USU football: Andersen's goal: top of the WAC

LOGAN — When word got out that Gary Andersen was the new football coach at Utah State, fans, boosters and players wanted to know more about the man who would take the reins of the Aggies' program.

They wanted to know what kind of personality Andersen had. They wanted to know what kind of offense his team would run. They wanted to know what his recruiting philosophy would be.

And they wanted to know if he was the kind of person that would command enthusiasm and create excitement from what has been a less-than-energetic fan base.

"There is a major commitment here to win football games," Andersen told a packed auditorium of Aggie faithful watching his press conference. "It is my job here to win football games, and we will win football games.

"Our goal from the very beginning is to take out the cream of the crop in the WAC. Who is that? Boise State. So here we come."

And the room erupted with applause and cheers.

In Andersen's first day as football coach at Utah State, he didn't win any games — that will have to wait several more months. He did, however, win over a roomful of people who came into the press conference hoping that a Ute could move to Logan and become an Aggie.

As much as he might have been doubted by some over where his true loyalties rested, those people also had doubts about Utah State's ability to be a true contender in the Western Athletic Conference after four seasons of Brent Guy in which the Aggies won only nine football games.

"There is a major commitment here to not be a good football program but to be a great football program," Andersen said. "That is why I want to be a part of it here. My beliefs and everything I stand for in college football, you have here. Utah State is the place I want to be able to be."

The reason for that might be what appears to be an almost-unheard-of commitment to athletics from Old Main and the USU president's office.

"We understand that athletics provides a wonderful opportunity and it is clear from the level of interest it gets it provides a respite from the daily challenges and pressures of individual lives," USU president Stan Albrecht said.

"In the eyes of many, athletics is the most visible and even the most important part of our university. Now I say that just because that makes a selection for leadership so very important."