CSUN NOTEBOOK: BIG DECISION AWAITS BIG SKY.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Most of the issues on the agenda are administrative mumbo-jumbo, boring details. But there is one intriguing thing the athletic directors will talk about next week at the Big Sky Conference meetings in Ogden, Utah.

It's what to do with the conference basketball tournaments that are sandwiched between the regular season and the NCAA tournament.

``We'll look at survey results that we have,'' Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said. ``It had to do with the format and the winner (of the regular season) hosting.'' Most coaches don't like the regular-season league leader hosting the tournament, because a site might not be determined until a week before the tournament begins. That can kill attendance, as can a host team being knocked out in the first or second rounds.

And many of the schools aren't in favor of a predetermined rotating site because it winds up costing the host too much. Fullerton said only Weber State, Montana and Montana State have the ability to turn a profit by hosting the tournament.

``You have to create excitement for the tournament, but usually the Big Sky only gets one team in the NCAA Tournament,'' Fullerton said. ``The goal should be to protect your best team.''

The conference could opt to hold the tournament at a neutral site, and Cal State Northridge men's coach Bobby Braswell has a few in mind: Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Phoenix or perhaps the new Staples Center.

``If they have the site ahead of time, people have a year's time to start planning to buy tickets,'' Braswell said. ``I think if you do it in the right place, you can (draw) people to it. It gives people a chance to fly in and it will be a relatively inexpensive plane flight.

``It would really bother me, I would be really, really concerned, if the league went in the way of deciding that two or three schools could make money, so that would be where they had the tournament.''

The issue is also being discussed on the women's side.

``For what's at stake, it makes sense to have it at a neutral site,'' CSUN women's coach Michael Abraham said. ``It's not the Pac-10, where five teams are going to go (to the NCAA Tournament). If one team is going to go it should be at a neutral site.''

Women's update: Despite having only four practices to build on, the CSUN women's basketball team brought in some officials and had a scrimmage Friday. And amidst the turnovers and sometimes sloppy play, Abraham liked one thing he saw.

``The level of intensity was exceptionally high, which is unusual,'' Abraham said. ``Because it's so competitive for spots and playing time on our team, it was played at game-like intensity, which made me happy.

``One of the things we lacked (last year) was 40 minutes of intensity. We played in spurts. One of the reasons I've gone to longer practices is to force our team into the situation where they have to deal with the fatigue so we don't have those lulls.''

Big game approaching: The Matadors' women's soccer team will play a huge game Friday at Northern Arizona. It will be the regular-season finale, but it might not be the women's final game.

CSUN (6-12, 3-3 Big Sky) could sneak into the four-team Big Sky tournament with a win, which could go a long way in determining whether coach Brian Wiesner returns for a fifth season with the Matadors.

CSUN and Northern Arizona (7-9, 3-3) are tied for fourth place in the league. Sacramento State, which was 7-7, 2-3 heading into Sunday's game with Montana, is also in the picture for the fourth playoff spot.

Baseball commitment: CSUN baseball coach Mike Batesole said he wanted to sign ``three to six'' players during the November signing period, and he got his first oral committment.

Left-handed pitcher Bill Murphy of Arlington High in Riverside told the CSUN coaching staff he would attend the school next year. NCAA rules prohibit Batesole from talking about Murphy prior to signing his national letter of intent.