I don't know for sure if Long Beach State's Dr. Robert Maxson is the most popular college president in the country, although I doubt there is one at any other campus who's on a first- name basis with more students than Maxson.

I don't know for sure if Dr. Robert Maxson is the most honored college president in the country, although I doubt there is one at any other campus who has been bestowed with three state-college- president-of-the-year awards like Maxson has since taking over the local university in 1994.

I don't know for sure if Dr. Robert Maxson is the first college president in California to pursue high school valedictorians and National Merit Scholars, but I doubt there is any other state campus in America that has more of them on full-ride scholarships 376 at the moment because of Mason's much-heralded President's Scholar Program.

What I do know for sure about Dr. Robert Maxson is that there isn't a college president in the entire U.S. Of A. who is more passionate about his school's athletic teams, and the frenetic schedule he pursued last weekend was a graphic reflection of it.

If you were at the 49ers' baseball game Friday night at Blair Field against Pacific, you saw Maxson there from the first inning through the ninth, applauding Jered Weaver's 17-strikeout performance and schmoozing with the Dirtbags' boosters.

And, if you happened to be at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu Saturday night for the 49ers' men's volleyball NCAA championship match against Brigham Young University, you saw the tireless Maxson up there in the stands cheering loudly for the local heroes.

It turned out that Bob Maxson was the only college president to make an appearance at the Hawaii event, even though for him to do so resulted in a grueling 24-hour regimen in which he spent 11 hours on an airplane during the 6,000-mile round trip.

He departed John Wayne Airport Saturday morning at 9, arrived in Honolulu at 1:30, gave a pre-match speech to the 49ers players at 3, started watching the proceedings at 4, got to bed at 12, caught a flight back to the mainland at 10 Sunday morning, arrived at 7 and went to sleep at 11.

Oh, of course, Saturday night after the 49ers had lost in a most agonizing manner to the Cougars they went down in volleyball's equivalent to extra innings in the decisive fifth game he attended a post-game gathering at the team's Ohana Islander Waikiki Hotel headquarters where he spoke consolingly to each player between consuming a few slices of pizza, which turned out to be his only culinary fare during the brief odyssey.

Why would Bob Maxson put himself through such a grind when he could have remained in the comfort of his Park Estates residence and watched the match on ESPN2, avoiding such vexing traveling pitfalls as security checks, jet lag, lengthy waits and disruptive sleep patterns?

"I simply enjoy going to our student functions,' says Maxson, who was unable to scurry over to Hawaii on Friday because he had several important budget meetings, as well as a gathering of the graduating President Scholars at the school's Japanese Gardens. "Earlier in the week, I went to a concert put on by the dance department. I always try to get out and see the events put on by our theater and music performers. I guess it's well-known I have a great fondness for athletics, but I also try to attend all our other student functions.'

Still, it's at athletic events where Bob Maxson has forged his high public profile if for no other reason than it's so odd to see a university's top administrator showing up at water polo and tennis matches on a regular basis, as well as women's softball games and all the other minor league sports.

It's also odd that a college coach would enlist the school president to give his team a pre-game motivational spiel, but that's what the 49ers' men's volleyball boss, Alan Knipe, did last Saturday before his troops faced the Cougars.

"I just told the players how proud I was of them and how well they have represented our school,' relates Maxson. "I told them how they were among a group of elite athletes, in that few student-athletes during their careers have the opportunity to play for a national championship.'

Those words came easy for Bob Maxson.

The ones he recited later to each despondent player at the team party were more difficult.

"That wasn't a time for a speech,' he says. "I told each player individually how well we played. Sure, there was disappointment we didn't win, but there wasn't any disappointment in the way we played. We were right there, even had three championship point opportunities. Of course, you have to give BYU credit. But you also have to give our players credit. They were terrific. We didn't have an off-night. We played great.'

Bob Maxson has been around long enough to know that agonizing, heartbreaking losses are an endemic part of athletics.

He suffered one of the more memorable ones when he was president at UNLV, and the Runnin' Rebels were deprived of a second consecutive NCAA title in 1992 when they were dealt their first loss of the season in the semifinals of the Final Four by Duke.

In his younger days, he coached basketball 10 years at Boca Raton High in Florida and found out early about stirring victories and depressing losses.

"My favorite sports are those played by my students at the school,' he says. "I go to about one Angel and one Dodger game a year. The rest of the time I go to games played by my students. It is these that inspire my passions.'