Northridge Offering Braswell a New Deal

Cal State Northridge men’s basketball Coach Bobby Braswell said he is close to reaching an agreement on a contract extension that would keep him with the Matadors for four more years.

Braswell was a finalist for the vacancy at Washington State, filled this week by Oklahoma State assistant Paul Graham. And he expressed interest in the Long Beach State job until Wayne Morgan was told he would be retained for at least another year.

But with the signing period coming up, Braswell has decided to check his wanderlust and focus on improving the Matadors, who were 17-12 last season, his third as coach.

“The recruiting is too important,” he said. “We were starting to get hammered by other programs who were telling recruits I wasn’t going to stay at Northridge.”

After Braswell was mentioned as a candidate for the Washington State opening, Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson met with him and asked what it would take for him to stay.

Sam Jankovich, Northridge’s interim athletic director, has discussed renegotiating Braswell’s contract, which has two years left on a four-year deal.

Braswell and Jankovich both are at the Final Four in Florida.

“I can’t comment on the contract situation except to say I’d like to resolve my future here at Northridge,” Braswell said. “We still have some things to accomplish as a team, and I want to be part of it.”