Brewster says he isn’t worried about a contract extension

Tim Brewster said he hoped for but wasn’t expecting a contract extension this offseason after leading the University of Minnesota to a bowl game and a six-win improvement over his first season as football coach in 2007. Brewster, who has three years remaining on a contract that pays him $1 million annually, isn’t worried about his future. “In life, those who do a good job will be rewarded,” he said by phone Monday from Chicago, where the Big Ten Conference was holding a media day. “I’m certainly trying very hard to do a very good job at the University of Minnesota. If the powers that be decide, deem or allow me to get an extension, then it will happen. It’s not something that I spend 10 seconds thinking about. The only thing I think about on a daily basis is improving our team and winning football games. The end result of winning football games and doing a good job both on and off the field with our players is recognition from President (Bob) Bruininks.” – Pioneer Press

Shannon not concerned about contract extension

University of Miami coach Randy Shannon was asked how important it is to get the extension so he can assure recruits he will be there in the future. “That’s not my major concern right now,” Shannon said. “My major concern is this football team and winning football games at the University of Miami. That’s the only thing I think about or concentrate on at this particular point in time. “It’s like this: If I’m not here, I’m not here. But I’m not worrying about that. This is football time right now. This is not about anything else but football.” – Miami Herald

Rose Bowl might have to accept non-BCS team

Welcome to the Rose Bowl of the future, a place where the Utahs, Brigham Youngs and Hawaiis of the college football world are welcome. Sort of. According to a modification in the Bowl Championship Series rules, the Tournament of Roses could be forced to take a non-BCS team in the next few years. The arrangement was hammered out several years ago, though it wasn’t widely discussed until Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany brought it up Monday at the first of his conference’s two media days. Mitch Dorger, Rose Bowl chief officer, said later, “We didn’t want to distract from the current arrangement or get people confused.” – Los Angeles Times

ACC too balanced?

Leave it to the oldest coach in the room, Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, to get to the heart of the ACC’s image problem. At the conference’s football media kickoff Monday, Bowden told a room full of reporters the ACC needs somebody to rise to the top. The ACC hasn’t had a national champion since Florida State in 1999. No ACC team has played in a national championship game since Florida State lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2000 season. “If you talk about the ACC the last few years, you’ve seen balance,” Bowden said. “You ain’t going to win a national championship with balance.” – Charlotte Observer

Paterno: NCAA ‘ridiculous’ to strip Bowden wins

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has a message for the NCAA: Leave Bobby Bowden’s record alone. Paterno said Monday he thinks it’s “ridiculous” that the NCAA may strip the Florida State coach of 14 victories in the wake of an academic cheating scandal with the Seminoles. – Indianapolis Star

Louisville football tickets a hard sell

Louisville lags roughly 6,000 behind its season-ticket total from last season at a stadium that will be expanded by more than 13,000 seats for the 2010 season. That construction is under way. The Courier-Journal learned through an open-records request that the university sold 27,218 season tickets by the school’s June12 deadline. However, that is not a firm deadline, and UofL senior associate athletic director Gary Friedman said ticket holders who want to upgrade their seats may not be included in the number. As it stands, it would be the lowest total since the stadium opened in 1998, but sales will continue until the Cards’ opener against Indiana State on Sept.5. – Courier-Journal

Gundy hasn’t decided if he’ll call plays

So it goes for Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, who has yet to announce his intentions when it comes to moonlighting another season as the play-caller for the Cowboys’ lethal offense. Life has never been dull in Gundy’s four seasons running the program at his alma mater. Whether he’s maniacally screaming at the media or calmly operating in his own world during a game, Gundy has a way of drawing unwanted attention to himself. The former Cowboys quarterback obviously knew his press conference rant after the 2007 Texas Tech game wouldn’t go unnoticed. But he had no idea his sideline demeanor during the 2008 season would become so controversial. – Tulsa World

Friedgen says he might stay on past contract

University of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen says he might want to remain in his post for up to five more years if the team is performing well - a move that could complicate the school’s coaching succession plan. Friedgen, 62, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that he might want to stay beyond the three years for which he is under contract. On Feb. 6, the university signed an agreement promising to pay $1 million to offensive coordinator James Franklin - who has turned down coaching jobs at other schools and in the NFL - if he is not elevated to head coach by Jan. 2, 2012. – Baltimore Sun