CSUN NOTEBOOK: BIG SKY OPEN TO 10TH MEMBER?

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

With rumors stirring that a major conference shakeup is on the horizon in big-time college athletics, Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton is paying close attention.

The nine-team Big Sky isn't openly seeking members, but if fallout happens among the major conferences the ripple effect could move down to the Big Sky.

If that's the case, Fullerton said he would consider adding a 10th team.

``It has to be something that is established,'' Fullerton said. ``Nine teams is a nightmare. The ACC, they play a conference weekend before Christmas, and I've thrown it at the athletic directors, but they've said no because they can play nonconference games against (well-known) schools.''

One thing the addition of a 10th team would do is ease the travel problems when it comes to men's and women's basketball. Most Big Sky coaches agree it's terrible in its current state.

In the Pacific-10, Arizona and Arizona State are on their Southern California swings. They're travel partners playing at USC and UCLA.

Washington and Washington State travel together. Ditto with Oregon and Oregon State.

Having a travel partner makes life on the road a bit less burdensome. But with nine schools in the Big Sky, no school has a travel partner, which makes traveling more expensive and more sporadic.

Case in point: Cal State Northridge played at Northern Arizona on Saturday night. Because most teams in the Big Sky don't charter planes, the Matadors didn't come home until Sunday afternoon and must play again tonight against Idaho State.

``Travel is a nightmare,'' Weber State coach Ron Abegglen said. ``When they added Sacramento State, Portland State and Northridge - I don't think anyone thought of the nightmares we created with nine schools.''

One school that consistently seeks membership to the Big Sky is Southern Utah, but athletic directors and school presidents continually deny them admission, in hopes of attracting a school with a more established athletic program.

Game-time decisions: Fiesta Bowl or CSUN men's hoop? The national championship for college football or the Matadors against Idaho State? Fans are being asked to choose between the two, and try to guess which direction they'll go.

CSUN and Idaho State tip off at 7:05 p.m., about the same time Tennessee and Florida State should be at the half.

While the start time for conference games is mandated by the Big Sky, plans could be altered in certain situations.

USC planned ahead for its Pac-10 home game against Arizona. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. because of the Fiesta Bowl.

``I don't care about the Fiesta Bowl, I worry about us,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``But I hear what you're saying.''

Already, few fans are venturing out to CSUN games this season, and this gives people another reason not to come.

Last season the Matadors hosted Montana on the same afternoon as the NFL's AFC and NFC championship games. It resulted in 619 fans attending CSUN's first win over Montana, the second-smallest crowd of the season.

The season prior to that, the Matadors hosted Portland State in a Jan. 2 conference opener - which took place on the same evening as Florida's 52-20 win against Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. That game drew 554, the lowest of any conference game that season.

TV considerations: Fox Sports Northwest will air CSUN's Jan. 15 basketball game at Montana State live, but the game isn't slated to be carried in Los Angeles.

However, a spokesman for Fox Sports West said the station is considering picking up the feed because of the programming void left by the NBA lockout.

The spokesman said Fox Sports West2 is usually reserved for the local college teams - UCLA, Pepperdine and USC - but because of a lack of programming on Fox Sports West on Jan. 15, which is a Friday, airing the CSUN game is an option.