MUMFORD RECEIVES ONE-YEAR REPRIEVE

The long-awaited announcement regarding the future of Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford finally came Friday.

And for Mumford and his staff, it was definitely good news.

Despite a 10-23 record over the past three seasons -- including this year's 3-8 mark -- Mumford has been given a one-year contract extension, meaning he will be the head coach of his 10th Southeast football team in 1999.

In a press release from the university, Southeast president Dale Nitzschke said:

"This year's football season was not as successful as we had hoped, but because some steps in our football program are in place, it seems appropriate to allow coach Mumford one more year to turn the program around."

Under the new contract, which begins Feb. 1 and runs through Jan. 31 of 2000, specific goals concerning the team's performance level both on and off the field have been mutually agreed upon between Mumford and the administration for the 1999 season. Those goals were not publicly revealed.

"These parameters have been outlined to ensure that our football program progresses and will become competitive in the future," said Nitzschke.

In the press release, Mumford said, "We feel we have had several good recruiting seasons and are expecting another successful recruiting season for next year. We are a young team and have a strong group of freshmen and sophomores, particularly returning quarterback Bobby Brune.

"I appreciate the opportunity to continue working with our student-athletes and the university and am looking forward to next season with complete understanding of the performance parameters mutually established by the administration and our coaching staff."

Later, in an interview from his office at the Southeast football complex, Mumford said he is relieved that he finally knows what the future holds for him -- at least for the next year.

"I was getting asked (about my status) quite a bit and it definitely gives clarity to the situation," he said. "And it certainly clears the air as far as recruiting goes, no question about it."

Asked about the specific goals that were agreed upon between Mumford and Southeast administrators, he said, "That's between me and them and I don't want to comment on it."

Mumford has a 37-62 record in nine seasons as the Indians' head coach. Southeast went 7-3 in his first year, which was also the school's last year in Division II.

The Indians went 8-25 in their first three Division I-AA seasons before a breakthrough 7-5 record in 1994 that earned Mumford Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Then came a 5-6 record in 1995, followed by consecutive seasons of 3-8, 4-7 and 3-8. The Indians finished seventh in the OVC two years ago and tied for sixth in the eight-team league this past season.

Southeast lost 18 seniors off this year's team, about a dozen of them starters. The Indians had four first-team and two second-team all-OVC selections -- all of them were seniors. Of six honorable-mention picks, three are underclassmen.

Still, despite losing some of his best players, Mumford said, "I think we have some awfully good ones coming back. We've got a lot of young kids who started or played a lot and we've got some good young kids who were redshirted.

"At most positions, we have some experienced players. We have to fill in other positions with some experienced junior-college players."

Asked what hope Southeast fans might have for an improved team next year, Mumford said, "The biggest reason for optimism for my staff and I is looking at the way we played some of the top teams in our conference. We were very competitive with the Easterns (Illinois and Kentucky), with Middle Tennessee, with Murray State.

"We also have a close-knit group of kids. They're like a family."