WHITHER SCHOOL SPIRIT? CSUN FOOTBALL PROGRAM LACKING STUDENT SUPPORT.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

No banners hanging from dorm windows. No rallies at the frat houses. No buzz at the student union. No screaming students chanting ``We're No. 1.''

No way. This is California State University, Northridge, and the Matadors football team has run up a string of upsets, is undefeated in the tough Big Sky Conference and - unbelievably - is the No. 16-ranked team in the country, Division I-AA, one step below the big time.

But does anyone on campus know or care?

``Actually, I heard they weren't very good,'' sophomore Bernadette Moise said Monday. ``Nobody says anything about them.''

Added CSUN sophomore Steve Thomas: ``They're in Division VI or something, aren't they? I don't know. They don't talk about them on campus.''

CSUN starting safety Vito Clemente lamented that his only well-wishers Monday were his professors.

``They'll be going through the roll and get to my name and say, `Hey, heck of a game, heck of a game,' '' Clemente said. ``They take time out of classes to talk to me, and that's pretty cool. But I don't think we get publicized enough on campus. Not enough recognition, I guess.

``I think maybe they should have a banner up saying `No. 1 in the Big Sky.' We're doing stuff we've never done before on this campus.''

For the team, anyway, that has made CSUN's greatest football season just great. The coaching staff watches game films with more enjoyment, and players show up for extra work without being coerced.

Members of the athletic department call Saturday's 21-7 victory against national power Montana one of the biggest moments in 37 seasons of football at the school.

In case you haven't heard - and if you're a CSUN student, there's a good chance you haven't - the school has a good football team. CSUN was ranked 16th in the nation in both of the major Division I-AA polls, released Monday by USA Today/CNN and The Sports Network. The Matadors have won four straight games for the first time in eight years and are 4-1, 3-0 in the Big Sky Conference.

It wasn't until last week that CSUN, which moved from Division II in 1993, got its first ranking as a member of Division I-AA. And talk of making the playoffs is permeating from the CSUN locker room.

But there has been hardly a ripple on campus. Hanging on the occasional campus wall are football posters that have the schedule printed on them, and schedule pocket cards are available at a few locations.

CSUN administrators have long lamented the lack of interest in any on-campus sporting event. A group called Mata-Maniacs holds a weekly pep rally to help educate the students and build support from within, but the program is in its infancy.

CSUN officials estimate that of the 5,237 who attended the Montana game, which eclipsed their best attendance mark this year by 1,300 fans, 400 to 500 were students.

``If it was Santa Monica College, I could tell you,'' said junior Peter Magiri, who transferred to CSUN this fall from the junior college. ``You knew whenever their games were. Here I don't know what the uniforms look like.''

When the team returns to North Campus Stadium for homecoming Oct. 24 against 18th-ranked Montana State, the Matadors say they will be prepared for the game that could decide the Big Sky championship. But what they don't know is if anyone else on campus will realize it.

CAPTION(S):

photo

PHOTO Few fans filled the CSUN stadium before the game against Montana started on Saturday. Attendance eventually climbed to 5,237.

John Lazar/Daily News