CSUN Committee Under Scrutiny

NORTHRIDGE —  State Senator Cathie Wright made her message clear to the Cal State Northridge Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics at the group’s first meeting Monday night.

“I will be watching,” she said.

Sen. Wright (R--Simi Valley) established the task force in August as a stipulation for Northridge getting $586,000 in state funds to restore four men’s sports that the school cut in order to meet budget and gender-equity requirements.

Chaired by Sun Valley physician Keith Richman, the 13-member task force includes four community members and Northridge students, faculty and administrators.

The group faces a tight deadline. Richman plans to report preliminary findings by early December to allow additional input before the final report goes to the state legislature March 1.

Task force members introduced themselves to a large crowd of mostly students and community members, who saved their loudest applause for Sen. Wright, who is viewed as having saved baseball, volleyball, soccer and swimming for a year.

“Your report will mean something when budget decisions are made by the legislature,” Wright told the task force.

Richman outlined the group’s duties and listed several subcommittees to divide the work load. They will explore the history of the athletics program, gender-equity concerns, conference affiliations, community and student opinion, and assessing private funding sources.

Although reluctant to make definitive pronouncements during the first meeting, Richman made it clear that cutting sports will not be an aim of the task force.

“I will be disappointed if we aren’t involving as many men and women in athletics as possible,” he said.

Many athletes from the sports in jeopardy listened intently and queried Richman about the direction of the task force.

“The students are the key constituency,” Richman said. “I’d rank their opinions as No. 1.”

The task force plans to meet at least once a week, usually on Mondays in the University Student Union. Meetings are open to the public.

Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson addressed the group briefly but said she would not “interfere” with its work.