Hopefuls Line Up at CSUN Construction Site : Football: Burt’s coaching successor will be facing a major rebuilding task.

Bob Hiegert had just begun to discuss the future of the Cal State Northridge football program when “La Bamba” began blaring over the public-address system at a Matador baseball game.

The tune was written years ago by Ritchie Valens, who attended San Fernando High.

Effervescent local. Made a name for himself. Knew the area. Topped the charts. Related to kids in their own language.

Perhaps the sort of football coach the Northridge athletic director might like to find.

When Bob Burt resigned as coach Wednesday after nine seasons at Northridge, he exited a shoestring program that hasn’t had a winning season in four years, hasn’t signed a recruit in 1995, yet stands on firm financial ground for the first time in years.

After two years of competing in NCAA Division I-AA, the program is at a crossroads. With the right man at the helm, many believe the school can reverse its overall mark of 149-188-4.

All the new guy has to do is rebuild a team, rebuild an ailing image, find a few dozen players, mobilize support and generate funding from an apathetic community. That could require a hard hat. Anybody have the number for the Venice chain-saw juggler?

According to a handful of present or former coaches familiar with the program, members of Hiegert’s selection committee will have plenty of work in store for them.

This will be akin to quake reconstruction. There are structural cracks as well as cosmetic damage. Right now, fans don’t enter the house.

Hiegert said the formula for digging the program out of its hole and ingratiating itself with the populace is kindergarten-simple: “Win.”

“If you build it, they will come,” Valley College Coach Jim Fenwick said, borrowing a baseball line.

Applicants, bring your carpentry tools. While the program has many pitfalls, for the first time in years it has found a degree of financial solvency.

“There are good people out there,” said former Canyon High Coach Harry Welch, a Northridge graduate. “But it’s going to take some incredible personal sacrifices. I think it can be done, but it’s uphill all the way.”

The casting call is wide open. A national search already is underway and Hiegert said he has no preconceived notions about what type of coach he is seeking. Old, young, studious, brash, high school or college. Let the Great Resume Blizzard of 1995 begin. Gentlemen, start your fax machines.

If Northridge is football’s black hole of Calcutta, you’d never know it by the early response. Hiegert received inquiries about the position only hours after Burt resigned. He expects more than 100 coaches to formally apply.

“For people with the right attitude, looking for a good place to work, looking to take a situation that is OK and make it better, this is a good opportunity,” Hiegert said. “I very much believe this program can be a winner.”

In many respects, the task the new coach faces is daunting. In others, it is exhilarating. Perhaps the biggest problem for the football program is its lackluster image.

The past three seasons have been punctuated by peripheral distractions, such as when attempted-murder charges were filed against a player.

The team hasn’t had a winning season since 1990.

Declining enrollment and shrinking state coffers have placed the team on the chopping block several times over the past three years. The Northridge athletic budget, particularly that of the football team, has been scrutinized by dozens of bean counters and efficiency experts.

“They should put a statue of Burt in front of the school,” said Bill Redell, coach at St. Francis High. “For not knowing if he was going to have a team from year to year, he did an admirable job.”

Burt became so disenchanted about the economic state of affairs that he downshifted and took a job as a high school coach in Lake Elsinore. He cited increased frustration over the program’s marginal funding as the primary reason he bolted the fold.

Another public relations black eye.

It could take years to bolster the program’s downtrodden persona. Burt was 49-46 in nine seasons and was one of two winning coaches in school history. But the program historically has struggled and attendance has been low. High schools often outdraw Northridge.

In the community, the program has generated a consistent yawn. Many believe the school needs a ringleader more than a tactician. Anything to bring recognition to the program.

“I think they need a great recruiter and a great fund-raiser,” said Redell, who led Crespi High to the Southern Section Big Five Conference title in 1986. “Those might be the number-one items, with football being the third.”

Redell, who has coached at the college and professional levels, believes the program’s corporate image needs an overhaul too. If the school halfheartedly funds the program, should anybody pay to watch?

“Quite frankly, the perception is that they’re not serious about football,” said Redell, who expressed only marginal interest in the position. “They have to overcome that, and it won’t be easy.”

Said Welch, who does not plan to apply: “Being coach there is like playing third trumpet in your own band.”

Even aesthetics are a hurdle. North Campus Stadium, a former horse-racing track, seats 6,000 and can charitably be described as outdated and substandard.

Northridge labors in the shadow of UCLA and USC. Apathy stems from within. Student turnout at games is sparse. Northridge averaged fewer than 3,300 fans in four home dates last fall.

“Odds are long for whoever they hire,” said Welch, who graduated from the school in 1967. “They can still get a quality man, but it should be somebody who realizes there are two strikes against him. But you can still hit a home run with two strikes.”

At least it’s a buyer’s market. Supply exceeds demand. Hiegert said potential candidates began inquiring about the position hours after Burt bailed out.

“Football is like the buffalo,” Hiegert said. “It’s the vanishing breed in terms of programs. Lot of qualified people are looking for jobs.”

The timing of Burt’s resignation isn’t as bad as it may seem. College coaches will have finished most of their spring duties by the time a replacement for Burt is named.

“I think it’s a good time,” Hiegert said. “Most spring football programs will be concluded and most recruiting classes will be in place (when the hire is made).”

Northridge football, in terms of geography, enjoys a unique situation that Hiegert believes can be exploited. There are four teams in Southern California in Division I or I-AA that offer scholarships: UCLA, USC, San Diego State and Northridge.

There are an estimated 20 million people living south of the Grapevine. Establishing a Northridge recruiting grapevine may be the first order of business for the new coach.

Without question, there are players out there, even the second-tier types who play at the I-AA level. For example, Montana and Montana State of the I-AA Big Sky Conference listed a combined 21 players from California on their 1994 rosters.

“Look in particular at the junior colleges--there are a lot of players who leave this area and go to places where Northridge could and should be competitive,” said UCLA assistant Gary Bernardi, pointing toward the remote schools of the Big Sky.

“Their high school coaches, friends and families never see them play. You don’t think they’d stay (if Northridge was a consistent winner)?” asked Bernardi, also a Northridge graduate.

Hiegert said California is the nation’s breadbasket and he isn’t talking about food. Consequently, landing a coach who knows the local lay of the land may be a big consideration.

“Most of the rosters of the teams we play, in the Big Sky and even the teams in Texas, have lots of Southern California kids on the roster,” Hiegert said. “Someone who can hit the ground running will have an advantage for the program and themselves.”

Sprinting may be a better word. For the past few months, Northridge has labored to pass a student fee referendum to underwrite the deficit-strapped athletic department.

Football was on the chopping block if the measure failed. Earlier this month, the referendum passed on its third attempt.

In light of the uncertainty, Northridge’s recruiting class hasn’t suffered--because it doesn’t exist. Coaches didn’t recruit while awaiting the outcome of the proposition. Northridge didn’t sign a player all winter.

Hiegert expects to hire a coach by mid-May. Northridge was 3-7 last fall, and 1995 may be pretty lean as well without an infusion of bodies. Experience? Not much from within. The Matadors had 25 freshmen on the roster when the ’94 season opened.

Northridge will offer 20 departmental scholarships next fall, up from 14 in 1994. Northridge competes in the American West Conference, which by consensus has agreed to limit scholarship levels to 20. The overall budget next fall will be a not-so-princely $400,000.

Because of Cal State University gender-equity requirements, the squad size will be limited to 65. Montana had 100 players listed on its 1994 roster; Montana State had 77. Burt questioned whether it’s realistic to expect much from such small numbers, but Hiegert feels otherwise.

Burt said Northridge finished last fall with 72 players and maintains it wasn’t enough.

“(Burt was) counting people who come out as walk-ons, folks that are invited out in the summer without a look-see beforehand,” Hiegert said. “Those are people who may not belong in the program. If you move the scholarship levels up, you have more invested in people and you know something about them coming in. You probably need fewer people.”

Narrow parameters for a prospective coach, to be sure. But not completely restrictive.

“I’m tired of hearing about all of the negatives over there,” said Fenwick, a former Northridge assistant who said he might be interested in the job. “They need a fresh start.

“You can’t go to Division I overnight. You go from the crawling stage, to the walking stage, to the running stage and fight through the tough times.”

Whoever is selected stands to earn up to $72,000 annually, a figure competitive with coaches at many I-AA schools. Three full-time assistant positions are available, which means the new coach could bring along some buddies.

However, Hiegert said senior school administrators recently expressed a desire to avoid long-term contracts. He isn’t sure what he will be able to offer candidates.

“I don’t think we’ll be offering a five-year deal right out of the chute,” he said.

Hiegert holds a huge bargaining chip--or at least a potential one.

The Big Sky is considering adding members and has cast an eye toward Northridge.

Hiegert said referendum-generated support could allow the school to add more football scholarships if needed, even after making allowances for the gender-equity restrictions currently in place.

The Division I-AA maximum for scholarships in football is 63, though the Big Sky has considered scaling back. This would be to Northridge’s advantage, obviously. Even so, Northridge, with 23,000 students, shouldn’t need as many full rides.

Said Hiegert: “The feeling here for years has been that because of the number of student-athletes in the area and financial aid available, a full complement of scholarships would be wonderful, but not as necessary as at schools like Eastern Washington or Montana State who don’t have a lot of students.”

In terms of dollars, Northridge is finally on terra firma. For the past three years, each time a bureaucrat in Sacramento trimmed the Cal State University budget, Burt was looking over his shoulder. The referendum, which will generate more than $1 million annually, guarantees that Northridge has a solid funding foundation.

The program’s working guidelines, constricted or not, are in place. No more limbo. Who wants the reins, boys?

“There are two ways to look at it,” Redell said. “One, that it’s a bad situation. Or two, that there’s nowhere to go but up.”

Said Welch: “A 3-7 record isn’t bad to follow. If you went 7-3, you’d be a hero.”