Dover, DE (Best E Casino) - Delaware State has granted head football coach Al Lavan a contract extension through the 2012 season, the school announced on Thursday.

"Under Coach Lavan's watch our program has continued to excel, both on and off the field," said DSU director of athletics Rick Costello. "In just four seasons, he has brought this program back to the elite of the MEAC. We look forward to many more years of academic and athletic success."

DSU named Lavan its 16th head football coach back in 2004, and he has compiled a 29-16 record over that span, including a 10-2 record in 2007. The Hornets won their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title since 1991 with a perfect 8-0 mark, and earned their first-ever berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoff where they fell to the University of Delaware in the first round.

Lavan spent over 18 years in the NFL as an assistant with the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, and Kansas City Chiefs. He was on the staff of the 49ers' club that won the 1990 Super Bowl, a team that also included former Hornet standout receiver John Taylor.

The 61-year-old alum of Colorado State coached at his alma mater as well as at Louisville, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Stanford, the University of Washington and Eastern Michigan.