Former Ventura College men's basketball coach Phil Mathews will be unveiled Monday as Ben Howland's top assistant with the UCLA men's basketball team

We've been hearing over the past few days that former Ventura College coach Phil Mathews could be set to return to Southern California as Ben Howland's No. 1 assistant at UCLA.

Tracy Pierson at BruinReportOnline.com reported the hiring as imminent Thursday.

This would be fantastic news for Mathews, who coached the Pirates to the 1987 and 1995 state championships and 10 straight WSC titles before moving on to the University of San Francisco, San Bernardino Valley and the University of Nebraska.

Mathews was set to return home to VC last summer when the state budget situation kept the college from hiring a new full-time coach.

He watched the California Community College basketball championships last month in Thousand Oaks with former guard Joey Ramirez, who is now a Ventura assistant.

On his first day as an assistant coach for the Ventura College's men's basketball, Joey Ramirez was asked to speak to the team.

Midway through an emotional sermon in the school's team room, Ramirez, who earned 1994 Western State Conference co-Most Valuable Player honors in orange and black, glanced over the door, where the painted "Eye of Tradition" had been during his playing days.

"I looked up there and it was gone," said Ramirez.

Ventura College president Robin Calote e-mailed a statement Monday regarding the on-going VC men's basketball head coaching position:

"The selection of the men's basketball coach is an important decision that has significant implications for the viability of the men's basketball program in a community that enthusiastically supports basketball.

"Although two viable candidates have emerged through the screening process, after conferring with Chancellor Meznek, I have decided not to fill the position with an external candidate at this time. The primary reason for this is that there is movement at the state level to fund both physical education and athletics at the non-credit apportionment rate. This has serious financial implications for the college, which was already facing a multi-million dollar shortfall for the immediate future.

"Now, more than ever, it is becoming critical for the college to focus on the core classes that students need to transfer, to obtain a degree or certificate, or to acquire the skills leading to immediate employment. As the budget crisis deepens, already within the college and the district it has been necessary to pull back on several advertised full-time positions, and where possible, to either fill from within or to combine functions. Within the last two weeks, this has been done in counseling, in the student activities program, and in other areas as well.

"Depending on the state's and district's economic situation, it is my hope to reopen the men's basketball position in two years. In the interim, I have asked Will Cowen to add coaching duties to his faculty assignment. Will has a history of successful coaching experience at the high school level, and he has served the college well as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach this last season. I have every confidence that he will be able to do a good job for both the students and the college.

Robin Calote, Ed.D.
President, Ventura College"

The application deadline for the vacant Ventura College men's basketball head coaching position was Friday.

Camarillo native and Rio Mesa High graduate Ed Madec, who led Fresno City College to a state championship in 2007, said Friday that he did not apply.

Under Madec, who played for current Moorpark College coach Remy McCarthy at Oxnard College, Fresno won its first 34 games this past season before falling to eventual state champion Riverside in the state quarterfinals.

Several local coaches reported that interest in the position seemed to come more from the high school and Division I levels than community college.

Nebraska assistant Phil Mathews, already inducted in the VC Athletic Hall of Fame for guiding the Pirates to state championships in 1987 and 1995, has applied, although he is also in the mix at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported last week that Mathews was among several coaches with Division I head coaching experience to apply for the Mustangs job, including former San Diego coach Brad Holland, former St. Louis coach Brad Soderberg and CSU San Bernardino coach Jeff Oliver, the former Buena High star and VC assistant coach.