Athletic Director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners he will wait until after the season to evaluate coach Tim Brewster’s contract situation. Brewster is in the third season of his five year contract and the team is 2-1 in 2009 after losing to No. 8 ranked California on Saturday.
“I think the appropriate thing is to do things at the conclusion of the year, as it should be because you measure in many ways a 12 month body of work, not just wins and losses,” Maturi said last week. “There are other aspects that go with it. Everything from compliance to academics to social to department responsibilities to budgets. …All those kinds of things should play a role in evaluating an employee of this athletics department. And that’s how we’ve done it and I will continue to do it that way.”
Brewster has brought a renewed spirit to Gopher football by setting goals such as a Big Ten championship. He’s been an aggressive recruiter who has attracted some promising players to Minnesota. He’s placed an emphasis on academics and responsible behavior by his players.
Last year the Gophers were 7-6 after being 1-11 in Brewster’s first season. The team lost to Kansas in the Insight Bowl last December.
“I have always been pleased with his work,” Maturi said. “I would be surprised if Tim Brewster is not the football coach at Minnesota for a long time.”
There was awareness that Brewster might receive a contract extension after last season but Maturi said none of his coaches in the department received extensions because of the economy and budget concerns at the University.