Getting With the Program

Blenda J. Wilson, reluctant sports authority, must make decisions in 1999 that will chart the course of Cal State Northridge athletics well into the next century.

The Northridge president will hire an athletic director and will decide whether to commit major resources to constructing stadiums for the football, baseball and softball teams.

“Blenda doesn’t care much for athletics but in the last two years she has come to realize its importance in the public’s perception of the university,” said a prominent figure close to the Northridge administration. “She understands that because athletics is important to many others, it must be important to her as well.”

Wilson’s first clue was the community backlash over her decision to cut four men’s sports in June 1997. She made herself unavailable for comment on the day of the decision, and indignation rose to such a roar that she reinstated the sports two months later.

A task force spent the fall of 1997 studying the problems that prompted the cuts--meeting a tight budget and complying with gender-equity laws. Wilson increased funding for athletics and said Northridge was committed to “a broad-based athletics program.”

The effectiveness of athletic director Paul Bubb and his supervisor, vice president Ronald Kopita, was questioned throughout the task force process. Eventually it became clear Wilson questioned their effectiveness as well.

Wilson forced Bubb and Judith Brame, associate athletic director, to resign in November after Michael Abraham, women’s basketball coach, was charged with selling crack cocaine.

She also removed athletics from Kopita’s domain by having interim athletic director Stan Jankovich report directly to her.

“It is important that the recommendations Mr. Jankovich makes regarding athletics be communicated directly to me,” Wilson said.

Hiring Jankovich, who as athletic director in the 1980s turned Miami into one of the nation’s most powerful programs, was a bold move that underscored Wilson’s resolve.

“All of the coaches believe that this year, more than any other, Blenda is doing a phenomenal job of putting the right pieces in place and supporting what we do,” said Bobby Braswell, the men’s basketball coach.

Jankovich is not interested in keeping the job beyond June, and Wilson will hire a permanent athletic director after a search committee recommends a candidate in the spring. The decision will determine the direction of the program for years to come.

“President Wilson will bring in a top athletic director,” said Dr. Keith Richman, a member of the search committee and chairman of the task force in 1997. “At this point, she is absolutely committed to the athletics program.”

Wilson, who is president of the Big Sky Conference, has been more visible at Northridge athletic events, attending football games last fall and sitting courtside at the first women’s basketball game following Abraham’s arrest.

But the toughest challenge will not be fun and games. Wilson must commit the necessary funds to build or renovate several facilities. Most coaches believe Northridge will never reach its athletic potential until aging North Campus Stadium and the sub-par baseball and softball fields are improved.

“I don’t think the challenge is hers as much as the challenge is the community’s,” Richman said. “But her role can’t be underestimated. Ultimately, the tone is set by the president.”