Former ASU AD Ray Anderson shares regrets, but hiring Herm Edwards isn't among them

Former Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson discussed his decision to resign from his position at the school in a podcast published on Wednesday.

Anderson resigned on Monday with three years left on his contract.

He had been the athletic director at ASU since 2014.

Many ASU fans have slammed Anderson for his hiring of former football coach Herm Edwards, and his handling of the football program under Edwards. ASU has been embroiled in an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations that occurred under Edwards and self-imposed a bowl ban before this season.

On the podcast, Anderson said that he did not regret hiring Edwards, who stopped being ASU's coach in September of 2022 after a "mutual parting of ways."

"I don’t regret bringing Herm here," Anderson said on the podcast, which he co-hosted with Tim Healey, the voice of the Sun Devils. "I do regret the outcome of the program because at the end of the day, we did not choose the right assistant coaches with the right frame of mind to be absolutely compliant and understand that no matter the difficulty of the circumstances, you had to play by the rules. I regret the poor decision of choosing coaches."

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Anderson had previously spent time as Edwards' agent before becoming the ASU AD. He hired Edwards to be ASU's coach in December 2017 after firing Todd Graham.

ASU went 46-32 in six seasons under Graham. ASU went 7-6 in Graham's final season.

Arizona State went 26-20 in Edwards' tenure.

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Anderson continued: "And then I certainly regret that we were in the COVID period where covert things were more capable of happening, and they did happen. I regret that and I regret the impact it’s had on this program and in large part I regret that it’s taken so long to be resolved and in the meantime the recruiting punches we took from our competitors ..."

"It has been a privilege to serve as ASU's athletic director for nearly a decade," Anderson said, in a prepared statement announcing his resignation earlier this week. "We have entered an unprecedented era where the number and magnitude of changes in the college sports landscape are astounding. As I approach my seventh decade of life, 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."

Jim Rund, ASU Senior Vice President for Educational Outreach and Student Services, will serve as interim athletic director. Rund served as the interim athletic director in 2013 following the departure of Steve Patterson to the University of Texas, the statement said.

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Anderson expanded on his reasons for resigning on the podcast, the final installment of the show.

“It would not have been smart, fair or in the best interests of the university to hold on for another two years knowing that I’m 69 years old,” he said.

The former athletic director told Healey that the recruiting investigation didn't cause him to resign.

“It wasn’t a factor whatsoever. It wasn’t considered at all,” Anderson said. “What I can tell you is that I am very grateful and proud of the way the way the university from the beginning has handled this process.  … As a result of how that is handled, what I can tell you personally is that I have great confidence that when this case finally concludes — and very frankly I think that will be in short order — Arizona State football is going to be looking at very clear and very blue skies going forward. I’m very happy in my feeling about that.”

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Anderson had been one of the highest-paid athletic directors in the country. While his base salary of $950,000 wasn't necessarily in the top handful he had bonuses tied in for things such as academic progress rates of each team, which considerably enhanced that salary and put him in elite territory.

Anderson will remain as a professor of practice and senior adviser for the sports law and business program at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, ASU announced.

You can watch the entire episode of the Anderson Healey Show here.

Michelle Gardner contributed to this story.

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Herm Edwards hire isn't among former ASU AD Ray Anderson's regrets