BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? Looking to pen a successful script to the premiere of the CSUB baseball program, the Roadrunners found the “write” man for the job, naming Bill Kernen to the post on Thursday.

Kernen, who was also a playwright and product of the prestigious dramatic writing graduate program at Columbia University, will lead the Roadrunners as baseball becomes the university's 19th sport as part of their move to NCAA Division I status which began this year. They will field their first team in the spring of 2009.

Kernen currently serves as the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton. He will finish out the season with the perennial national title contenders before assuming his duties in Bakersfield.

“We had an incredibly strong pool of candidates, and from that group, Bill Kernen stood out as the person we feel is best capable of building the Roadrunner baseball program,” said CSUB Athletic Director Rudy Carvajal.

“It takes a special person to build a program from scratch,” added Carvajal, who as A.D. has overseen the beginning of 18 of Bakersfield's 19 sports. “Bill brings a unique combination of experiences and skills that I believe will help the Roadrunner baseball program hit the ground running.”

“I am happy to be a part of the CSUB family and the community at large because we are about to show the rest of the country what this city and university can accomplish when the dedicated commitment of quality people is applied to such a challenge,” said Kernen.

“My experience throughout the selection process for this position has had one consistent theme ? quality people,” he added. “The CSUB administrators, coaches and business community members in the Roadrunner Club have been welcoming and friendly, while at the same time highly professional and keenly focused on the challenge to move to Division I and add a baseball program.”

In many ways, Kernen is the perfect fit for a fledgling program at a university making the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. As head coach at Cal State Northridge from 1989 through 1995, Kernen led the Matadors through the transition from Division II to Division I play. More than just make the transition, Kernen led CSUN to a 44?18?1 record, the West Regional championship game and a top 10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll in their first season of DI play.

Kernen posted a 240?154?3 record in seven seasons as head coach at CSUN. He led the Matadors to the NCAA Division II title game in 1990 and a berth in the NCAA Division I regional finals in 1991.

Kernen began his collegiate coaching career at Cal State Fullerton in 1978. The Titans were then a fledgling NCAA Division I program in their own right, having just left the CCAA three years earlier. In five seasons as Fullerton's pitching coach, he helped guide the Titans to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the College World Series and a national title in 1979.

Kernen left Fullerton following the 1982 season to take over the family's business intrests when his father fell ill. After his father's passing, he returned for the 1987 season before following Titan Head Coach Augie Garrido to the University of Illinois in 1988. He left Illinois for the head job at Northridge in 1989 and stayed with the Matadors through the 1995 season.

While in the graduate writing program at Columbia, Kernen wrote and produced two full-length plays; And Other Fairy Tales and A Graveyard Symphony by 1997. Two more, Galleria degli Angeli (1998) and Musica de Mariposa (1999), would follow in the next two years, with his 1998 effort being honored as a finalist in the Oglebay Institute National Playwriting Competition.

Kernen graduated cum laude in 1970 from the University of Redlands, where he played college ball. His 11 wins and 1.26 ERA in 106 innings in 1970 earned him first team All?SCIAC, SCIAC Player of the Year, and Redlands Athlete of the Year honors, as well as a place in the Bulldog record book. His 11 victories tie him with Gary Sherman (1965) for the most in a single season at Redlands. The pitcher was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles organization where he played for three seasons before starting his coaching career in 1974.

“My gratitude goes out to the many supporters who participated in my candidacy for this position,” said Kernen. I would like to thank most especially Bob Hiegert, CCAA Commissioner (and athletic director at CSUN during Kernen's tenure), George Horton, head baseball coach and Brian Quinn, athletic director at Cal State Fullerton and University of Texas Head Coach Augie Garrido.”

Kernen and his wife Betty will reside in Bakersfield. The couple has one son, Jonathan (14).

“Congradulations to Bill and to Cal State Bakersfield. Starting the Roadrunner baseball team is an exciting opportunity, and Bill is the perfect fit to build the program. He did a remarkable job leading Cal State Northridge through the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. Bill was very responsive to the needs of both the student?athletes and the program's supporters and he will be very successful in getting the community engaged in Roadrunner baseball.”

“I would like to congratulate to both Bill Kernen and Cal State Bakersfield as they move towards the challenge of Division I baseball. It seems to me, after an extensive search, that Bakersfield has found the right guy in Bill Kernen to begin a strong baseball tradition. There is little doubt in my mind that Coach Kernen will do a fabulous job.”

“By hiring Bill Kernen, Cal State Bakersfield has assured itself of success in building a quality Division I baseball program.”

“CSUB could not have picked a better leader than Bill Kernen to grow their baseball program. He taught me about accountability as it pertains to academics, the baseball program, teammates and myself. College baseball is a better game with Bill Kernen in it as a head coach.”

“We had an incredibly strong pool of candidates, and from that group, Bill Kernen stood out as the person we feel is best capable of building the Roadrunner baseball program. It takes a special person to build a program from scratch. Bill brings a unique combination of experiences and skills that I believe will help the Roadrunner baseball program hit the ground running.”