SDSU Adds Miami, Arizona to Football Schedule in ‘90s

San Diego State has signed six-year football contracts with Miami and Arizona on a home-and-home basis in the 1990s, Athletic Director Fred Miller said Saturday.

The Aztecs will play Miami in 1991-96 and Arizona in 1994-99. SDSU also hopes to play Arizona in 1989 if the Aztecs can revise their schedule.

“If we want to be a national player, we have to play national-class teams,” Miller said. “What we want to do, especially with Miami, is put ourself in the television path.”

Western Athletic Conference teams play the eight other WAC schools each year. However, Miller is leading a drive to have WAC teams play only six or seven conference games. Miller’s proposal will be discussed at a WAC administrative meeting in December.

“We’re not going to attract anybody for television playing Colorado State and New Mexico,” Miller said. “That’s not a knock against them. It would be to the WAC’s advantage from a television standpoint not to play round-robin every year.”

The Aztecs were picked to finish sixth in the WAC in separate polls of coaches and the media. However, coaches LaVell Edwards of Brigham Young University and Jim Fassel of Utah each said they consider SDSU a dark horse to win the title.

Todd Santos completed 12 of 13 passes for 143 yards in the Aztecs’ full-scale scrimmage Saturday morning.

Center Kevin Wells and fullback Corey Gilmore did not play because of shoulder injuries. Halfback Chris Hardy, who rushed for 1,150 yards last year, was withheld because he has fallen behind in his conditioning while taking summer school classes. However, Stolz said Hardy will participate in next Saturday’s scrimmage.