KOESTER'S REP NOW AT STAKE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Now the latest new era at Cal State Northridge begins, and understand exactly where the focus should be.

Not on the latest special double-blue ribbon athletic commission report. Not on the most bizarre and protracted search for a new athletic director in collegiate history.

Not even on new AD Rick Mazzuto.

All eyes front and center on president Jolene Koester.

This is her baby now, her grand plan, her man to lead the athletic program. Her reputation on the line.

She is always in control, from exactly how long a media interview will last, to who will be brought in for any significant hire, to the future direction of CSUN athletics.

There is no more time for tired talk of potential. Koester spoke Thursday at the press conference announcing her hire of Mazzuto like a president who clearly understood the situation at Northridge.

``As we all know, Cal State University Northridge is the heart of the San Fernando Valley,'' she said. ``We are the cultural heart, the economic heart, the intellectual heart.

``It is now time to ask our athletics director -- with his coaches, staff, the senior leadership of the university and all the community members at Cal State University Northridge -- to become the sports center of the San Fernando Valley as well.''

Koester has it exactly right. CSUN is awash in missed opportunity. It can be all that to the area, should be, almost demands to be.

Yet history says she will not provide the program the required support, both financially and spiritually. She is the president who killed football. Who has overseen a program rife with dissention, enormous staff turnover, low morale within its coaching ranks, poor facilities and generally underperforming teams.

If the athletic department is to turn around, if she is sincerely committed to CSUN approaching its potential, now is the time.

The pieces are in place. Her pieces. There will never be a better moment in the Koester reign for things to turn around.

She cannot simply hire Mazzuto, slap him on the back, tell him he's in charge and fade into the background. He must be set up to succeed, not fail.

This is a key time for CSUN.

``I think we're at a crucial point for out athletic program,'' said interim AD Janet Lucas. ``There has been a tremendous amount of discussion historically about the potential of our program. This is the opportunity we have to make that vision a reality.''

There is plenty of suspicion that Koester has little interest in athletics. She is enamored by the prospect of a $100-million performing arts center. There are inherent academic problems with a commuter school of over 33,000 students. Her plate is so full, the place of athletics can be hard to identify.

Mazzuto, however, is convinced Koester wants the program turned around.

``Talking to Dr. Koester, I really got the sense that she really wants to get the athletic program going and really take it to another level,'' he said. ``The challenge for all of us is getting the resources to make it happen, but it sounds like she's committed to that. And when the university president is committed, then you have a shot at success.''

Mazzuto came off Thursday as earnest, well spoken, knowledgeable.

Yet Mazzuto's hire alone should prove his own cautionary tale. He is the answer to a sham of a one-year search for a new athletic director after Koester essentially fired former AD Dick Dull.

Mazzuto applied last January. Koester rejected her search committee's initial effort last May, and hired a professional search firm.

That firm recommended three candidates -- including Lucas but not Mazzuto. One candidate dropped out, and at the 11th hour Mazzuto was suddenly added last week. He had been contacted while on vacation at Lake Tahoe.

``It's been a whirlwind 10 days,'' he said.

A search that lasted over a year, and Mazzuto was basically hired after a couple of weeks.

Koester said she was attracted to Mazzuto because of his 20 years of experience as a Division I athletic director and fundraiser. He comes from Longwood University, a small public school (under 5,000 students) in Farmville, Va. He was previously the AD at St. Mary's. It's not hard to understand how his resume was initially overlooked.

This all had to make for a difficult year for Lucas. She served as the interim athletic director for a year and became a finalist for the full-time job, only to be rejected.

Lucas admitted to disappointment at not getting the job, and asked Koester about being passed over.

``In essence, she referenced (Mazzuto) as a seasoned director of athletics,'' Lucas said.

If experience was going to be a decisive factor -- Lucas has been in athletic departments for 26 years but never as an athletic director -- then she should have been told from the beginning and not dragged emotionally through the process.

She was in an awkward situation for an entire year. When brought to CSUN two years ago, it was suspected Koester was setting her up to take over for Dull.

But Lucas is passionate about her job, may have raised her hand one too many times, and Koester went elsewhere.

It is best to agree with the captain of the ship, and make no mistake, this is Koester's ship. Hopefully she is aware that Mazzuto left St. Mary's after a 12-year run as AD because of a disagreement with his superior.

``He had an idea of how intercollegiate athletics should be run, and I had a dissenting opinion with him that was of such an extreme nature that I chose not to work there anymore,'' Mazzuto said. ``It was not an easy decision for me because I liked that place.''

Koester has not been in the habit of returning my phone calls, so I approached her immediately after the press conference. Koester told me she had a phone call to take and could give me four minutes.

Koester said Mazzuto was charged with implementing the blue-ribbon committee's report over the next five to 10 years (he received a two-year contract).

``And bringing the program so we're competitive in more of our sports, improving the academic progress ranking of our program and improving the intercollegiate athletic facilities,'' Koester said.

Quickly it was, ``I gotta go.'' She gave me exactly 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

Hopefully she displays a greater commitment to the program now in place. Her program, her era, her responsibility.

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