CSUN NOTEBOOK : PRIME PULLS PLUG ON CSUN AIRTIME.Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer Cal State Northridge officials flipped the pages of the Big Sky Conference's television schedule in disbelief. Then as the rest of the conference's coaches and administrators listened enthusiastically to the representative from Prime Sports at the conference's football meetings in July, the folks from Northridge simply stared blankly ahead. Every team in the conference - yes, even fellow newcomers Sacramento State and Portland State - has at least one televised game this season under the Big Sky's contract with Prime Sports Northwest. Every team except Northridge. During men's basketball season, the Matadors will be on TV once, Jan. 24 at Idaho State. Prime Sports Northwest general manager Clayton Packard and conference officials insist the lack of a football game is not a slight on Northridge. There simply was not room for the Matadors. The one time the Matadors were scheduled to be televised - Oct. 12 at Weber State - Prime had another commitment. Northridge does not lose any revenue by not having any games on TV. At the end of the season, any money is split 10 ways among the teams and the conference. During football season, Prime Sports West, which serves Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , is contracted to broadcast UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. State games. Under its contract with Liberty Sports, Prime also shows other Pacific-10 games, Big 12 games and Conference USA Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. games. In the winter, Prime West broadcasts the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Ducks and some UCLA, USC, San Diego State and Pepperdine basketball. On Jan. 24, for instance, the Lakers-Golden State game is on Prime West. ``We're jammed,'' said Prime Sports West programming director Monique Stokes. ``If we ever had any opening we would try to fit them in. We trade programming all the time with Prime Sports Northwest.'' Since the Big Sky expanded to Southern California in large part due to the exposure it could receive, conference commissioner Doug Fullerton is concerned that Northridge sports is not on local TV. ``At a certain point in time I will try to get (Northridge football) on (another local) channel,'' Fullerton said. ``By next year we've got to get it on (TV).'' Grant's back: Baseball coach Mike Batesole has his favorite player back. Grant Hohman has exhausted his eligibility, but he is helping coach the Matadors. Hohman, who will graduate in May, will help coach the infield. Mostly, Batesole hopes Hohman's attitude rubs off on the players. Hohman, who played three-quarters of the 1994 season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament posterior cruciate ligament n. Abbr. PCL The cruciate ligament of the knee that crosses from the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the anterior part of the medial condyle of the femur. and didn't miss an inning of the 1995 season despite having his nose broken in one game, will also help with the team's conditioning. ``He's the toughest kid I've ever been associated with,'' Batesole said. Hohman's salary, Batesole said, will be paid with help from fundraising. For sale: The football team heads to Las Cruces Las Cruces (läs kr  `sĭs), city (1990 pop. 62,126), seat of Dona Ana co., SW N.Mex., on the Rio Grande, in a farm area irrigated by the Elephant Butte system; founded 1848, inc. 1907. , N.M., this weekend. Presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , the Matadors have been invited to give Division I-A New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). State a victory - its first of the season. Northridge accepted such an invitation because it came with a promise of $75,000. Throw it in the pot with the $50,000 Utah State paid the Matadors for their visit two weeks ago, and that would be 125,000 reasons why Dave Baldwin Dave Baldwin was the head football coach of San Jose State University from 1997-2000. During his tenure, he had three straight wins over Stanford (including their rosebowl season of 1999). In 1997, SJSU upset No. agreed to have his football team used and abused by teams with twice as many scholarships. ``I understand that for Northridge to be successful there are going to have to be money games,'' Baldwin said. ``As long as it's not against LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit or Nebraska, where we have no chance.'' Utah State and New Mexico State are members of the Big West Conference, never confused with the Big 12, but a I-A conference nonetheless. ``The Big West is good for us,'' Baldwin said. ``We're mismatched, but we have a chance. It might be a slight chance in hell, but at least it's a chance.'' |
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