San Diego State football coach Tom Craft said yesterday that he has yet to be told by university administrators if he will be retained for the 2006 season.
"There's been nothing," Craft said. "No discussions or anything."
In the midst of a period that has become painfully awkward at best and maddeningly mystifying at least, Craft said he plans to meet with his staff today and begin formulating recruiting plans before the team's annual postseason banquet tomorrow.
Simultaneously, however, there has been no word from Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel regarding Craft's standing for next year. The Aztecs, who have yet to post a winning season during Craft's four years, finished 5-7 after being beaten 49-38 at Hawaii on Saturday.
Craft, who has a career record of 19-29, has one year remaining on a contract that pays $400,000 per season.
Asked if he plans to meet with Schemmel today, Craft said: "I don't know."
The Aztecs, who finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Mountain West Conference, remain the only MWC team not to have participated in a bowl game since the league's inception in 1999. SDSU has not had a winning season since 1998.
Yet with 15 starters returning, Craft is convinced the Aztecs are on the verge of contending for the conference crown. He also said he expects to see the program through to fruition.
"That's where my thought process is," he said. "I think we've really improved."
SDSU, which lost to three teams ranked among the nation's top 15 (UCLA, Ohio State and TCU), beat BYU, Utah and Colorado State (all bowl-bound) for the first time in the same season since 1986. On the downside, the Aztecs lost to UNLV and Air Force, which combined to go 4-12 in conference play.
"When we came in here four years ago, San Diego State had had back-to-back three-win seasons," Craft said. "With the number of starters we have coming back next year, I would expect us to be picked as one of the top three teams in the conference in the preseason."
The Aztecs, who have never finished better than 6-6 under Craft, that coming in 2003, were picked eighth in the MWC preseason media poll.
"As a football coach, you always want to try and do better," Craft said. "From a perception standpoint, I think we had a better season than a lot of people thought. I think we exceeded expectations.
"But as a coaching staff, we want to do a lot better and (the administration) knows we can do better. I think there are big things that we can do with this team next year, without a doubt."
Mick McGrane: (619) 293-1850; mick.mcgrane@uniontrib.com
