AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

Cal State Northridge is headed to the Big West Conference in 2001, a move applauded across campus.

But before the Matadors depart, they’ll play lame duck in the Big Sky Conference.

“That’s what scares me,” Bobby Braswell, men’s basketball coach, said with a laugh.

Braswell and football Coach Jeff Kearin aren’t counting on getting many breaks with the game officials.

On the road in the Big Sky, the Matadors, in black uniforms, are not mistaken for the good guys.

After a 113-92 loss at Weber State two weeks ago in which he was ejected for the first time in his career, Braswell sarcastically criticized the officiating.

“This is the reason going to the Big West is one of the best things we can do,” Braswell said. “That’s the way I feel about it.”

Kearin was similarly at odds with officials during a 34-21 loss at Portland State in November. Northridge was penalized 15 times for 125 yards, and Kearin drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a first-half tirade.

Northridge gladly will say goodbye to the Big Sky, which it joined, perhaps against better judgment, in 1996. While the school’s football and men’s basketball teams have been competitive, neither has won a conference title.

Northridge’s women’s basketball team won a Big Sky title last season. But Northridge, geographically distant from its conference rivals, never fully blended into the Big Sky picture.

Discussion of the Matadors’ departure ensued soon after they joined the Big Sky.

“There are those who [believe] that the Big Sky didn’t want us in there,” said Kearin.