The legal fees at Utah State University are mounting from the investigation into and the firing of former football Coach Blake Anderson — a decision that he has vowed to challenge.
So far, USU has spent $137,061 on its review of Anderson that resulted in his termination, as well as its investigation of others in the athletics department. And there’s more still to come as Anderson pushes for a substantial financial settlement in the dispute over whether he should have been let go for how and when he reported a player’s domestic violence arrest from April 2023.
The Salt Lake Tribune filed a public records request with the university to determine the cost of the ongoing legal battle, receiving the monthly invoices from Husch Blackwell, the outside law firm hired by Utah State for the case. There have been 11 invoices, starting in August 2023. The costs wrapped up this April before the results of the investigation were made public.
Because the school is a public university, that expense is ultimately covered by taxpayers. It comes as federal investigators have renewed their scrutiny over how the northern Utah school handles cases of sexual misconduct, particularly in athletics. In August, the U.S. Department of Justice hit the university with a new notice of “substantial noncompliance.”
The agency said USU has not been adhering to a 2020 settlement to improve its response to reports of alleged sexual assault — which stemmed from several cases where the DOJ said the school was failing to respond to reports from alleged victims, rendering more students vulnerable.
In a statement, Utah State said the costs associated with this external review “were in line with reviews of this nature.”
The school also has additional legal resources through the Utah attorney general’s office, which represents the state’s public colleges and universities in disputes. If Anderson sues, the case would go through that office instead of Husch Blackwell.
The DOJ in its recent letter specifically wrote that USU has “failed to take prompt, equitable and effective steps to remedy an ongoing hostile environment within its football program.” It names the situation with Anderson as one of two incidents causing concern.
With Anderson’s case, the coach is accused of conducting his own “fact-finding mission” into the allegation behind a football player’s 2023 off-campus arrest for domestic violence — rather than immediately reporting it, per school policy, to the proper USU officials.
The investigation from Husch Blackwell found that Anderson declined to suspend the player and instead reached out on his own to talk directly to the alleged victim about what she reported happened.
Utah State spokesperson Amanda DeRito told The Tribune that the school stands by requesting an external review “as one of the tools to respond to and appropriately address issues related to sexual misconduct.”
USU fired Anderson in July for “significant violations” of his contract and violating reporting requirements. Former deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and Director of Player Development Austin Albrecht were also terminated and named in the DOJ letter. Amy Crosbie, who was the executive associate athletic director for internal affairs for nearly five years, was also terminated by the university at that time. No reason has been given.
Anderson and Bovee have both denied the allegations against them, saying they responded to the case according to procedure. Anderson said the player initially didn’t seem to know or share that he was arrested for domestic violence. But he said that he and Bovee made a plan to report it to the school’s administration.
Anderson’s attorney, Tom Mars, submitted a 70-page rebuttal and appeal to the coach’s initial notice of termination. That document called the independent review a “sham” meant to get the school out of having to pay Anderson a $4.5 million buyout with his contract.
USU has defended its decision, with both President Elizabeth Cantwell and Athletics Director Diana Sabau issuing statements that neither Anderson nor Bovee came forward with the information when they were supposed to. The DOJ also said in its letter that the terminations were a step in the right direction.
DeRito commented: “Utah State has made significant investments in improving our prevention and response to issues of sexual misconduct.”
Feds to determine if Utah State is improving
The DOJ also dinged the school, though, for what happened when a specialist came in to give a training on sexual misconduct prevention to a portion of the football team in October 2023. The specialist said, according to the department’s letter, that “football players collectively jeered, snickered, laughed, and repeatedly interrupted the training with offensive sex-based commentary.”
USU has said it hired a permanent official at the school to conduct trainings about sexual misconduct. It also told the DOJ it could take six other immediate steps to address reporting and the culture on campus.
It has 45 days from the Aug. 21 letter to show it has improved — meaning the DOJ will determine later this month if Utah State is doing enough. The case with Anderson, though, and his appeal will still be ongoing then.
The school has been repeatedly rocked by scandal over the past eight years, including previous concerns involving Anderson, who USU says has been trained at least seven times since winter 2021 on how to report cases involving sexual misconduct.
It was at that time when an audio recording of him telling football players it has “never been more glamorized to be a victim” of sexual assault was shared. That became part of a lawsuit filed by student Kaytriauna Flint, who alleged she was raped by a football player and the school created an atmosphere where her report wasn’t taken seriously.
A separate football player, Patrick Maddox, later confirmed he made the recordings. He also sued, alleging afterward that he was retaliated against by Anderson for doing so. Both Flint and Maddox agreed to settlements with USU to end their cases. Anderson issued a public apology.
Before that case, there were previous concerns reported in the football program, as well as at the school’s fraternities and sororities and within the piano department.
The same law firm USU hired — Husch Blackwell, based in Kansas City — has also been used by the University of Utah with athletics reviews there.
The firm conducted the investigation into abuse allegations levied against former University of Utah gymnastics coach Tom Farden. That largely cleared Farden, because investigators could not corroborate several accounts of alleged verbal and emotional abuse of student-gymnasts, but Farden chose to step down months later after he was placed on administrative leave for new “conduct and actions” not related to athletes, the U. said.
He will continue to be paid through April 2025. The review into his conduct cost $150,000.
The U. has also worked with Husch Blackwell to look into the 2020 football allegations of racism with defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who was suspended for using a slur in a surfaced text from 2013. Scalley has since said he has worked hard to learn from the mistake; he is now the coach in waiting, expected to take over leading the team when Kyle Whittingham steps down.
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