Brandenburg Given Contract Extension

The pieces are in place for San Diego State men’s basketball program to turn the corner. Most of the team is coming back and there’s a hotshot transfer coming in. The only thing remaining was a vote of confidence for the coach.

That came Wednesday, when SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller announced a year’s extension to the contract of Coach Jim Brandenburg.

“If we haven’t turned the corner, we can sure see it from where we’re standing,” Brandenburg said. “We’ve made some positive strides in our program.”

The SDSU administration agreed, extending Brandenburg’s contract through the 1993-94 season. Brandenburg’s base salary is $70,272. His income from radio and television shows and his basketball camp boost the total to more than $100,000.

The Aztecs are 50-68 under Brandenburg, 19-45 in the Western Athletic Conference.

“I don’t think anybody’s totally happy being under .500, but there are enough positive signs out there that if (we) stay the course, we’re doing the right things for success,” Miller said.

“We have a good coach, and while maybe he wasn’t as effective as he wanted, we know we’ve got quality. In recruiting, we want the recruits in our future to know that Brandy’s our coach. Stability has its own rewards. Sure, we got snakebit in the early years, but we’ve got the right program.”

Brandenburg, 54, has a 265-181 career record. Under his direction, SDSU’s highest finish has been a tie for seventh place in the nine-team WAC. It happened twice, in his first season, 1987-88 (5-11), and this season (6-10), when a victory in the last game would have given them fifth place. The 6-10 conference record is the best since 1985-86 when SDSU was 7-9 under Smokey Gaines.

SDSU’s 13-16 overall mark (.448) is the best since 1984-85 when the Aztecs were 23-8.

SDSU won 12 games in Brandenburg’s first two seasons, 13 the past two.

But there’s reason to believe the Aztecs will get better. They return nine of 12 players off this year’s roster and six of those nine are sophomores or freshmen.

High school recruiting aside, there’s also the addition of Tony Clark, who left Arizona to attend SDSU. Clark averaged 30.7 points per game during four years at Valhalla and Christian high schools. He averaged 43.1 points per game in 1990 at Christian and was one of the nation’s most sought-after players. Clark will become eligible after the fall semester.

Miller said the three-year roll-over on the contract was fair to the the coach, the university and players. Brandenburg’s contract was extended by a year last year, as well.

“I want to make sure Jim Brandenburg plays in the new arena (student activities center in 1993-94), and then I think you’ll continue to see him and the team excel,” Miller said. “At some point, when he gets old and gray--when he’s 60--then we might have a two-year roll-over.”