Matadors Find Way to Balance the Budget

NORTHRIDGE —  Cal State Northridge’s athletic budget was announced on Tuesday, generating a collective sigh of relief from Matador coaches.

Not a sport was eliminated. Several, in fact, received a boost in funding.

Taking the hits were men’s soccer, men’s golf, and men’s and women’s swimming, all of which will be downsizing in order to accommodate additions to other programs required by the Big Sky Conference.

Northridge’s budget will rise from about $4.2 million this school year to $4.5 million in 1996-97, with the additional funding coming from the state and the Northridge Corporation, the school’s fund-raising arm.

Scholarships for women’s sports will increase 56%, from 46.8 scholarships this school year to 73 in 1996-97, while scholarships in men’s sports will increase 25.5%, from 58 to 77.9.

Tuesday’s announcement ended nearly four months of speculation about how Northridge’s athletic department would double football scholarships while maintaining gender-equity requirements going into its inaugural campaign in a full-fledged Division I conference.

“I feel good,” Athletic Director Paul Bubb said. “It was a big hurdle. There are a series of hurdles for this program. If that wasn’t the last hurdle, you can at least see the finish line.”

Changes to the athletic program probably would have been more significant if not for a projected increase from two major sources of funding.

The Corporation provided about $430,000 for athletics in the 1993-94 school year. But the Northridge Earthquake and the resulting enrollment drops have caused the Corporation’s portion to drop to $280,000 this year.

Don Queen, executive director of the Corporation, said a return to pre-earthquake funding levels is realistic, provided enrollment continues to rebound.

“[The Corporation’s financial situation] has turned around now and we are in pretty good shape,” Queen said. “It’s not near what it was, but it is climbing.”

Money from the state general fund is expected to increase from about $1.22 million to $1.4 million.

Jerry Luedders, a member of the University Budget Advisory Board and chairman of the Music Dept., called the increase “modest” and said he is “satisfied that the institution is prepared to meet the financial commitment required.”

Noticeably absent from the list of sports to suffer cuts was men’s volleyball, which some supporters feared was on the chopping block because it is not a Big Sky sport.

“We feel that is one of the sports that has brought us recognition and we need to support it so it can continue to bring in revenue,” Bubb said.

Scholarships for men’s basketball will rise from 10.1 to 12 in hopes of building a competitive team and generating revenue. The NCAA maximum is 13 scholarships.

Hit hardest by reductions was men’s soccer. The program’s scholarships will decrease from almost four to three, and Coach Marwan Ass’ad will have his salary cut by more than 50% and the team will cut operating expenses by playing fewer matches.

“Athletics is all about adversity. I am approaching it that way,” Ass’ad said. “I’m not going to let it eat me alive. I am just going to look at the positive side. They could have [eliminated] us and they didn’t.”

The men’s golf program will go from about 1.4 scholarships to one. The team will cut its travel costs by playing more local tournaments.

The men’s swimming budget will be reduced from 2.6 scholarships to about 1.9. The women’s team will get a slight scholarship boost, but both programs will reduce operating costs by competing in fewer meets.

Barry Schreifels, who coaches both swim teams, is relieved he still has a job.

“We can survive a lean year or two,” he said. “If we are [eliminated], we can’t survive anything.”

In 1997-98, more football scholarships will be added and a men’s tennis team will be created--terms for joining the Big Sky. Northridge will continue to add women’s scholarships to keep balanced.

Bubb said projected revenue increases are based on rising enrollment estimates and expected additional fan interest generated by successful teams and conference affiliation.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Scholarship Shuffle

A look at scholarships available for men’s and women’s sports at Cal State Northridge now and upon affiliation with the Big Sky Conference, compared to NCAA maximums.

Men

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SPORT 95-96 96-97 NCAA Baseball 9 9 11.7 Basketball 10.1 12 13 Cross country/track 8 8 12.6 Football 20 40 63 Golf 1.4 1 4.5 Soccer 3.9 3 9.9 Swimming 2.6 1.9 9.9 Volleyball 3 3 4.5

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Women

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SPORT 95-96 96-97 NCAA Basketball 11 14 15 Cross country/track 9 16 16 Golf -- 3 6 Soccer 3 9 11 Softball 9 11 12 Swimming 2.8 3 14 Tennis 3 5 8 Volleyball 9 12 12

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Total scholarships

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95-96 96-97 Men 58 77.9 Women 46.8 73

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SOURCE: Cal State Northridge Athletic Director Paul Bubb