There have been conflicting reports as to whether or not University of Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson is on his way out of College Park.
COLLEGE PARK — In the afternoon on Saturday, reports surfaced that Maryland president Wallace Loh had fired Anderson. That turned out to not be the case, as Anderson has reportedly remained at his post.
The confusion started as a tweet from Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com surfaced that Anderson was out as athletic director, citing that he searched for other jobs while still being a part of the program. The program that Anderson specifically was interested in was with the University of California, Berkeley in the same role as he currently serves with the Terps.
BREAKING: Kevin Anderson is out as athletic director at Maryland, per sources. #Terps
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) October 14, 2017
Wallace Loh removed him on Oct 1. He was upset that Anderson sought the Cal AD job.
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) October 14, 2017
It was reported that Anderson would be placed on administrative leave from October 2017, until August 2018. Anderson served as the assistant athletic director of Cal from 1997 to 2002. He then served as the AD of Army from 2004-10, before joining Maryland.
There were also reports that former Maryland head basketball coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Gary Williams, would be considered for the job, due to boosters clamoring for him to hold the position. He was even introduced as the athletic director on BTN Tailgate in the morning.
Later on during the day, a new tweet surfaced. This time, it was from UMDRightNow, a Twitter account dedicated to updating followers on the happenings at the University of Maryland. Instead of confirming Anderson’s ousting, they officially denied that his firing was in fact, true:
University Statement: Kevin Anderson is UMD Athletic Director. Media reports to the contrary are false.
— UMD Right Now (@UMDRightNow) October 14, 2017
Blanco would then clear up the matter by saying that he was told that Anderson was on administrative leave, which was previously confirmed by The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach:
Official statement from Maryland. I was told he's on administrative leave, meaning he's technically still employed. So both can be right. https://t.co/Qpt6vmQ1Z8
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) October 14, 2017
Also, The Athletic’s @NicoleAuerbach confirmed @Bobby_Blanco’s report on Kevin Anderson. https://t.co/dlyiVtw66s
— Ben Krimmel (@BenKrimmel) October 14, 2017
Inside Maryland Sports’ Jeff Ermann would delve deeper into the report of Anderson’s relief of duties as athletic director:
University president Wallace Loh informed Anderson of his intentions to relieve Anderson of his duties last weekend, likely ending his seven-year tenure overseeing Terps athletics, per sources. Anderson’s quietly been on leave for nearly three weeks, sources said, and hasn’t attended the past two football games while Loh moved toward parting ways with him.
Under Armour Kevin Plank intervened last week and it appeared Anderson’s dismissal would be put on hold indifenintely. Reports surfaces today that Log fired Anderson this morning, but two sources close to the situation couldn’t confirm that.
It is unknown what exactly is going on at the University of Maryland. It is safe to say that things are not going smoothly in Anderson, who has overseen the hiring of two football head coaches (Randy Edsall and D.J. Durkin) and one men’s basketball coach (Mark Turgeon). Anderson originally signed a five-year deal in 2010, with an evergreen five-year rollover that would allow him to renew his deal on a yearly basis, but the clause was terminated in 2013.
The 62-year old Anderson has also overseen Maryland’s transition from an ACC program, to a Big Ten program. He initially fired the highly popular Terps football head coach Ralph Friedgen, replacing him with Edsall. Edsall would be fired after leading Maryland to a 22-34 record in five seasons as the head man. Turgeon was hired after Williams’ retirement and has since gone 138-68 in five seasons as Maryland’s head coach, leading the Terps to the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons.
Williams, who currently holds a fundraising position within the program, denied that he had any interest in the job as athletic director. It is a possibility that associate executive athletic director Damon Evans could step into the role on an interim basis.
(Photo Credit: AP/Patrick Semansky)
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