Matador Construction of Big Sky Powerhouse on Verge of Collapse

What promised to be a breakthrough season for the Cal State Northridge football team is crumbling even before the first snap.

Only five months ago, the Matadors completed perhaps their best recruiting campaign on the heels of a season in which they came within a victory of winning the Big Sky Conference championship. There was serious talk of building a stadium on campus.

But an anonymous letter in May prompted an internal investigation into alleged NCAA violations, throwing the football program into disarray.

In the last week, offensive coordinator Rob Phenicie resigned and the status of Coach Ron Ponciano remains uncertain.

Ponciano and his attorney met with Northridge administrators for five hours Friday to discuss the allegations.

“They didn’t ask me to resign,” Ponciano said. “The investigation continues. They’ll come to their conclusions by Wednesday.”

A Northridge spokesman had no comment.

Repercussions already are being felt.

The Matadors, because of a depleted coaching staff scrambling to keep the operation from grinding to a halt, canceled a passing tournament for high school teams next weekend. And their fund-raising golf tournament later this month appears dead.

“We couldn’t devote our full energy to [the passing tournament],” assistant Foster Andersen said. “We just didn’t have the manpower.”

Andersen, the defensive backs coach and a former NFL, UCLA and USC assistant, is overseeing the football operation while Ponciano remains on directed vacation pending the investigation.

After a sparkling head coaching rookie season, Ponciano couldn’t have envisioned the turmoil that has befallen the Matadors.

Northridge finished 7-4, 5-3 in conference play, and gained unprecedented respect by being ranked in the Division I-AA top 25 for the first time. Ponciano was selected coach of the year in the Big Sky.

The prospects for 1999 appeared even better. The Matadors returned a marvelous quarterback--sophomore Marcus Brady--great depth at the skill positions and, with a group of top-notch recruits, seemingly had all the ingredients to boost the program even further.

But the grand plans have been set aside while Northridge copes with the fallout from an investigation that claimed offensive architect Phenicie, who Wednesday resigned under pressure.

He was the first victim of an inquiry that began after the athletic department received an anonymous letter May 19 outlining several alleged infractions, including some that former Interim Athletic Director Sam Jankovich said were potentially serious.

Richard Dull, a former athletic director at Maryland, replaced Jankovich on July 1 but is not involved in the investigation.

Northridge is keeping the investigation’s findings, and the contents of the anonymous letter, under wraps. The school would not comment on whether Phenicie’s leaving was tied to the probe.

On the advise of his attorney, Phenicie also refused to comment, saying only he hated “leaving such a good group of kids.”

Phenicie’s departure is a major blow to the program and essentially doomed the passing tournament. Ponciano called him the hardest worker on the staff and perhaps the best offensive mind ever to coach at Northridge.

“Rob was in charge [of the passing tournament],” Andersen said. “He’s gone and that put a real crimp on it.”

Andersen said 32 high school teams each paid $180 to participate, and their entry fees are being refunded. Hart and Kennedy highs are trying to organize tournaments to fill the void.

“The [Northridge] situation is unstable, that’s for sure,” said Coach Mike Herrington of Hart, a former Matador football player whose team was set to play in the tournament. “I hope it’s not an indication they are going to drop the program.”

With Ponciano’s status in limbo, Andersen and fellow assistants Aaron Flowers and Bob Connelly are holding down a besieged fort, one month before the start of fall practice.

Assistants Armando Gonzalez and Terrance Johnson are working on their master’s degrees at New Mexico Highlands, and assistants Craig Wall and Keith Borges are on vacation and have not been at the football office or heard from in about 10 weeks, Andersen said.

Borges and Wall ran the fund-raising golf tournament last summer, and their prolonged absence makes Andersen believe there won’t be a tournament this year. The tournament last year netted more than $15,000.

Andersen is unsure about the coming season.

“We’re making contingency plans for two-a-days [camp],” Andersen said. “We’re operating under the assumption Ron will be here.”

Northridge officials reportedly have discussed disbanding the program after the 1999 season, partly because of gender-equity concerns and problems with financing a proposed on-campus stadium to satisfy an agreement with the Big Sky.

Six years ago, the California chapter of the National Organization for Women sued the CSU system, alleging discrimination of women in sports. The schools had a June 30 deadline, recently extended to the end of the year, to comply with the requirements.

The CSU’s 1997-98 report lists Northridge among the worst gender-equity offenders in three major categories.

Last month, the Big Sky told Northridge to follow through with plans to build the stadium, reinstate men’s tennis and upgrade existing athletic facilities, or leave the conference.

A Northridge spokesman last week acknowledged that “theoretical discussions” have taken place about whether the school will continue to have a football team.

Based upon recent events, the theoretical appears to be inching toward reality.

Staff writers Vince Kowalick and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this story.