Utah State’s head coach Blake Anderson has been informed he will be fired in relation to misreporting of Title IX allegations.
LOGAN, UT– The Aggies have somehow fell apart overnight. The school announced that it has informed head coach Blake Anderson that he will not return to Utah State for another year regarding actions taken in the spring of 2023 relating to Title IX violations.
Anderson allegedly broke the university’s policies regarding “timely reporting” of issues consisting of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“This 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 university said.
While the headline of the situation is Anderson, the university went further firing deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and the team’s director of player development. Utah State states that Anderson and the listed have 14 days to respond to the school in terms of his employment agreement.
Anderson’s attorney, Tom Mars, was quick to respond regarding his client’s case.
“Like any university, Utah State could fire Blake Anderson for any reason as long as they paid his buyout,” Mars said. “However, based on the facts alleged and the language in Blake’s employment agreement, USU is going to be fighting an uphill battle if they try to fire him for cause just to avoid paying Blake what he’s owed.
“Stiffing a head coach by blaming him for what his supervisor allegedly failed to do is a novel approach that hasn’t been tried before, but that theory will never hold up in court.”
This isn’t Anderson’s first time in hot water with the school either. In 2021, Anderson apologized after being caught on a recording telling his players it had never been a more glamorous time to be a victim of sexual assault. The recording and the apology came in the midst of a controversy and lawsuit stating that the school protected football players from sexual assault complaints.
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Anderson has had an up and down tenure with the Aggies, going 11-3 in his first season in 2021. Ever since that high, the team has gone 6-7 both years with Utah State losing in both the First Responder Bowl in 2022 and the Potato Bowl in 2023. Anderson was already on thin ice since 2021 and now he might’ve pulled the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“As leaders, we are responsible for ensuring allegations of USU policy violations are investigated,” university president Elizabeth Cantwell and athletic director Diana Sabau said in a joint statement. “Today’s actions are the result of a thorough external investigation, and we believe the evidence demands immediate action.
“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.”
Anderson’s staff is also likely to leave in the wake of his departure– should it stand after an appeal. This leaves the Aggies in shambles with only a month and a half to go before time for kickoff. The school announced that defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling will be named the interim coach. Dreiling was the defensive coordinator for New Mexico State, another Mountain West team, prior to his arrival in Logan.
Utah State players will have 30 days after Anderson’s official departure from the team because of the coaching change. This would put players in a serious predicament as fall camp will begin and rosters will have filled up.
