Expanding WAC Has No Room for Northridge

The search for a new conference has begun in earnest for the Cal State Northridge baseball and softball teams, which will be excluded from the Western Athletic Conference after the 1996 season.

The WAC notified Northridge Athletic Director Paul Bubb this week that only full-time members will be included in conference schedules starting in the 1996-97 school year.

Jeff Hurd, WAC assistant commissioner, said the conference’s decision was based on numbers. The WAC is expanding to include Rice, Texas Christian, Nevada Las Vegas and San Jose State in 1996-97.

“We will have more than enough members to have a conference,” Hurd said. “If you are going to conduct conference championships, you are going to conduct them with full conference members.”

Northridge is in the process of applying for membership in the Big Sky Conference, but that conference does not sponsor baseball or softball.

An alternative Bubb said he will vigorously pursue is affiliate membership in the Big West for baseball and softball. But that seems like a longshot.

“At this point in time there has been no movement to look at associate membership in the sports of baseball and softball,” said Rob Halvaks, Big West associate commissioner. “I wouldn’t anticipate anything happening at this point that would affect the 1997 league.”

Another possibility is a baseball-only conference that would include Northridge, Cal State Sacramento, Grand Canyon, Hawaii Hilo, Southern Utah and Lewis-Clark (Ida.) State.

Sacramento and Grand Canyon were ousted from the WAC along with Northridge. Hawaii Hilo and Southern Utah are Division I independents. Lewis-Clark, winner of eight NAIA titles, is set to move to Division I in 1997.