MUMFORD REMAINS INDIANS' CHIEF; FOOTBALL COACH GETS 1-YEAR CONTRACT

Southeast Missouri State University head football coach John Mumford will remain in charge of the Indians for at least the 1998 season as the school announced Tuesday it had extended his contract for one year.

The announcement came just a few days after the Indians closed out the 1997 season on Saturday with a 32-27 home loss to Tennessee State, dropping Southeast to 4-7 overall and 1-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Mumford was in the final year of a three-year contract this season.

"Obviously, we are disappointed in our final record," said Mumford. "However, while maintaining an outstanding defense and with the significant improvement in our offense, we found ourselves in a position to win three or four more games.

"We appreciate the opportunity to continue working with our student-athletes and the university. We feel that, with the returning players and staff, we will continue to improve next season."

Said Southeast executive vice president Ken Dobbins:

"The team, under coach Mumford's leadership this year, has shown noticeable improvement in the offensive line in particular, and the defense continued to perform admirably.

"The team's overall record was not what we had hoped, but several of the losses were by narrow margins and easily could have resulted in wins. We have seen progress both on the field and in the area of player recruitment."

Dobbins said that, following the normal annual athletic program review process, the university concluded that there was sufficient merit to extend Mumford's contract.

"Both as a coach and during my term as athletic director, I have enjoyed a fine working relationship with coach Mumford," said Southeast interim athletic director Carroll Williams. "He consistently approaches his responsibilities in a professional manor. He is a person of integrity both on and off the field, qualities which are valued highly as a coach."

Mumford recently completed his eighth season as Southeast's head football coach. His overall record in those eight seasons is 34-54, including a 27-51 mark since the Indians moved up to Division I-AA in 1991.

Mumford was named OVC Coach of the Year in 1994 when the Indians went 7-5 for their only winning record on the Division I-AA level.

Now that the contract situation is behind him, Mumford said he and his staff can look forward to recruiting and filling some of the holes left by the loss of 12 seniors this year, including some of the team's top players.

"I appreciate the administration acting so quickly, because it's a big key with recruiting," Mumford said.

He added, "We've got some holes to fill. We're going to try and get some junior-college players and hopefully some high school players from this area. I can't talk specifically about any players, but I think our area had a real good crop of talent this year."