Women’s basketball head coach Dan Muscatell and men’s basketball head coach Jerome Jenkins were both given contract extensions to 2008, Sacramento State athletic director Terry Wanless announced Friday.

The men’s team is coming off its best season in Division I history with a 15-15 overall record and four consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament appearances. The women’s team, although failing to make the conference tourney, managed to complete the season with its best record in 10 years (9-17).

“We’re disappointed in not being able to make the Big Sky conference tournament this year but we feel like the program is moving in a positive direction and we’re excited for the future,” Muscatell said. “It’s nice to know that the people in charge feel like we’re doing the right things.”

Those “right things” include Muscatell’s team having the second-highest cumulative GPA (3.13) in Sac State athletics and improving the teams overall record for the second straight season. “You want to improve yourself each and every year and that’s clearly what we’re working toward and trying to do,” Muscatell said.

Under the leadership of Jenkins, the men’s basketball program has improved every year since he became coach in 2000. His first year as coach the men’s team finished 5-22 overall and 2-12 in the Big Sky. Skip to 2005 and his team was being named by Sports Illustrated to reach the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time that the magazine had selected Sac State to reach the tournament.

The Hornets failed to win the Big Sky and advance to the NCAA Tourney, but they did make some noise in the process. DaShawn Freeman and Alex Bausley both received all-Big Sky conference honors with Loren Leath receiving an honorable mention. Freeman and Bausley each received two Big Sky Player of the Week awards last season which set a school record.

Armando Botello II can be reached at [email protected]