HARRISBURG — A state mediator Friday issued a proposal aimed at settling a contract dispute between unionized coaches and administrators at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities that has raised the threat of a strike during football season.

Representatives of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which represents the 360 coaches, including most coaches at Slippery Rock University, and the State System of Higher Education said they would decide early next week whether to accept the recommendation.

Few details were released Friday on the mediator’s proposal for new work rules that would expire June 30, 2007, union officials said. It was unclear whether they would be retroactive to June 30, 2004, when the previous contract expired.

The two sides have disagreed over issues including health care, salary, retroactive pay, and tying renewals to performance reviews.

Matt Haney, a member of the union’s negotiating team, said the recommendation does include a request by the system that coaches pay one-half of 1 percent of their gross salary to cover health costs, with the share increasing to 1 percent in 2007.

“That’s a very good situation for our coaching staff, given their salaries,” said Haney, a Bloomsburg University baseball coach.

Administrators had originally proposed a 10 percent medical copayment similar to the one in the faculty contract, but union officials have said that could wipe out the entire raise for some coaches making less than $40,000 a year.

“We believe it’s very important that the coaches, as the other state system employees have done, contribute a portion of their salary toward health care,” system spokesman Kenn Marshall said.

Union officials a week ago said they had set a strike date but would not reveal what it was, saying only that the coaches would give 48 hours’ notice before striking sometime before the end of football season, which begins Aug. 26.

A strike would be the first of its kind among collegiate athletic coaches and would likely shut down the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, union officials have said.

The state system schools include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester universities.