events--the election of the homecoming court.

The athletics department Tuesday sought to place a referendum on the homecoming-election ballot Oct. 18-19 that ultimately could decide whether the school continues to compete at the NCAA Division I level.

If the funding referendum fails, cuts in the department could result in the elimination of several programs, including football.

Northridge Athletic Director Bob Hiegert, who outlined the proposal to the Associated Students’ Senate on Tuesday, says the department--already funded at a level below many of its Division I counterparts--is not understating the matter.

“If we’re not funded, we’re going backwards,” Hiegert said. “We’re certainly not crying wolf.”

Northridge is faced with losing as much as $700,000 from its 1995-96 athletics budget. This year’s budget is $3.6 million.

The department is asking students to consider paying an additional $49 each semester in Associated Students’ fees to generate funds that would underwrite sports programs. Since 1985, the athletics department has received $4 per semester from each student.

Based on the enrollment level of 24,000, the fee hike would generate $2.25 million annually for Matador sports. Hiegert expects to learn by next week whether the referendum will be included on the homecoming ballot.

Passage could result in more athletic scholarships and the establishment of additional programs. Over the past three years, declining enrollment and decreases in funding from school sources have resulted in a departmental decrease of $335,000. Also, state funding has dropped $200,000 over the same period.

The University Corporation, which oversees many of the school’s financial resources, is strapped because of costs associated with earthquake damage and reduced its athletic funding from $430,000 in 1993-94 to $225,000 this year. The foundation isn’t expected to fund athletics at all next year, Hiegert said.

The athletic department could face a series of difficult decisions if the referendum fails--and history isn’t exactly on the athletes’ side. A similar proposal presented to students last spring lost by 87 votes.

If the October referendum is again shot down, the school might eliminate programs to trim costs, including the Division I-AA football team. “I’d say that if there is a quick fix, that is probably the quickest to do,” Hiegert said.

What’s more, if the referendum fails and departmental projections are accurate, elimination of programs might force the school to return to the Division II level. The NCAA requires schools to field 14 teams in order to maintain Division I status. Currently, Northridge fields 16 sports recognized at the Division I level.

Northridge’s decision to move to Division I seven years ago was in part tied to long-range enrollment projections that have fallen well short of the mark. Estimates made in the late 1980s indicated the school would have an enrollment of 40,000 by the year 2000.

In reality, the recession and earthquake have sent the student population spiraling downward. Enrollment has tumbled this semester to 24,000, down from the late ‘80s high-water mark of 31,000, and the department has felt the financial pinch.

More athletics costs loom: California State University gender-equity bylaws require member schools to field the same number of teams and supply an equal number of scholarships in men’s and women’s sports by 1998-99.

In an attempt to elicit support for the referendum, Northridge officials are accentuating the payoff for students as well as student-athletes if the proposal is approved:

Excluding football, scholarships for Northridge programs would be raised to the NCAA maximum, making teams more competitive across the board.

* At least two women’s sports would be added in accordance with gender-equity requirements. Women’s soccer could be added as soon as next fall, Hiegert said.

* Also, students would avoid paying admission fees for future athletic events. Students with a valid activities card currently are admitted free.