CSUN CONFIDENT IT CAN OVERCOME PAST, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG, SLOW PROCESS.Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer A year ago, the athletic department at Cal State Northridge imploded im·plode v. im·plod·ed, im·plod·ing, im·plodes v.intr. To collapse inward violently. v.tr. 1. To cause to collapse inward violently. 2. . FBI agents arrested women's basketball Women's basketball is one of the few games which developed in tandem with men's. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. coach Michael Abraham - still clad in his gym shorts Gym Shorts are an article of clothing typical worn by people when exercising. They are typically made out of cotton, or various meshes to allow maxium cofmort and ease. Brands such as Nike, Under Armor, and Reebok all make gym shorts. - and he was later indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. It cost Abraham his job (he resigned Nov. 6) and, most significantly, ignited a wide-ranging examination of the athletic department and how it operated. Abraham's arrest (he now lives in Portland and is awaiting trial) led to, directly or indirectly, the forced resignation of nearly every key athletics administrator as well as a vice president. Today the future is not bright, but it's better. There's improved communication between the president's office and the athletic department.An experienced athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic is in charge. CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge is writing guidelines on what to do when things go wrong. And the school is writing job descriptions, so there's no question about who's responsible for what. ``The (university community) feels enormous confidence,'' Northridge interim president Louanne Kennedy said. ``Maybe we get complacent and think everybody knows. . . . We feel real good about athletics right now. We're at a different place and I'm very happy.'' Northridge is struggling with past problems. It needs more money, and important positions within the athletic department haven't been filled. There was yet another scandal this past summer - head football coach Ron Ponciano was fired for alleged NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association rules and school-policy violations - and the university clearly struggled with the controversy. While it conducted a thorough and just investigation and took decisive action, the university also struggled with its public image throughout the process. It never seemed able to move forward without moving backward. Larry Cox, barely six months on the job as head of the public-relations department, recently was placed on administrative leave and his employment terminates at year's end. And at one point during the football probe, lead investigator Peter Dinauer refused to provide a journalist with his date of hire. Such actions undercut the university's credibility at a time it most needs to reassure the public. ``Oh, where we could be now?'' wondered Rhonda Lowry, an associate athletic director. ``Moving backwards doesn't help.'' The fallout Abraham lives in his native Portland, Ore., awaiting the start of his trial which has been delayed twice already. The fallout from his arrest was immediate. Athletic director Paul Bubb and his top assistant, Judy Brame, resigned. (Brame remains an instructor at the school.) Both had been approached by students about Abraham, but neither took the information beyond the department. After remaining in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and continuing to attend CSUN sports events for much of the past year, Bubb - who received a one-year buyout from CSUN - today coaches and teaches at a Boise, Idaho “Boise” redirects here. For other uses, see Boise (disambiguation). Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the county seat of Ada County and the principal city of the Boise metropolitan area. , high school. He could not be reached for comment. Eventually, Ron Kopita - the vice chancellor vice chancellor n. Abbr. VC 1. A deputy or an assistant chancellor in a university. 2. A deputy to or a substitute for a head of state or an official bearing the title chancellor. 3. who oversaw athletics - saw his influence dwindle dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. and he eventually left the university. Following the Abraham incident, athletic department morale sank as people resigned and their posts weren't filled. ``Before Abraham, we internalized the problems (and said), `I'll handle it,' '' said Ryan Finney, an associate athletic director who is the most senior administrator at CSUN. ``Now, we know there are people we can turn to. Too many times we didn't seek help, and too many times things got botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. . There's a stigma. People don't like to ask for help, or people don't like to admit they need help.'' Ironically, it was the women's basketball program that became a rallying point Noun 1. rallying point - a point or principle on which scattered or opposing groups can come together point - a brief version of the essential meaning of something; "get to the point"; "he missed the point of the joke"; "life has lost its point" for the beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. department. Instead of folding, the players rallied under new coach Frozena Jerro, won the Big Sky Conference and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth. Former president Blenda Wilson stunned the campus when she brought in Sam Jankovich, the former athletic director at Miami and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the New England Patriots  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism. , to clean up the mess and chart a new future.
Jankovich recommended sweeping changes. He wanted older, more experienced (and more expensive) people in key positions, leading to the resignations of Michael Rehm, the chief fund-raiser, and Brian Swanson, another assistant athletic director. Wilson herself, though, resigned before Jankovich completed his report. And that soured Jankovich on the entire process. ``They need tremendous help in external operations,'' Jankovich said. ``They have too many programs for the resources and manpower they have within the organization. The facilities are deplorable. . . . They're going to have to step to the plate or reconsider their role in intercollegiate athletics.'' Some of Jankovich's points have been implemented with the help of the new athletic director, Richard Dull. They include the creation of an associate athletic director of student-athlete support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services . Rhonda Lowry, a longtime training-staff member, lobbied hard for the position's creation, and Jankovich thought she would fit well. ``I felt there was a need, and I felt she had outgrown her role as trainer,'' Jankovich said. ``The one thing the program needed was maturity. Rhonda will be a tremendous asset.'' Long-term prospects Inside the university, optimism rules. Kennedy said that at a recent Faculty Senate meeting, Dull spelled out the department plans and received applause from the senators. Dull himself is highly respected and knowledgeable, and he knows how to deal with people. The feeling is CSUN's rid itself of many of the people it needed to in order to step up to another level. People who deal with the community, such as Finney, say they know Northridge's reputation won't change until there are many years without negative publicity. ``The university has stood for 40 years. It's not going tFo fall,'' Finney said. ``Too bad the businesses couldn't take a look at what was going right. . . . It's going to take years of running a clean, negative-free campaign, and with an institution as big as we are, that's going to be difficult.'' Difficult, yes. But, one year after the disaster at the university athletic department, coaches are worried about coaching and athletes are worried about winning. That, more than any long-term plan, speaks most about how far CSUN has come. Staff writer Chris Branam contributed. CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO (color) no caption (montage of newspaper headlines) |
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