DOES CSUN HAVE HIDDEN ATHLETIC AGENDA? PONCIANO FIRING MAY BE ANOTHER STEP.

Byline: LOCAL VIEW By Lee Kanon Alpert

THE recent firing of California State University, Northridge, head football coach Ron Ponciano is yet another example of the ongoing debacle that is CSUN athletics.

It comes on the heels of the controversial hiring of new athletic director Dick Dull, the arrest of the women's head basketball coach on drug charges and the resignation of the former athletic director and associate athletic director late last year.

These recent events raise questions concerning the university's commitment to its football and athletic programs. By all reports, Ponciano was a dedicated, competent and talented football coach who cared for his players and was committed to athletic and academic excellence at CSUN.

Under his leadership, CSUN put together a winning football program that challenged for the league title - for the first time in years. Ponciano was thought highly enough of by his Big Sky Conference peers to be named Coach of the Year. He propelled his lowly program, with second class workout, training and playing facilities, into the Top 25 national rankings in his first year as coach and came within a hair's breath of winning the conference championship.

So why was Ponciano fired? The university received an anonymous letter making all sorts of yet unproved allegations against the coach. This unsigned letter was clearly designed to cause harm to a shining star of the university and its football program. In response, the university refused to provide details of the accusations so Ponciano was unable to defend himself. Instead of thoroughly investigating whether these allegations had merit and without listening to all sides concerning the unsigned allegations, Ponciano was fired before the investigation was complete.

At best, CSUN's approach to athletics is confused and disorganized. More ominously, the administration appears to be using the Ponciano firing to help it pursue its apparent hidden agenda of ridding itself of an athletic program it no longer wants. It seems the football program is being used as a scapegoat to try to solve other, greater, self-inflicted problems, including the failure to meet longstanding gender equity requirements, almost nonexistent fund development and horrific community relations troubles.

Regardless of whether Ponciano deserved to be terminated, CSUN by its actions has prostituted the process and has created an atmosphere in which every coach must question his own standing at the university. In turn, the university has harmed the student athletes who depend on sound university leadership to provide stable, high-quality athletic programs and consistent educational opportunities.

Other troubling questions come from the Ponciano firing. Where was new athletic director Dick Dull during the investigation? The acting CSUN president claims Dull was kept out of the fray because the inquiry began before his arrival and he was still learning his new position while the investigation was under way. That answer doesn't cut it.

If he cared about his own athletic program and his coaches, staff and athletes, why didn't Dull immediately get involved in his own departmental issues? Why didn't he demand to be involved in the hearing process instead of standing shamefully on the sidelines while his major sports program was being trampled by the administration and an anonymous individual? If he were truly left out of the loop as claimed, how could he possibly state immediately upon Ponciano's firing that he supported the CSUN president's decision? How can he now say he participated in the decision to fire when he had no firsthand knowledge of the issues? Dull has made a portentous start to his CSUN career.

Dull fought hard and aggressively to secure his job (he was selected over other candidates who many thought appeared better qualified, less controversial and were locally based). He must fight just as hard for his programs, coaches and student athletes. That's part of his job. If he fails to stand up for his programs, he'll be nothing more than a yes man for an inexperienced university administration.

CSUN administration should commit the resources to build a first-class athletic program and facilities. San Fernando Valley residents and CSUN students expect as much from the largest, and only four-year, university in the Valley. Instead, it appears, time after time, that it is doing everything in its power to see that athletics are relegated to the sideline - on their way to obscurity and to their ultimate demise. Those individuals who care about CSUN cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen.