Jordan Hamm
In what has been a year of change for Sun Devil Athletics, another change has happened at the top of the department.
Arizona State vice president for university athletics and athletics director Ray Anderson has resigned.
“We have entered an unprecedented era where the number and magnitude of changes in the college sports landscape are astounding,” Anderson said in a statement. “As I approach 70, these are not matters that my leadership would be able to corral during my tenure. Continuity of leadership will be needed, and I am choosing to step aside to let the university find that leader.”
Anderson has served in those titles since 2014 and was under contract through 2026.
He oversaw the hirings of multiple coaches in his tenure, including football coaches Kenny Dillingham and Herm Edwards, swimming coach Bob Bowman, wrestling coach Zeke Jones, men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley, women’s basketball coach Natasha Adair, baseball coaches Tracy Smith and Willie Bloomquist, softball coaches Trisha Ford and Megan Bartlett, men’s golf coach Matt Thurmond, women’s golf coach Missy Farr-Kaye, hockey coach Greg Powers and triathlon coach Cliff English.
Anderson helped oversee Sun Devil Stadium’s renovations as well as the construction and opening of Mullett Arena, Arizona State’s multi-purpose arena that will be home to men’s hockey, wrestling and gymnastics. Just down the road, the basketball stadium is in need of major renovations.
Those lists include good, quality hires and upgrade decisions and ones that missed the mark.
Anderson’s tenure will also be judged with an emphasis on the football program’s success.
The athletic director opted to fire Todd Graham at the conclusion of the 2017 season, where he went 28-23 since 2014, the year Ray Anderson stepped in.
When doing so, Anderson laid out a set of expectations for the program that had not been met with Graham leading the program. Those expectations included ranking in the top-3 in the Pac-12, being a perennial top-15 program in the nation while retaining quality assistant coaches.
Anderson then hired his close friend Herm Edwards, whom Anderson represented as an agent previously.
The program failed to reach those marks under Edwards all while a NCAA investigation was underway for illegal in-person recruiting practices during the COVID shutdown. In the process, five assistant coaches were fired or resigned from their positions, and the recruiting success Edwards and his staff enjoyed in the first few years of his tenure came to a halt.
After a Week 3 loss to Eastern Michigan in 2022, the department announced a mutual parting of ways with Edwards and Shaun Aguano has served as the interim head coach ever since. Edwards reportedly received a $4.4 million buy-out instead of being fired for cause.
Anderson stated then he believed the football program was in a better place than when Edwards took over.
Edwards was an out-of-the-box hire. He hadn’t coached in a decade prior to Arizona State and hadn’t coached at the collegiate level in 30 years. But the duo preached a Pro Model for the program – bring in NFL talent to help prepare players for the next level by running the team as a NFL team would. Edwards would serve as the CEO, and assistant coaches like Antonio Pierce, Kevin Mawae, Marvin Lewis and Robert Rodriguez with NFL ties would have a hands-on approach in the day-to-day.
After about a year, the trajectory was pointing up for the program. The staff was a mix of NFL vets and young, up-and-coming coaches. The recruiting side of the operations was particularly fruitful. In many cases, the Sun Devils out-recruited USC and UCLA in their own backyards.
Then the pandemic hit.
In a time where there was to be no in-person contact or recruiting with players, members of the coaching staff allegedly were providing improper benefits to recruits. While the NCAA investigates these claims, the program was in a holding pattern, and a bowl ban was self-imposed just days before Dillingham’s debut as head coach, a move that could have been done a year prior.
Currently, Dillingham and the Sun Devil football program stand at 3-7.
As ASU athletics will navigate potential additional NCAA infractions for football, joining the Big 12 in 2024 and continued upgrades on campus, it’s newest change to the department will be its most significant.
