Ponciano Receives His First Lesson in Northridge Method

Ron Ponciano says he can’t get caught up in the mess and doesn’t plan to become part of the mess.

He just wants someone to clean up the mess. Which at Northridge, that usually requires the use of an industrial-size mop.

“I can’t worry about that,” said Ponciano, Cal State Northridge’s first-year football coach. “I have no control of that.”

Ponciano is talking about the decision last week by Northridge administrators to remove a proposed football stadium from a master plan for campus development because of pressure from homeowners.

The proposed development was approved Wednesday by the California State University’s board of trustees.

It set the stage for Northridge’s football team to become displaced within two or three years, forcing the Matadors to find another home field with North Campus Stadium giving way to academic buildings and a biotechnical office park.

The original development plan included a 15,000-seat stadium on a lot at Halsted Street and Lindley Avenue.

“It’s really kind of comical to me the people who are making a fuss about it,” Ponciano said. “It’s beyond me how they chose to live by a major university and not expect it to grow.

“We are not talking about the Rose Bowl here. We are not talking about the Coliseum. We are talking about a small stadium.

“The number of people that would fit in the stadium would be about half the number of students we have here every day.”

A modest but modern facility to replace substandard North Campus Stadium is essential for the Matadors to attract top players and become a respectable Division I-AA program.

The Matadors can hold their own in the recruiting wars, especially when competing for Southern California prospects, but are doing battle with pop guns when everyone else is packing automatic rifles.

“Everyone in the Big Sky would like to see us fail [to build a stadium],” Ponciano said. “That’s the only thing holding us back. I’ve lost some recruits because of it.

“No matter where we play, we’ll get it done. We’re going to put on a dandy football game. . . . The thing I care about is not losing my scholarship money. When they cut my scholarships, that’s when I’ll be mad.”

And what about the people fighting the new stadium?

“I guess we can’t ask them to join the Quarterback Club,” Ponciano said.

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When it comes to financing stadiums, it helps to have a rich uncle.

McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, has one and a $2-million baseball facility thanks to him.

The school is showcasing the year-old venue today through Saturday by hosting the four-team NCAA Division III West Regional that includes Cal Lutheran.

All it took to help build the place was for Walt Driggers to win $17 million in the Florida lottery.

Driggers, uncle of McMurry Coach Lee Driggers, figured the Indians could use a baseball field.

“I asked [Lee] if there was anything I could do,” said Driggers, who resides in Orlando, Fla., and is at McMurry to watch the regional. “It allowed them to get things going.”

Driggers won’t say how much he donated, but a school official said it was a substantial amount.

Enough to construct a stadium that Marty Slimak, Cal Lutheran’s coach, said is better than most Division I facilities.

“It’s unbelievable,” Slimak said. “It’s better than most minor-league facilities.”

The 850-seat stadium features an air-conditioned, field-level press box behind the plate with bullet-proof glass, locker rooms for 40 players, an indoor batting cage, four coaches’ offices and triple-A caliber lights.

A warning to Northridge if it goes looking for a benefactor: There’s a catch.

The McMurry stadium is named Walt Driggers Field.

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Slimak and the Kingsmen (24-12) were recuperating Wednesday after spending nearly nine hours on buses and planes traveling to Abilene on Tuesday.

But he said the team is raring to meet Chapman (29-11) today in the first game of the regional.

“I think we are ready,” Slimak said. “It depends on what kind of pitching performances we get. If we get that, we’ll win this thing.”

The Kingsmen, seeded No. 4, have a score to settle with top-seeded Chapman. Actually, two. Cal Lutheran lost to the Panthers, 3-1 and 6-5, two weeks ago.

Adam Springston (6-2) will pitch against Chapman. Tom Canale (3-3) will face McMurry (31-13) or Southwestern (34-10) on Friday and John French (1-1) will pitch game three if the Kingsmen are still alive.