Two Coaches Settle Claim Against CSUN

NORTHRIDGE —  Former Cal State Northridge football assistants Keith Borges and Craig Wall, who filed a $6 million claim against the university last fall, have reached a settlement with the school that will pay each a year’s salary after their contracts expire in December.

Borges, former running backs coach, and Wall, former defensive coordinator, will receive $38,652 and $48,720, respectively.

The coaches alleged they were reassigned to teaching positions last season in retaliation for cooperating with an investigation last summer into NCAA rules violations by the Northridge football program.

Borges and Wall are not expected to be re-signed to contracts, a university spokesman said. They will remain instructors in the school’s kinesiology department for the remainder of their tenure.

Both said they were relieved to have the matter settled and that they are pursuing coaching jobs.

“To say that I’m elated, that’s not it at all,” Borges said. “I’m just happy it’s all coming to an end. I’m working my backside off trying to find a job. I just want to end up in a quality situation and get back to coaching.”

Said Wall: “The best thing now is the opportunity to move on.”

The two-month internal investigation, triggered last May by an anonymous letter received by the athletic department, led to the firing of Coach Ron Ponciano and could result in additional sanctions against Northridge by the NCAA.

The NCAA has scheduled a hearing Friday in Indianapolis regarding the Northridge matter.

Borges and Wall last season were reassigned to teaching positions. They vehemently deny any wrongdoing, including a widespread belief that one of them wrote the letter.

“The rumors of me being a rat fink are all wrong,” Borges said. “I just don’t understand where all that came from. All I ever did was answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’ about what I knew about and then decided not to share that with my boss.

“All things considered, it’s been difficult. Our reputations have been tainted. But it’s all water under the bridge.”

Wall said filing a claim was a last resort.

“There was a lot to this situation,” Wall said. “It had to get really bad for Keith and I to go to an attorney.”

Northridge last August issued a 130-page report of the investigation detailing alleged abuses involving football coaches, ranging from the use of slush funds to filing fraudulent expense reports.

During the investigation, according to the claim, Ponciano and other coaches pressured Borges and Wall to disclose what they had told investigators. When they refused, “the football coaching staff began to ostracize Borges and Wall,” the claim said.

Northridge issued a statement Friday absolving Borges and Wall of wrongdoing.

“The university is very pleased to have resolved this matter,” said Dick Dull, Northridge athletic director. “As I have said before, these two men did nothing wrong and did what [the university] asked them to do during the football inquiry. The university wishes them well in their future careers.”