Gary Andersen and Oregon State agreed to part ways today, even though Andersen was under contract through 2021. He was going to make about 12.6 million dollars over that time. This is a blurb from Oregon State’s Athletic Director Scott Barnes during his press conference earlier today:
“Coach Andersen’s decision to waive his remaining compensation is unprecedented in major college athletics,” Barnes said in the release. “His decision is made for the right reasons and values, and it speaks volumes about the kind of honorable person that Gary Andersen is.”
The Oregon State Beavers have a meek 1-4 record on the season and are 0-3 in conference play. This may have a reason to do with it, or it could be personal issues. I have no idea. All I know is, it is serious enough for a person to leave 12.6 million dollars on the table.
Potential allegations with the NCAA? Family issues? Personal Issues? Just a change in direction? I don’t know. Again the fact is he agreed to leave 12.6 million dollars on the table so…
This is either the most humble man that is like, “Yeah, I probably don’t even deserve that money anyways. Give it to the next guy.” Or there is something going on behind the scenes in Beavertown.
Assistant Cory Hall will take over as interim coach. He played in the NFL for 6 seasons with the Bengals and Falcons. Andersen spoke highly of Hall, saying he is very good at dealing with kids, and that he makes an effort to change young people’s lives.
Hopefully he can salvage something of a season for the Beavers, but this comes as a surprise to many, until further information comes out.