Sacramento State president Alexander Gonzalez calls the athletic shortcomings at his school the elephant in the room.

So obvious. So huge. So confining. But, for many years, so ignored.

Tuesday afternoon, more than three months after appointing an athletics task force to investigate the problems and one day before announcing the findings to the campus community, Gonzalez told The Bee of his desire to face the issues.

Citing the task force's seven-page report, Gonzalez endorsed plans for an 8,000-seat events center/arena for students and the basketball and volleyball teams, and a possible change in athletic conference, while failing to guarantee the future of the football program.

"I have a strong commitment to athletics," Gonzalez said. "I think we need to move forward despite the fact that there will be some opposition."

None of the disputing will come from Hornets coaches. They have long complained that recruiting is nearly impossible with Hornet Gym, a 1,400-capacity facility that's trumped by many area high schools and easily the Big Sky Conference's worst.

The proposed arena, which will be adjacent to Hornet Stadium and is scheduled for completion in 2006 or 2007, would be used for graduation ceremonies and, potentially, concerts, in addition to athletic events. A recreation center would also be available for student use.

How much money it will take, and who will pay for it, has yet to be decided.

Gonzalez said a consultant was hired by the Student Union before he came on board in July 2003 to assess both cost and draw blueprints.

"Once we get that (report), we can parcel it out and look at what it would take," Gonzalez said. "Do we build it piecemeal, or all at once? What would the cost be, and how do we go about trying to fund it?"

The opposition could come from the students, who will be asked to fund at least a portion of the project. Tuition fees already are expected to increase by 10 percent.

In 1999, students twice voted down proposals for a recreation center, although the athletic teams weren't yet incorporated in those plans.

The arena's construction would fall in line with Gonzalez's other vision for the campus. As part of his five-year plan, dormitory beds on campus are scheduled to increase from 1,100 to 5,000, a move toward increasing campus life.

"They would probably be asked to participate in it, not totally but a combination of deferred financing and possible major individual gifts," he said.

The question of conference and where that leaves the football program is one Gonzalez said he can't yet answer.

Of 20 Hornets teams, 14 currently compete in the Big Sky, of which Sac State is the lone California team. Four others compete in either the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association, or Pacific Coast Softball Conference, and two are independent.

The Big West, however, could be home to 17 of Sac State's 20 teams. Because gymnastics and rowing aren't Big Sky teams, only football would be left without a conference.

A decision on the direction of the football program, Gonzalez said, will be made "within the next few months."

"As far as I'm concerned, football is here for now unless someone convinces me otherwise," Gonzalez said. "I don't think getting rid of football is the panacea. ... We have to assume that we're in the Big Sky, and we have to beef up that football team, attract the best players we can get, until we look carefully at the Big West."

And the attraction is simple. The Big West would be a "bus league," as Gonzalez called it, with eight of the 10 teams from California. UC Davis is set to join the Big West in 2004, and its football team will either be independent or join another conference.

Sac State athletic director Terry Wanless, himself a focal point of the report, said he'll reserve judgment until today's press conference.

Per the task force's report, Wanless will report directly to Gonzalez. He previously reported to Shirley Uplinger, the school's vice president of public affairs.

"I have great faith in the vision Dr. Gonzalez has for this university, and, in particular, our athletics program," Wanless said. "I'm looking forward to working closely with him with this vision."