What they're saying about Ted Leland: What they're saying about Ted Leland: (December 14, 2005)

"Ted Leland's name has become synonymous in the world of athletics with excellence. ... His leadership has helped frame contemporary debate on issues in college sports." -- John Hennessy President, Stanford University

"Ted was a great fit for Stanford because he understands as much as anything the mission. He understands the people. He's extremely competitive from the standpoint of trying to win, hates to lose, and that's passed along to the coaches.

"On the other hand, he also understands the bigger picture, which is really important at Stanford. You've got to go to the other side of campus and deal with them and how they think and what their thought process is as athletics fit in. I thought he did a great job balancing that. Sometimes guys don't get that and it causes problems for them. Ted was great that way. I think he really believes in the institution.

"He was also hard in what he expected of coaches, but at the same time I thought he appreciated who he had there. He had some guys who had been very successful and he kind of let them alone. He didn't meddle. He let them do their job knowing that they were pretty competent. ... He was an easy guy to talk to. ... He'll be missed, no question." -- Mike Montgomery Former Stanford men's basketball coach

"I'm going to miss Ted because I think we have a lot of common belief about how to get the job done. But I'm a Ted Leland fan and a friend of Ted's. I can put my job second and my friendship first. What really helps a football coach is support, people being behind you, people believing in you -- especially during the tough times. That's probably the hard part, but I'm excited for Ted.

"Talk about doing a great job, wow! What a great job he's done. I thought it was very honest that his one sadness in his athletic directorship, and there isn't very many, is the inconsistency of football. I respect that and I appreciate that because that shows where we're at now. We need to learn from the past. I wish he was here to do it with." -- Walt Harris Stanford football coach

"He's not a micromanager. In a good way, he was very hands-off. He allowed me to do my job and other coaches to do theirs. ... Change is a little scary, but the people on the search committee understand that Stanford is a different place and it's a unique challenge. There are people out there." -- Tara VanDerveer Stanford women's basketball coach

"His legacy is that every single person he ran across knows how much he cares about them." -- John Dunning Stanford women's volleyball coach

"Where many schools were cutting programs, he was adding them. There are a lot of schools with the minimum eight men's teams and eight women's teams you need to remain in Division I. Stanford wanted to support everything we could. I was ready to look for some place else to coach before Ted got here. I had issues with the previous people. In a lot of areas the department was dysfunctional. I felt that when Ted came in he brought the department back together. He's been fair to me and great outside the realm of athletes. With some personal issues I've gone through, he's been there for me." -- Don Shaw Stanford men's volleyball coach

"His leadership is incredible. What I have appreciated is the fact he's allowed me to coach and he's not looking over my shoulder. He's there for guidance and support when I need it." -- John Vargas Stanford men's water polo coach

"For the most part everybody believed you had to choose between academics and athletics. When he came in people told him he couldn't win at Stanford. Ted said 'Yes, we can do it.'

"That's the approach he took to the whole department. He said there was no reason it can't be done. He showed that schools like Stanford could win. Ten, 20 years from now more places will be using the same model.

"He makes things happen fast. All his projects seem to get done early and any of the teams that are added become competitive fast. He has strong loyalties and strong commitments to the places he's worked before. People from Dartmouth are always asking about him and I know he stays in touch with them. I know he will continue to follow all the teams here. He has strong connections wherever he goes." -- John Tanner Stanford women's water polo coach

Compiled by Weekly Sports Writer Rick Eymer, who can be e-mailed at reymer@paweekly.com.

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