Bellotti Out of Running for UCLA Job

The list of possible successors to UCLA football Coach Terry Donahue was reduced by one Thursday when Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti agreed to terms on a new multiyear contract with the Ducks.

Oregon Athletic Director Bill Moos said he and Bellotti worked out the details of the deal this week and agreed with a handshake.

Bellotti, the first-year coach who led Oregon to a 9-2 record and Cotton Bowl berth this season, had emerged as one of several possible candidates to replace Donahue, who resigned Monday after 20 seasons at UCLA to accept an analyst position with CBS.

With Bellotti, Colorado’s Rick Neuheisel and Northwestern’s Gary Barnett out of the UCLA picture, Kansas Coach Glen Mason has emerged on a likely short list of possible UCLA successors.

Other candidates include Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder, Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, and UCLA assistants Bob Toledo and Bob Field.

Mason, whose Kansas team will face UCLA in the Dec. 25 Aloha Bowl, has not publicly expressed interest in the UCLA job. Mason, who could not be reached for comment, was in Houston on Thursday as one of six finalists for the Bear Bryant Award for college football’s coach of the year, won by Northwestern’s Barnett.

Pete Dalis, UCLA’s athletic director, did not return phone calls Thursday regarding the vacant football position but said earlier this week he would like to have Donahue’s replacement in place by Jan. 1.