LOGAN, Utah, July 2, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah State University officials informed head football coach Blake Anderson on Tuesday of their intent to terminate his employment agreement for actions taken in spring 2023.
These unspecified actions “violated both his employment agreement and university policy,” says a statement released by USU. “Under his employment agreement Coach Anderson will have 14 days to respond.”
The decision comes after “a thorough external review of alleged noncompliance with university policies that implement Title IX, which require full and timely reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct — including domestic violence — and prohibit employees from investigating disclosures of sexual misconduct themselves,” the USU statement says.
“Associate Vice President & Deputy Athletic Director of External Affairs Jerry Bovee (Interim Athletic Director, 2023) and Utah State Football Director of Player Development & Community Austin Albrecht have also been dismissed for violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.”
Consistent with Utah’s public records laws and USU policies, the university is not able to release any additional information until all opportunities to respond and/or appeal have expired, which is a minimum of 14 days.
Anderson responded Tuesday by retaining college sports attorney Tom Mars, according to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel.
Mars says USU faces an “uphill battle” in firing Anderson for cause, Thamel reported.
“Stiffing a head coach by blaming him for what his supervisor was supposed to do is a novel approach, but that theory will never hold up in court,” the attorney told ESPN.
On Tuesday morning, USU Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau met with the student athletes and staff of the football program to inform them of these changes and to share that Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Ends Coach Nate Dreiling will serve as USU’s interim head football coach for the 2024 season.
In an email to faculty and staff this morning, President Elizabeth Cantwell and Sabau shared the importance of taking these actions:
“As leaders, we are responsible for ensuring allegations of USU policy violations are investigated. Today’s actions are the result of a thorough external investigation, and we believe the evidence demands immediate action,” the statement says.
“Our job is to fearlessly hold ourselves and others accountable for their conduct and to make sure that, for the sake of our students and our community, we are living the values of our university. While recognizing the impact of these decisions on our student athletes and football program, we will continue to take the steps necessary to deliver a respectful, transparent and winning culture at Utah State University.”
