CSUN Expected to Replace Athletic Director : Northridge: Sources say Bob Hiegert will be removed from the post he has held for 18 years and reassigned.

Cal State Northridge plans to remove Athletic Director Bob Hiegert from his job and assign him to another, several administrative and coaching sources said Monday.

School administrators are expected to make the move official in an announcement Wednesday.

Hiegert, 53, a former Northridge athlete and coach, has been associated with the school for most of his adult life. He has been athletic director for 18 years.

The decision to replace Hiegert was made by Ronald R. Kopita, Northridge’s vice president of student affairs, and supported by school President Blenda J. Wilson, the sources said. Hiegert will reportedly be assigned to a faculty position within the physical education department.

Hiegert declined comment, saying only that he expected “some resolution” of his situation by Wednesday.

Kopita, who said last week that school officials were considering an overhaul of the athletic program, would not comment on Hiegert’s status. Last week, Kopita said he had “some concerns about the athletic budget and some concern about the direction of the program.”

Northridge’s athletic program ran at a deficit of about $700,000 last school year because of declining enrollment and because supplementary funds previously earmarked for athletics were not available.

Sources said Hiegert and Kopita clashed earlier this month over the vice president’s plan to fire Debby De Angelis, an associate athletic director who handles business matters. Hiegert opposed the move.

De Angelis was asked by Kopita to resign two weeks ago, a request that was later retracted pending review.

Hiegert played baseball for what then was known as San Fernando Valley State from 1959 to 1963, earning an award as the school’s athlete of the year his senior season. After two years in the Angels’ organization, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1965.

The following year he became head coach, a post he held for 18 seasons. Hiegert has been athletic director since 1978.

As a coach, Hiegert won 609 games, six California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships, five regional titles and two NCAA Division II championships. He retired from coaching in 1984, after guiding the Matadors to a 46-21 record and their second national title. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Assn. Hall of Fame in 1989.

Under Hiegert’s supervision, Northridge’s athletic program won 25 Division II championships before graduating to the Division I classification in every sport but football in the fall of 1990. Since then, the Matadors have been moderately successful. Although neither the men’s or women’s basketball team has had a winning season, Northridge advanced to the NCAA baseball regionals three times and played for the 1993 men’s volleyball championship and 1994 women’s softball title.