SMU to extend Bennett's deal through '08

[Water Pony]

If you want to send a strong message to recruits about those who are recruiting you, read this announcement.

05:17 PM CST on Wednesday, December 8, 2004

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News


UNIVERSITY PARK -- SMU officials, making a strong commitment to the football program, have decided to extend head coach Phil Bennett’s contract through the 2008 season.

“I’m very excited about it, and it comes at a time when we need it,” Bennett said Wednesday. “By no means are we where we need to be. It hasn’t happened as fast as we’d hoped it would happen. But the next few years are very critical.”

Bennett, 49, who signed a five-year deal when he was hired in December 2001, has agreed in principle to the extension. He had two years remaining on his original contract.

"Our goal is to win championships at SMU," SMU athletic director Jim Copeland said. "I am convinced Phil Bennett is the man who will lead us to Conference USA titles and bowl games in the years to come." SMU moves to Conference USA in 2005.

When he was hired, SMU officials said Bennett was the right choice to turn around a program that posted one winning season, in 1997, following the NCAA-mandated "death penalty" in 1989.

In three seasons, Bennett is 6-29, including 0-12 in 2003, the third winless season in school history.

Following last season, Copeland said progress needed to be made on the field, especially in conference play in 2004.

SMU started 0-3 and set a school record with 15 consecutive losses before ending that streak with a win over San Jose State on Sept. 25. Improvement began to show late in the season when the Mustangs won two of their last three games.

SMU finished the season with a 57-27 loss at UT-El Paso. But SMU president Gerald Turner and Copeland said Bennett deserved to return for another season because the program had shown improvement.

"We believe that improvement in the performace of our young team at the end of the year will continue under Phil Bennett's leadership," Turner said Wednesday.

The last two recruiting classes were ranked among the best in the WAC, according to recruiting experts. During the 2004 season, several freshmen emerged as starters or received significant playing time. SMU had one of the youngest teams Division I teams, with 85 underclassmen on its 112-man roster.

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