Minneapolis ? University of Minnesota officials did not meet their goal of finalizing a contract extension for football coach Glen Mason by Monday afternoon.

University general counsel Mark Rotenberg expressed hope that the two sides could reach an agreement in principle soon.

The sides still are at odds over several financial issues in a deal that would keep Mason in place for the next five seasons.

“I thought we would have it done (Monday), but we didn’t, and I’m quite disappointed,” Rotenberg said.

Rotenberg set Monday as a target date because the team traveled to the Music City Bowl in Nashville for Friday’s game. He said school officials wanted the focus this week to be on the players and the game.

The deal didn’t get done by their own deadline, and Rotenberg reiterated that time was running out.

“Everybody needs to appreciate that the university can be competitive and generous, but we’re not in position to be pace-setting in compensation in the Big Ten,” Rotenberg said. “We have offered a fixed compensation package that is very fair and very competitive.”

The university offered Mason a deal believed to be worth around $1.5 million annually with incentives. There are still several sticking points in the negotiations, among them guaranteed money vs. incentive bonuses.

Mason’s attorney, Neil Cornrich, said Mason was seeking a fair deal that was line with the marketplace. Cornrich said negotiations had remained amicable and stressed that Mason wanted to remain at Minnesota.

He declined to put a timetable on finalizing the deal, however.

“We will continue to talk,” Cornrich said

The school faces a different deadline with Mason’s assistant coaches. Their contracts, which expire Saturday, automatically roll over unless the school opts not to renew them.

Athletic director Joel Maturi said he had not made a decision on that issue yet because he wants to see how talks with Mason progress.

If the contracts are renewed and the sides can’t reach a deal and Mason leaves, the school would have to pay the salaries of two coaching staffs.

“I’ve got to do the right thing,” Maturi said.

“I want Glen Mason to be our coach, and I know he wants to be our coach. But if there’s any chance that we can’t get it done, I would be saving the university a lot of money. But I continue to hope that it will get done.”

Mason, who coached at Kansas University prior to heading to Minnesota, said recently he wasn’t getting antsy. “Hey, you’ve got to remember something,” he said. “I’ve got a year on my contract. Some people think I’m done in 15 days.”

The athletic director said last week he would consider moving into next season with the status quo if he believed the sides were close enough to keep negotiating.

“Look, I really don’t think it’s going to come to that,” Mason said. “I’m confident that something’s going to work out.”

Offensive coordinator Mitch Browning said that because the situation was out of the assistants’ hands, he and the others had focused on their jobs, which right now are to get recruiting commitments and prepare the team for the bowl game.