2 CSUN TEAMS TO PROSPER?

Byline: Darrin Beene Daily News Assistant Sports Editor 

Cal State Northridge's basketball and football teams will not only survive but get the chance to thrive.

That was the message delivered at a press conference Thursday by Paul Bubb, the school's athletic director, and Ron Kopita, CSUN's vice president for student affairs.

Today, Bubb presents Kopita several scenarios on how the athletic department might look after balancing its budget and meeting gender-equity requirements. Since there's no room in the budget to accommodate three more women's teams - the number needed to comply with a 1993 legal settlement involving California National Organization for Women - some men's teams will be dropped.

``It's hard for me to say I'm celebrating that the university is committed to the men's basketball program,'' CSUN basketball coach Bobby Braswell said. ``That is no surprise to me.

``It's a difficult time. Nobody likes to cut and nobody wants to have to cut anyone.''

Kopita, other executive officers and Blenda J. Wilson, the school's president, will decide within the next two weeks which programs will go.

Bubb said men's sports in danger of being axed - in some combination - are baseball, golf, soccer, swimming and volleyball. Possible women's sports that could be added are water polo, lacrosse and rifle.

``Our school has decided to go with football,'' said CSUN soccer coach Marwan Ass'ad. ``That's the way it is.''

Ironically, football faced elimination two years ago. The program got new life - and money - when the CSUN student body approved a $27-per-semester student-fee hike in March of 1995.

Last year, the team debuted in the Division I-AA Big Sky Conference with its best record since 1990. The Matadors were 7-4 overall and third in the conference at 4-3.

``For us, having football is an advantage,'' Bubb said. ``It separates us from Long Beach State and Fullerton (two schools that dropped football). Football brings something here in the fall that brings the campus to life.''

Dave Baldwin turned the program around before taking the head-coaching job at San Jose State last winter. His replacement, Jim Fenwick, the longtime Valley College coach, was given a two-year contract.

The school's affiliation with the Big Sky Conference has not only given life to the football program, but the basketball program as well. The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which provides the opportunity for additional revenue and national exposure.

In its first year in the Big Sky, the Matadors basketball team created some madness in March at the conference's tournament. CSUN pulled off two upsets before losing to Montana 82-79 in the championship game.

``Of the sports that have proved to be able to do well in the conference, the two sports that showed the potential to generate revenue are men's basketball and football,'' Braswell said.

To help the basketball team generate more revenue, the school has planned to paint and add more seating to the CSUN gym this summer. ``I think they realized that facilities have to be upgraded to compete in this conference and on the Division I level,'' Braswell said.

``The interest level is very high,'' he said. ``People in the community are taking pride in Cal State Northridge. I think it was not only exciting for our players, but it was exciting for everybody in the community and on campus. It gave them a taste of what it could be like.''