- The Washington Times - Monday, July 16, 2012

Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson emphatically denied he has negotiated with Stanford about its vacant athletic director position.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday afternoon Anderson would be named to lead the Cardinal’s athletic department “assuming the two sides can agree on contract terms.”

“There’s no truth to that,” Anderson said. “That is a bad rumor and whoever wrote that should be fired.”

Maryland hired Anderson in September 2010 to replace Debbie Yow, who departed College Park after 16 years to take over at N.C. State. Anderson was previously the athletic director at Army from 2004 to 2010.

However, he’s spent most of his life on the West Coast and has strong ties to the Bay Area. He graduated from San Francisco State and served as Stanford’s director of annual giving for athletics from 1993 to 1995.

The Cardinal is seeking a replacement for Bob Bowlsby, who agreed in May to become the Big 12’s commissioner.

Anderson denied having any contact with the school, which has won 18 consecutive Directors’ Cups, an annual award for broad-based athletic success.

“I have not talked to anyone at Stanford about that job and no one at Stanford has talked to me about their job,” Anderson said.

Anderson has not experienced a smooth tenure at Maryland. He inherited a dire financial situation, and the school announced last year it would be forced to cut several sports. Maryland finalized the elimination of seven programs earlier this month, reducing the Terrapins’ athletic offerings to 20 teams.

He also presided over two high-profile coaching changes, with decidedly mixed results.

Anderson fired Ralph Friedgen weeks after the 10th-year coach was named the ACC’s coach of the year for what became a 9-4 season. Friedgen’s replacement, Randy Edsall, received a six-year, $12 million contract. Edsall presided over a 2-10 debut and massive roster defections (25 players with eligibility remaining departed in his first 15 months) in a forgettable start to the job.

The early returns are better for Mark Turgeon, who Anderson hired to replace the retired Gary Williams as Maryland’s men’s basketball coach. Turgeon, who received an eight-year deal, went 17-15 with a short-handed roster in his first season.

Anderson also negotiated contract extensions for two other high-profile coaches at Maryland — women’s basketball’s Brenda Frese (through at least 2017) and men’s lacrosse’s John Tillman (through 2020).

Anderson, who was recently named to a one-year term as the president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, would owe Maryland the amount of his annual base salary ($401,015) if he were to leave the school before Sept. 30, 2015.

For now, at least with regard to Stanford, that isn’t happening.

“You’re stuck with me,” Anderson said.

• Patrick Stevens can be reached at pstevens@washingtontimes.com.

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