Abraham Starts Over at CSUN : Basketball: Matadors hire ex-Oregon State assistant to revive faltering women’s program.

Michael Abraham, a former Oregon State and Long Beach State assistant, has been hired as women’s basketball coach at Cal State Northridge.

Abraham, 35, says he was offered the position last Friday and signed a contract Wednesday night.

“I contemplated all weekend and despite the difficult circumstances at Northridge, I look at it as a great opportunity,” Abraham said from his home in Oregon. “There’s nowhere to go but up.”

The Matadors were 1-26 last season under Kim Chandler.

Abraham will officially take over June 1, but says he already has started recruiting.

“People assume that certain types of programs can’t attract blue-chip athletes, but that’s not true,” he said. “At Northridge, it will obviously be a challenge, but it can be done.”

For the past five years, Abraham has been a women’s assistant at Oregon State. Last season, the Beavers made their second consecutive NCAA postseason appearance and finished 21-8.

Abraham has been job hunting since he resigned at season’s end, shortly after the school submitted a report to the Pacific 10 Conference in which it acknowledged that rules violations had taken place in the program.

Last week, Oregon State announced a $120,000 settlement with longtime Coach Aki Hill over a salary and contract dispute. Hill, the Beavers’ coach for 17 years, concurrently announced her retirement from coaching.

“All I can say about that is that there are rumors about alleged NCAA violations and I will say the contrary,” Abraham said. “I came up here with the intention of being the next head coach at Oregon State, but I lost my desire to do that now. Other than that, I’m not allowed to speak about it [as part of an agreement made with the school] .”

Northridge Associate Athletic Director Judith Brame, who chaired the seven-member selection committee, said Abraham was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“The search committee investigated thoroughly the allegations and innuendoes surrounding Michael Abraham,” she said.

“Given that Oregon State self-reported and Abraham answered all questions the search committee posed, we felt it wasn’t an issue.”

A 1984 Portland State graduate, Abraham began his coaching career at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland in 1978. During his last season in 1984, he led an undefeated team to the 3-A state championship.

Abraham spent the following six years as Joan Bonvicini’s recruiting coordinator at Long Beach.

The 49ers, who won 10 conference championships in Bonvicini’s 12 years as coach, were 147-21 while Abraham was with the program and advanced to the Final Four in 1987 and ’88.

“Michael will bring new life and a jump-start to the program,” Brame said.