HARRISBURG -- About 360 state university coaches will vote on whether to strike, the union announced yesterday.

Non-faculty coaches in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will vote from June 6-8, because contract negotiations have not gone as union leaders had wished, said the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. Also, the universities rejected the union's offer to use binding arbitration, APSCUF said in a statement.

If the coaches approve the work-stoppage, APSCUF's executive council could call a strike. That would likely shut down the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and jeopardize the fall sports season, union officials said.

The coaches work at Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities -- Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities. Pennsylvania's four state-related universities -- Penn State, Temple, Pittsburgh and Lincoln -- are not in the system.

The coaches' previous contract expired June 30.

The average salary under that agreement is $33,950 for full-time assistant coaches and $47,700 for full-time head coaches.

The main sticking point in negotiations is a 10 percent medical copay similar to the one in the faculty contract. Union officals say the copay could eat up the entire raise for some coaches making less than $40,000 per year. APSCUF wants the contract to stipulate that the annual copay not be greater than half a coach's annual raise.

"APSCUF's demands do not place an unnecessary burden on the system's finances," state APSCUF President Pat Heilman said in a statement. "The system seems to have plenty of money when it comes time to approve management raises or conduct presidential searches."

The State System of Higher Education has offered to increase the minimum salary for coaches as well as lift a cap on their salaries, said spokesman Tom Gluck.

All employees in the system have begun to pay for part of their health insurance, Gluck said.

"We have asked coaches to do the same thing other employees in the state system have done," Gluck said.