ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 19, 1995 TAG: 9512190060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATHENS, GA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
AFTER BUILDING KANSAS up to national stature, Glen Mason is ready for a new challenge at Georgia. Glen Mason, who in eight seasons built Kansas into a nationally ranked team, was given the job Monday of returning Georgia to the football elite in the Southeastern Conference.
He agreed to a six-year contract to coach the Bulldogs and will succeed Ray Goff, who was fired last month after seven seasons at his alma mater.
``To say that I'm excited about being a Bulldog is an understatement,'' Mason said before returning to Kansas on Monday night. The Jayhawks travel to Honolulu on Tuesday for the Aloha Bowl game against UCLA on Christmas Day.
Goff interrupted Georgia's football practice for its Peach Bowl game with Virginia to introduce Mason to the squad.
``They are a good-looking lot,'' Mason said of his new team. ``They fill out their uniforms pretty well.''
Athletic director Vince Dooley said he met with Mason earlier this week in New York. After deciding he was the person he wanted, Dooley telephoned Mason on Sunday to see if he was still interested.
``He said, `I'm not interested. I want the job,''' Dooley said. ``He was very emphatic.''
Dooley said the contract will pay Mason a base salary of $130,000 a year for the six years. Counting radio, television and other outside interests, the job will be worth about $500,000 a year. Dooley said there was no roll-over clause in the contract.
Mason said while he's in Hawaii he will be telephoning prospective Georgia recruits and also will begin assembling a staff. He said he hoped to hire some of his Kansas assistants and retain some of the coaches from Goff's staff.
Mason, 45, has a 54-57-1 record in 10 seasons, the first two at Kent State and the past eight at Kansas, where he went 42-47-1.
The Jayhawks are 9-2 this season, with victories over Big Eight powers Colorado and Oklahoma. The two losses were to top-ranked Nebraska and Kansas State.
Mason, who played football at Ohio State, rebuilt the Kansas program after he arrived from Kent State in 1988.
The team was 1-10 in his first year. In 1992, Kansas beat Brigham Young in the Aloha Bowl for its first bowl victory since 1961.
This year, after the Jayhawks finished No.11 in the final regular-season Associated Press poll, Mason was named Big Eight coach of the year.
Goff was fired last month when his team was 5-5 going into the season finale at Georgia Tech, a game the Bulldogs won.
Dooley had said before the season that Goff would have to show ``significant improvement'' over 1994's 6-4-1 record to keep his job.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB