CSUN Head Reinstates Sports Axed in Spring

Reversing field on a much-criticized decision, Cal State Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson on Monday reinstated four men’s sports through the 1998-99 school year and indicated that they should continue after that.

Wilson said she favors a “long-term commitment” to baseball, volleyball, soccer and swimming as part of a “broad-based” university athletic program.

Speaking with reporters in a conference call, she announced a fund-raising drive that she characterized as essential to keeping the teams alive in the future and pledged $5,000 out of her own pocket to start it off.

The four sports, eliminated by the combination of an $800,000 athletics budget deficit and state-mandated gender-equity requirements, were canceled in June.

The decision to ax some of the university’s most popular and successful sports provoked a public outcry, with hundreds of fans protesting to school administrators and local politicians through letters, faxes and phone calls.

“I wish never to make another decision that would subject us to such assault,” Wilson lamented Monday in a written statement announcing her 180-degree turn.

The teams were granted a reprieve in August when state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) persuaded the Legislature to provide Northridge with a one-time $586,000 bailout and direct Wilson to convene a special task force on athletics.

The task force, made up of 15 community, student and faculty members, met for 11 weeks before submitting a 114-page report to Wilson last Thursday, recommending all four sports be retained.

Wilson said she has not finished reading the report but decided to act quickly so coaches can recruit and athletes can plan for next season. She said she still intends to consult with faculty and other members of the university community about athletics.

In the meantime, Wilson has established “a policy directive” in support of a broad-based sports program. In order to keep the four men’s sports and also fulfill gender-equity requirements, Wilson said a big boost in private donations is required to allow CSUN to maintain quality men’s sports teams while expanding its women’s teams.

Northridge has a $6.62-million athletics budget this year, which the task force has recommended be trimmed by $420,000 next year.

Maintaining the university’s 10 men’s and 10 women’s sports programs is “not going to be done without a lot of effort and a lot of commitment from a lot of people,” Wilson said. “We are embarking on a process that is [supported] by everyone involved, and the challenge is to find the resources and additional support over time to do it well.”

Wright said she was pleased by Wilson’s announcement. “I believe the task force has proven again that when you get everyone involved in an issue, you get a good decision,” Wright said.

CSUN’s new commitment to the revived teams was prompted by several factors, Wilson said, including her confidence in financial projections made by the task force and the overwhelming support for sports on and off campus.

Wilson is also counting on additional funds being made available for sports stemming from increased enrollment, increased revenue from a recently reorganized university auxiliary, the future development of CSUN’s North Campus and income generated by newly hired fund-raisers, both for the university and the athletic program.

Baseball Coach Mike Batesole offered praise to Wright and Wilson.

“That’s what leaders do--they stand up, take risks and lead,” he said. “That’s what Cathie Wright did and is what President Wilson is doing. It’s a big step to admit, ‘We didn’t do it right and we’re going to fix it.’ ”

The task force’s report, made public Monday, will be CSUN’s road map for sports activities from fund-raising to budgeting to meeting gender-equity requirements.

Wilson said Northridge will probably have to add at least one more women’s sports team in order to comply with the consent degree between the California State University system and the California chapter of the National Organization for Women.

The decree requires that by next fall the number of men and women athletes on CSU campuses must reflect roughly the percentage of men and women undergraduates in the student body. Expenditures must also be relatively equal.

Last year, only 39% of CSUN athletes were women, and the school spent $1.57 million on women’s teams compared with $2.1 million on men’s teams. It was in part to meet the decree’s goal that Wilson originally cut back the number of men’s teams, reducing the disparity. Even with the four teams restored at least temporarily, the proportion of women athletes rose to 45% this year.

In order to meet the decree’s terms with the men’s squads restored, Wilson said CSUN is ready to launch its most ambitious fund-raising drive ever. Last week, she hired William Outhouse from the University of Arkansas to serve as vice president of university relations, the main coordinator for fund-raising on campus. In October, the athletic department hired Michael Rehm from Montana as assistant athletic director for development.

Keith Richman, chairman of the Northridge task force, said of Wilson: “Without coming up with a guarantee of keeping sports forever, what she is attempting to do is provide some quick stability for the program so that athletes looking for what to do next year have an answer.”

Athletic Director Paul Bubb will begin the process of evaluating the task force’s recommendations while putting together a budget for scholarships and operating expenses.

“It’s a happy Hanukkah and a merry Christmas,” Bubb said. “But it’s not over yet. We have a challenge. Yes, we want a broad-based athletic program. I don’t think there was any question about that. It’s a question how will it be funded.”

* LOUD VOICES: Community outrage made the difference. C1

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Chronology of CSUN Sports Crisis

June 11: CSUN drops four men’s sports--baseball, soccer, swimming and volleyball--for financial reasons and to comply with gender-equity laws.

June 17: CSUN reinstates soccer for one season.

July 2: The Legislature approves Sen. Cathie Wright’s (R-Simi Valley) request for $586,000 to restore the four dropped CSUN sports.

July 3: CSUN reinstates swimming after the team raises money from private donations for another season.

Aug. 4: The Northridge Corp., a CSUN auxiliary, lends $586,000 to the school to reinstate the four sports for one year, to be repaid when the school receives money from the state.

Sept. 29: The CSUN task force on athletics meets for the first time. Wright called for the task force’s formation as a condition of the school’s getting the state funds.

Oct. 23: Students vote by a 10 to 1 margin to reinstate the four sports.

Dec. 1: The task force unanimously recommends that CSUN permanently restore the sports.

Dec. 15: The task force arrives at the final wording of its 41-page report, to be forwarded to school President Blenda Wilson.

Dec. 22: Wilson announces that the four sports will be continued through 1998-99, making a long-term commitment to a broad-based program.

--Compiled by Times staff writer Fernando Dominguez