From June 17 to August 9, GoMatadors.com will present the top CSUN Moments from the 2023-24 sports season. Today, we celebrate CSUN’s success “Outside the Lines” this season.
The 2023-24 academic year saw CSUN Athletics continue to excel in the classroom, but the department also made significant facility improvements over the course of the 2023-24 season.
As a department, 113 Matador student-athletes earned Big West All-Academic team honors and 35 Matadors were named to various academic All-Region and All-America teams. The CSUN men’s and women’s cross country teams received All-Academic distinction for the third season in a row, while Matador softball boasted 17 student-athletes named 2024 Scholar-Athletes by the NFCA.
Outside the classroom, the summer of 2023 and beyond has been a busy time for Matador Athletics. Living up to its core values, significant institutional and donor investments were put into several capital enhancements supporting our Champion student-athletes.
Among the notable projects are enhancements to the Women’s Water Polo team room, Matador Soccer Field, Premier America Credit Union Arena, and the Sports Medicine Center.
“Our shared philosophy is to strive to get better every day, and this includes bettering the facilities that support our student-athletes,” said CSUN Director of Athletics Shawn Chin-Farrell. “This summer we took advantage of the time to improve areas that directly benefit our student-athletes.”
BASEBALL
On the baseball diamond, alumnus Irv Zakheim has once again stepped up to the plate in support of Baseball’s Champion Student-Athletes. With his gift of $500,000, along with a recent $100,000 matching gift, Zakheim has contributed $600,000 in support of the Baseball program over the past year. In early April, CSUN unveiled a new state-of-the-art Daktronics Videoboard located just beyond the right field wall.
The video board, along with other recent upgrades, represent significant progress in CSUN’s Field of Dreams Baseball Project. CSUN Athletics has embarked on a $27 million multi-phase capital project as part of its commitment to keeping CSUN Baseball at the top of the Big West.
Building off two of the best seasons in a generation, Matador Baseball renovated its locker room, to include air conditioning, new lockers, increased square footage, and branding upgrades. Recent improvements include developing a state-of-the-art playing field surface which is now among the best on the West Coast. Enhancements were also made to improve the student-athlete experience, including upgrades to the team clubhouse with new carpeting, lockers, seating, painting, branding and providing more usable space.
In addition to the current enhancements, CSUN Athletics will be announcing more details regarding the Field of Dreams Baseball Project in the coming days. Phase One of the Eight Phase project includes a new Daktronics videoboard, lights, enhanced audio and infrastructure improvements.
Zakheim’s previous gift to CSUN Baseball in 2018 spearheaded the new entrance plaza to Matador Field in January of that year. The entrance plaza, located in the southwest corner of the facility, was the first in a series of upgrades to modernize and upgrade Matador Field.
The entrance plaza project features wrought iron fencing, custom signage, new landscaping and a ticket booth. The five-year old plaza affords fans a view of the playing field, allowing the community to gather on game day as they cheer on the Matadors.
Zakheim played two seasons at CSUN, then known as San Fernando Valley State College, as the team’s starting second baseman from 1970-71. In his first season with CSUN, Zakheim helped the Matadors reach the pinnacle of college baseball, winning the 1970 NCAA Division II National Championship.
CSUN also made upgrades in the following areas:
WOMEN’S WATER POLO
Situated on the deck of Matador Pool, Women’s Water Polo received a shiny new Matador Red Polyurethane floor in the team room as phase one of a multi-phase project. Phase two will be completed this fall and includes new branding throughout the team room and coaches’ offices.
MATADOR SOCCER FIELD
Matador Soccer Field has had its playing surface upgraded making it one of the best in Southern California. New grading and Bermuda grass were integrated during the summer months, providing our soccer student-athletes with a Champion level playing surface.
SOFTBALL
Coming off its first post season appearance in several years, Softball received a facelift with new paint and branding.
SPORTS MEDICINE
The Sports Medicine Center recently completed phase one of its office enhancement creating increased private space for student-athlete consultations and improved work performance. Focusing on student-athletes wellness, phase two will see even more space dedicated to supporting student-athlete healthcare.
PREMIER AMERICA CREDIT UNION ARENA
Returning to its roots, Premier America Credit Union Arena, home to Matador Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Men’s and Women’s Volleyball, received a fresh coat of Matador Red paint replacing the gray that had become an accent color the past few years. In addition to the new paint, the banners honoring our Championship history will be coming back to the rafters and new branding will also be introduced before the 2023-24 Basketball seasons start.
CSUN has several other facility improvement projects upcoming, including renovations of the Soccer practice field and the Matador Track & Field Complex.
“I’m thrilled by the trajectory of our facilities and their direction,” said Terrance Knighten, CSUN’s Director of Events and Facilities. “Our commitment to enhancing the student-athlete experience ensures that our projects not only benefit our students and fans but also contribute positively to the Valley communities.”
#GoMatadors
