Arizona State AD Ray Anderson has resigned from his role effective immediately. Anderson will remain at ASU as a professor of practice and senior advisor to help expand the sports law and business program. ASU SVP/Educational Outreach & Student Services Jim Rund will serve as interim AD. Anderson was named AD in Jan. 2014. This year he oversaw the school signing a 15-year, $50M naming rights deal with Mountain America Credit Union, renaming the school's football stadium Mountain America Stadium, along with ASU agreeing to move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 in 2024 (SBJ).
Anderson leaves his role with "three years left on his contract." He has been "under fire since the hiring" of former football coach Herm Edwards, who left in 2022 with a "cloud of an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations hanging over the program." The call for Anderson to step down "intensified" this football season, as during the first three home games, mobile billboards "circulated the campus advocating for his removal" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/13).
Reaction came in on X to Anderson's resignation:
- Phoenix-based 12 News' Cameron Cox: "He created a massive divide among the fan base… pushed many away and his leadership set the program back years. ... ASU gets a much needed fresh start."
- ESPN's Pete Thamel: "ASU president Michael Crow hung on to Ray Anderson through scandal after scandal. That finally ended today with his resignation."
- Former Arizona Republic sports writer Jeff Metcalfe: "Plenty of negatives during #ASU Ray Anderson AD era ... but also greatest improvement of athletic facilities since Fred Miller was AD in 1970s ... and sport additions of hockey, lacrosse, triathlon plus reinstatement of men's tennis largely thanks to Anderson $1 million donation."
Ray Anderson had led Arizona State's athletic department since 2014Getty Images
