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Two years away from the job he held for 43 years, John Anderson is a happy man. Retirement hasn’t made him restless, as it does for some.
“I’m glad to be on the other side of the fence,” he said. “There are plenty of things to do, if you want to do them, and if I can’t do them today, I can do them tomorrow.”
There is one date on his calendar the longtime, and remarkably successful, Gophers baseball coach won’t be able to push back.
On Jan. 8 in Chicago, Anderson, 71, will receive the American Baseball Coaches Association Lefty Gomez Award, presented to “an individual who has contributed significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Among past winners of the award is Dick Siebert, the legendary coach who led Minnesota to three NCAA championships and five championship series in his 30 years in Dinkytown.
“Pretty humbling, no question,” Anderson said. “Especially because it comes from a lot of your peers.”
It was Siebert who moved Anderson, then a sophomore pitcher from Hibbing, to the varsity squad in 1974, and it was Siebert who hired him as an assistant coach after a rotator cuff injury ended Anderson’s playing career. He stayed on the staff when George Thomas became coach in 1979, and succeeded him as head coach in 1981.
He was only 26.
“That’s not gonna happen again,” Anderson said in a nod to the current state of college athletics.
Anderson, in fact, didn’t become a fulltime UMN employee until his fourth season as head coach. He had been working in sales for Emery Air Freight since graduation and, when he was offered a multinational position, told then-athletics director Paul Giel that he couldn’t hold the standard of his predecessors as a part-time employee.
“That’s nothing against Paul,” Anderson said. “He didn’t have any money. He was out speaking every night for nickels, dimes and quarters. We had holes in our uniforms. He’d come back and say, ‘I made $600 last night, does this help you?’ ”
That was the world of Gophers baseball when Anderson started his 49 years with the school as a player. When he handed the reins to his former player Ty McDevitt at the end of the 2024 season — with a Big Ten-record 1,390 wins and 18 NCAA tournament appearances under his belt — college football and basketball players were making tens of thousands, and their coaches were making millions.
As important, college athletes are now able to transfer schools as many times as they want and without losing a season of eligibility. The combination of that freedom and a $20.5 million revenue sharing pool approved by the NCAA after the House settlement, has created a world Anderson won’t miss.
“No, thank you,” he said. “I’m not equipped for that. It doesn’t match by value system. We were making a commitment to young people, and they were making a commitment to us. We were developing Minnesota kids.”
Anderson liked to work with his players for a good year or two before making them regulars.
“Now,” he said, “if a kid turns out to be really good, or if he doesn’t get to perform right away, he’s in the portal. We were creating lifetime relationships.”
As for the future of Gophers baseball, Anderson is concerned.
In addition to the added costs, schools must adhere to Title IX, the law requiring schools receiving federal funds to create equal opportunities for men and women. That has aways been a because FBS football — the prime revenue driver for big school programs — can provide as many as 105 scholarships.
No women’s sport has those kids of numbers. To bridge that gap, the U recently cut men’s gymnastics and tennis, and the Gophers athletics department expects a budget deficit of nearly $9 million in fiscal year 2026.
“On the men’s side, I don’t think anybody can feel comfortable what the future holds,” Anderson said. “(The NCAA) can’t pass any rules, there’s no salary cap, they can’t stop the spending.”
With more and more money being poured into the revenue sports — and the Big Ten footprint now stretching from coast to coast — schools will be hard-pressed to keep the status quo with sports such as baseball, softball and track and field.
Anderson has thoughts on how that might change, and work, for baseball — keep an eye on this space — but the fact is, if schools are going to funnel $20 million of conference TV money to a few programs, “You can’t spend $100,000 to go to California for a three-game series,” he said.
If Anderson needed another reason to enjoy retirement, that’s a big one, though still not the biggest. He was in Grand Rapids this week celebrating his mother’s 98th birthday with family, and Anderson, his wife and daughter have been enjoying the cabin that has been in the family since 1961.
“I got my sanctuary,” he said.
Still, the game, is never far away — hasn’t been since Anderson started listening to Twins games on a transistor radio as a boy.
“I’ve had a lot of baseball dreams, past situations, stuff like that,” Anderson said. “One thing about retirement is it gives you more time to reflect, because you’re not always getting ready for the next thing you have to do … and reflection relates to dreams.
“That’s an enjoyable part of retirement, the opportunity to reflect.”
For Anderson, it’s one of many.
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“I’m glad to be on the other side of the fence,” he said. “There are plenty of things to do, if you want to do them, and if I can’t do them today, I can do them tomorrow.”
There is one date on his calendar the longtime, and remarkably successful, Gophers baseball coach won’t be able to push back.
On Jan. 8 in Chicago, Anderson, 71, will receive the American Baseball Coaches Association Lefty Gomez Award, presented to “an individual who has contributed significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Among past winners of the award is Dick Siebert, the legendary coach who led Minnesota to three NCAA championships and five championship series in his 30 years in Dinkytown.
“Pretty humbling, no question,” Anderson said. “Especially because it comes from a lot of your peers.”
It was Siebert who moved Anderson, then a sophomore pitcher from Hibbing, to the varsity squad in 1974, and it was Siebert who hired him as an assistant coach after a rotator cuff injury ended Anderson’s playing career. He stayed on the staff when George Thomas became coach in 1979, and succeeded him as head coach in 1981.
He was only 26.
“That’s not gonna happen again,” Anderson said in a nod to the current state of college athletics.
Anderson, in fact, didn’t become a fulltime UMN employee until his fourth season as head coach. He had been working in sales for Emery Air Freight since graduation and, when he was offered a multinational position, told then-athletics director Paul Giel that he couldn’t hold the standard of his predecessors as a part-time employee.
“That’s nothing against Paul,” Anderson said. “He didn’t have any money. He was out speaking every night for nickels, dimes and quarters. We had holes in our uniforms. He’d come back and say, ‘I made $600 last night, does this help you?’ ”
That was the world of Gophers baseball when Anderson started his 49 years with the school as a player. When he handed the reins to his former player Ty McDevitt at the end of the 2024 season — with a Big Ten-record 1,390 wins and 18 NCAA tournament appearances under his belt — college football and basketball players were making tens of thousands, and their coaches were making millions.
As important, college athletes are now able to transfer schools as many times as they want and without losing a season of eligibility. The combination of that freedom and a $20.5 million revenue sharing pool approved by the NCAA after the House settlement, has created a world Anderson won’t miss.
“No, thank you,” he said. “I’m not equipped for that. It doesn’t match by value system. We were making a commitment to young people, and they were making a commitment to us. We were developing Minnesota kids.”
Anderson liked to work with his players for a good year or two before making them regulars.
“Now,” he said, “if a kid turns out to be really good, or if he doesn’t get to perform right away, he’s in the portal. We were creating lifetime relationships.”
As for the future of Gophers baseball, Anderson is concerned.
In addition to the added costs, schools must adhere to Title IX, the law requiring schools receiving federal funds to create equal opportunities for men and women. That has aways been a because FBS football — the prime revenue driver for big school programs — can provide as many as 105 scholarships.
No women’s sport has those kids of numbers. To bridge that gap, the U recently cut men’s gymnastics and tennis, and the Gophers athletics department expects a budget deficit of nearly $9 million in fiscal year 2026.
“On the men’s side, I don’t think anybody can feel comfortable what the future holds,” Anderson said. “(The NCAA) can’t pass any rules, there’s no salary cap, they can’t stop the spending.”
With more and more money being poured into the revenue sports — and the Big Ten footprint now stretching from coast to coast — schools will be hard-pressed to keep the status quo with sports such as baseball, softball and track and field.
Anderson has thoughts on how that might change, and work, for baseball — keep an eye on this space — but the fact is, if schools are going to funnel $20 million of conference TV money to a few programs, “You can’t spend $100,000 to go to California for a three-game series,” he said.
If Anderson needed another reason to enjoy retirement, that’s a big one, though still not the biggest. He was in Grand Rapids this week celebrating his mother’s 98th birthday with family, and Anderson, his wife and daughter have been enjoying the cabin that has been in the family since 1961.
“I got my sanctuary,” he said.
Still, the game, is never far away — hasn’t been since Anderson started listening to Twins games on a transistor radio as a boy.
“I’ve had a lot of baseball dreams, past situations, stuff like that,” Anderson said. “One thing about retirement is it gives you more time to reflect, because you’re not always getting ready for the next thing you have to do … and reflection relates to dreams.
“That’s an enjoyable part of retirement, the opportunity to reflect.”
For Anderson, it’s one of many.
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