Northridge Panel: Keep All Sports

NORTHRIDGE — In a strong rebuff to school administrators, a task force ordered by state Sen. Cathie Wright unanimously recommended Monday night that Cal State Northridge permanently restore four men’s sports it dropped last summer.

Baseball, volleyball, soccer and swimming can be saved even with a 6% cut in the athletic budget, the 15-member panel found.

The task force also recommended that Northridge not comply with court-ordered gender-equity requirements by next fall. A report explaining Northridge’s justification for noncompliance is required by an agreement between the Cal State University system and California chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Athletic costs increased and revenues declined after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, making it impossible for Northridge to meet the consent decree guidelines without cutting men’s sports, the committee found.

“Northridge should adhere to a philosophy that embraces and abides by the true spirit of gender equity by increasing opportunities for women rather than decreasing opportunities for men,” task force Chairman Dr. Keith Richman said.

Northridge should move toward compliance by significantly increasing the budget, scholarship and participation numbers in women’s sports and possibly adding water polo and lacrosse teams, the task force said. Most men’s sports would trim a few scholarships and make small cuts to their operating budgets.

The task force, which has met weekly since Sept. 29, will forward its findings to Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson in two weeks, Richman said.

Wilson was not available for comment Monday. University spokesman Bruce Erickson said that Wilson will not comment until the committee’s report is distributed on campus and she has received feedback.

Northridge tried to eliminate the four sports because of a budget shortfall and to comply with the gender-equity consent decree. However, a community backlash prompted Sen. Wright (R-Simi Valley) to provide a $586,000 bailout from state funds that reinstated the sports for one year.

Athletic Director Paul Bubb said he misjudged the depth of outrage the cuts prompted.

“I don’t want to say [cutting the sports] was a wake-up call, that was not our intention,” he said. “I was looking at how much money we were told we had. I could have made across-the-board cuts or cut programs and fund the rest at the level they needed to be competitive. My choice was the latter.”

Bubb was confronting an $800,000 deficit in the athletic program’s $6 million 1996-97 budget. To compensate in future years, the task force suggested increased contributions of $400,000 from the university general fund, $280,000 from student fees (about $10 a year from each student) and $100,000 from the corporation that runs university concessions.

“We have asked all parties to contribute to the solution,” Richman said.

Jon Hatemi, vice president of Northridge associated students and a task force member, said that when students voted to increase fees in 1995, Wilson promised that sports would not be cut and that gender-equity requirements would be met.

“It’s tough to ask students to pay more money when they’ve been lied to in the past,” Hatemi said. “I would have to see a document signed by the president with lawyers present saying that if fees are raised, teams will not be cut. Then I see no problem asking for a fee referendum.”

The task force findings are endorsed by Northridge coaches, who unanimously agreed two weeks ago to recommend keeping all 20 sports.

Richman, a Northridge physician and former college baseball player, said other Cal State universities are grappling with the same budget and gender-equity issues as Northridge and that the task force’s findings may have a ripple effect.

“Universities are reacting in different ways, but everyone is facing the same problems, just in varying degrees,” he said.

In addition to more than 30 specific recommendations for Northridge, the task force proposed that the Cal State University system provide funding to assist individual campuses in meeting the gender-equity requirements.

And in one of its bolder recommendations, the task force recommended that the CSU renegotiate the consent decree to allow for “the implementation of gender equity within CSU athletic departments along the lines of the true spirit of gender equity.”

The task force also recommended Northridge:

* Maintain its membership in the Big Sky Conference and core sports required by the conference.

The athletic department will continue to pursue conference affiliation for the baseball team in the Big West and Western Athletic conferences.

* Immediately establish a separate task force to consider improving athletic facilities.

* Make incremental drops in scholarship levels with subsequent increases in scholarships provided through fund-raising.

Incentives for individual teams to fund-raise will be provided by guaranteeing that teams control most of the funds they raise. A 25-33% portion would be allocated to a general fund earmarked for gender-equity compliance.

* Have the athletic director report directly to the president. Bubb presently reports to Ronald Kopita, vice president for student affairs.

* Provide monthly financial statements for the athletic program and individual teams.

* Establish an advisory board to facilitate communication between the athletic program and its constituencies.

* Develop a community outreach program to encourage the development of athletic skills and interest in grade-school and middle-school age girls.