Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson adds stability to wins

Arkansas State had somehow kept the winning going as it cycled through coaches, but that was bound to last only so long.

So when Blake Anderson was hired in December 2013, it was important to the administration that provisions were put in place to ensure this would be more of a long-term relationship.

But it also was important to Anderson, who had just 54 scholarships in his first season, to bring stability to the program.

“We had to stop the cycle,” the 49-year-old said. “It couldn’t be a one-and-done cycle for any longer. Five years was all we could sustain, and I’ve been proud that we’ve been able to continue to win and be successful even coming out of all that transition, which nobody’s been through quite what Arkansas State’s been through in terms of five head coaches in five years.”

The Red Wolves are up to 74 scholarships, and Anderson said he hopes it soon will be north of 80 and approaching the NCAA maximum of 85.

He also has continued the winning. When UNLV (2-1) visits Arkansas State (2-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday, it will face a team that has won or shared five of the past seven Sun Belt Conference titles and has been bowl eligible the past seven seasons and 10 of the past 13.

It’s the kind of success Rebels fourth-year coach Tony Sanchez is trying to establish. And though it’s not a perfect comparison — UNLV has faced a much more treacherous climb in trying to build its program — there are enough similarities.

“They’ve made a big commitment to football,” Sanchez said. “When you see the facilities, you see the stadium, you see their football complex, you’re going to go, ‘OK, that’s why they recruit at a high level.’

“Having prolonged success takes a true commitment from an athletic department, and they’ve had that there. We have that here now. You’re starting to see all these things occur. I think the longevity of this program is in good shape now because of it.”

Arkansas State was known as the coach factory before Anderson’s arrival.

■ Hugh Freeze coached the Red Wolves to a 10-3 record, a six-victory turnaround, in 2011. Then, after his one season, he left for Mississippi.

■ Gus Malzahn matched Freeze’s record, and one year later he was off to Auburn.

■ Bryan Harsin went 8-5 in 2013, and he quickly left for Boise State.

Three coaches, three seasons, a combined 28-11 record, three conference championships, three bowl trips — but no stability.

That changed with Anderson’s hiring. Athletic director Terry Mohajir put in a $3 million buyout for the first two years of his contract, $2 million for the following two years and $1 million for this year. Harsin’s buyout in his first year was $1.75 million.

Anderson, who received a extension in 2017 that takes him through 2020, was motivated beyond the financials to stay more than a season. Under his watch, not only have the scholarship numbers risen, but Arkansas State is 33-21 and has appeared in bowls all four of his seasons. The Red Wolves also won the Sun Belt title in 2015 and shared it with Appalachian State in 2016.

The coaches before Anderson helped, he said, because their success made it easier to convince recruits that Arkansas State was a place to seriously consider.

“Guys want to win, and they want the chance to win championships,” Anderson said. “(Recruits) have known all along that even with the transition that we could be competitive and were going to be competitive. Without that, I think it would’ve been real difficult to ride this wave of a transition that we’ve been through.”

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Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.