Utah The university fired football coach Blake Anderson on Thursday, two weeks after he notified the school of his intention to fire him, citing 2023 actions that violated his contract and university policies.
The university cited “serious violations” related to reporting requirements for all Utah State University employees.
“These reporting requirements include prohibiting any staff member other than the USU Office of Equality from investigating matters of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence,” the university said in a statement Thursday. “Furthermore, Anderson failed to manage his team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.”
Anderson’s attorney, Tom Mars, said in a statement on X that he would pursue “all legal remedies” against the university. Mars said the decision to fire and Utah State’s “intentionally inflammatory” news release on July 2 outlining the reasons for Anderson’s firing violated the terms of Anderson’s contract. Anderson coached at Utah State for the past three seasons and agreed to a contract extension late in 2021 that would keep him at the helm through 2027.
Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling was named the Aggies’ interim coach for the 2024 season and represented the school at Mountain West media days last week. Dreiling previously served as defensive coordinator at New Mexico State University.
Utah State said an external investigation found Anderson failed to comply with the university’s Title IX policy, which requires timely reporting of sexual misconduct and domestic violence and prohibits employees from investigating sexual misconduct reports themselves. The university also fired associate athletic director Jerry Bovey and football coach Austin Albrecht for violating university policy related to reporting domestic and sexual violence. Bovey announced his intention to file a complaint under university policy last week and said he, along with two other Utah State employees, reported the incident, which occurred in April 2023, to the university’s Office of Equality.
Marrs sent the university a 70-page response to Anderson’s firing on Monday and told ESPN it plans to release the document soon. Utah State referred to the response in a statement Thursday, saying: [Anderson’s] Instead of fulfilling his responsibilities as a USU employee and head coach, he attempted to make excuses and failed to rewrite the clear language of USU policy.”
“We know today’s decision will have significant ramifications, but it is the only decision we can make based on the facts,” Chancellor Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement. “We are committed to building a winning athletics program built on student success and integrity.”
Anderson went 23-17 and won a Mountain West title at Utah State and is 74-54 overall as an FBS coach. The Aggies open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Robert Morris.
