SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State athletics department

announced today that men''s basketball head coach Jerome Jenkins has

been given a one-year contract extension. Last season, Jenkins served

as the team''s interim head coach.

"We were pleased with the progress Jerome made as a head coach last

season," Director of Athletics Debby Colberg said. "With a year of

experience behind him, we believe that he is capable of taking the

program to the next level."

Jenkins came to Sacramento State at the start of the 1999-2000 season

and served as the team''s top assistant coach. Prior to that, the Los

Angeles, Calif., native spent two seasons at Eastern Washington

University in Cheney, Wash., and four years at Diablo Valley College.

"I am pleased with the extension," Jenkins said. "This just shows

that the administration is confident in what I am trying to do. We

are in the process of raising a team from the bottom to the top, and

in time, we will have a winner here."

As a player, Jenkins was an all-conference point guard at both L.A.

City College and Southwestern Oregon Community College. After his

junior college career, Jenkins headed to Regis University in Denver,

Colo. While with the Rangers, he led the team in assists and steals

and was twice named all-conference.

Jenkins earned a degree in criminal justice from Regis in 1990.

Following one season as an assistant at Regis, he worked outside of

basketball for two years before returning to game in 1993.