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Football coach Steve Mooshagian will not be returning for his fifth season, following the athletic department’s decision not to renew his contract which had made him the highest paid Sacramento State coach at $107,100 per year.

The announcement was made to the football team Monday afternoon by Athletic Director Terry Wanless.

“It was in the best interest of the football program to move in a new direction, so that’s what we did,” Wanless said.

Listen to Mooshagian address the football team on Monday.

Listen to Wanless address the football team afterward and address questions.

The news followed the end of the Hornet’s best season (4-7) under Mooshagian, who guided the team to four conference wins, the second-best in the program’s Big Sky history.

Mooshagian said that after the team beat Idaho State to move to 4-3 in conference, the school’s indifference regarding contract negotiations foreshadowed the athletic department’s decision.

“Only one other time (2000) had they been at that point, had we done that well,” Mooshagian said. “I thought we had shown the improvement to warrant the extension.”

Wanless maintained he never negotiates contracts during the season.

“I always wait ’till the end of the season before I make any kind of decision,” Wanless said. “I think that’s the fairest way and the most consistent.

“It wasn’t disrespect to Steve at all, it was just us waiting for the season to play out.”

The coach said he will miss his players the most, as well as his fellow coaches. He said he wishes he was able to watch his first recruiting class assume leadership roles as seniors next season.

“We’re still young,” Mooshagian said. “We have a good nucleus coming back. If everyone stays here, that’s going to be a playoff-caliber football team.”

Mooshagian said he won’t miss coaching under the constraints of a poorly-funded program that he feels lacks a solid financial commitment by the administration.

“I had an operation budget of $289,000 all the years I was there,” Mooshagian said. “That is below standards for our conference.

“They talk about having a Division I program, but they don’t want to spend the resources to get there. Not a thing has changed since I’ve been here. That was proven by not changing the operating budget a dime.”

“We don’t even have a secretary. The coaches have to answer the phones,” Mooshagian said.Wanless acknowledged that the program’s funding is lacking, but only to a point.

“It’s no secret we have one of the lower budgets in the Big Sky conference. It’s a challenge for all of our programs,” Wanless said.

“Would we like to have more money? Absolutely. Are we woefully under-funded? No. What we have to do is do the best job you possibly can with the best you have,” Wanless said.

Mooshagian said he feels he did just that, and wonders what it would have taken to keep the job.

“We took a team that was at the bottom and put them in the middle. We played the toughest schedule in school history, not even close,” Mooshagian said.

“My record is comparable with the past coaches. I can’t change my record. I wish it was better. But that’s the only thing they can use.”

Wanless said that the team had improved under Mooshagian, but admitted that “sometimes a change is necessary just for change.”

“It wasn’t one thing that was bad, it was a mutual feeling that there were a lot of good things that happened and some bad as well,” Wanless said.

Despite his opinion of the department’s commitment to the team, Mooshagian said he respects the athletic department and its director.

“It was a great experience, one that I enjoyed and learned a great deal about. I have no regrets, and I’m thankful for the opportunity I was given,” Mooshagian said.

Josh Terrell can be reached at [email protected]