CSUN Bookstore Deal Could Help Restore Sports Teams

In a move that could revive the canceled men’s baseball and volleyball teams at Cal State Northridge, a school auxiliary agreed Friday to contract out operation of the campus bookstore.

The agreement could provide a big boost for the school’s beleaguered athletic program, which decided to drop four men’s sports last month for lack of money, including funds to comply with gender-equity laws requiring more athletic opportunities for women.

Ronald Kopita, Northridge’s vice president for student affairs, said the five-year deal between Northridge Corp. and Follett’s, a company that operates more than 500 university bookstores nationwide, is expected to generate between $1 million and $1.7 million per year in commissions.

Last year, the university-operated bookstore turned a $280,000 profit. Projections for this year were in the $350,000 range, but Follett’s enjoys economies of scale and other financial advantages, Kopita said.

Kopita said that at a meeting Thursday, the corporation will consider loaning the university $586,000 to reinstate the men’s baseball and volleyball teams.

The school would repay the loan later this summer, Kopita said, after the state budget, which includes bailout funds for CSUN sports, passes the Legislature and is signed by the governor.

The university administration has promised to bring back baseball and volleyball for a year if the budget passes. The soccer and swimming teams were also canceled but have already been revived based on pledges of financial help from outside sources.

The possibility of a loan is significant because it would give coaches and administrators time to revive the teams without waiting for the state budget money, which might arrive too late to use this year.

“As time passes it becomes more and more difficult to field teams,” Kopita said. “We can’t wait until the middle of August or September to recruit athletes and secure schedules.

“This way we could get programs going without the wait.”