TOP 10 STORIES OF THE YEAR : A Season Not Soon Forgotten

In retrospect, rotten news for the Cal State Northridge football team started hours before the first day of school.

On Aug. 29, the eve of the fall semester, right guard Jonathan Beauregard was arrested in San Bernardino and charged with two counts of attempted murder. Beauregard never missed a practice, didn’t tell teammates or coaches of his arrest and played in the first four games before he was jailed.

Released on bail after missing three games, he was reinstated and completed the season. Northridge took no disciplinary action, claiming that a suspension from the team would have violated the player’s right to due process.

In October, Northridge students defeated a referendum that would have generated millions for the cash-strapped athletic department. Team members removed the Matador decals from their helmets to demonstrate their displeasure with their fellow students.

With two weeks left in the season, 16 players staged a one-day boycott of practice.

Northridge lost its final five games to finish 3-7 overall and last in the American West Conference at 0-3. Before the year was out there was discussion about whether there would be a team at all in 1995.

Football, which competes in NCAA Division I-AA and carried a price tag of $500,000 this fall, may be on shaky ground if extensive departmental cuts are made.