Freedom Bowl Hires Andersen

Don Andersen, an associate athletic director at Chapman College, has been named executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., the Freedom Bowl’s governing body.

Andersen, an Orange County native who attended Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana College (now Rancho Santiago College) and Cal State Fullerton, replaces Tom Starr, who resigned Jan. 17 after leading the organization since its beginning in 1984.

Andersen will begin his new duties Feb. 20. He officially leaves Chapman March 1.

Among Andersen’s first tasks will be the continued planning of the first Disneyland Pigskin college football game, which is scheduled in August. He also faces the task of attracting more fans to the Freedom Bowl, a game that has drawn an average of 43,000 to Anaheim Stadium, which holds 66,000 for football.

Andersen, who also is Chapman’s sport information director, came to the school when Bob Boyd was hired as the men’s basketball coach last spring.

Andersen also has worked as an administrator for the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and the Southern California Sun of the now-defunct World Football League. For seven years, he was the sports information director at USC, while Boyd was the men’s basketball coach.