Utah State University plans to fire football coach Blake Anderson for allegedly violating Title IX policies, the school announced Tuesday.
“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 in a news release.
USU said Anderson violated university policies in the spring of 2023. Per his contract, he will have 14 days to respond to the school’s intent to terminate.
Utah State has also fired Deputy Athletic Director Jerry Bovee, who was the interim athletics director at the time of the alleged violations, Austin Albrecht, the football program’s director of player development and community, for “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.”
“As leaders, we are responsible for ensuring allegations of USU policy violations are investigated,” Utah State President Elizabeth Cantwell and Athletics Director Diana Sabua said in a 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.”
Defensive coordinator Nate Dreilling will be the team’s interim head coach for the 2024 season.
Diana Sabau, USU’s current athletic director, met with the football team Tuesday to inform them of the changes.
Anderson was getting ready for his fourth season in Logan as head coach. After winning the Mountain West conference his first year, the last two years have resulted in losing seasons. He went 6-7 in 2023, losing in the Idaho Potato Bowl.
This is not the first time Anderson has been involved in a school investigation. In December of 2021, Utah State student Kaytriauna Flint filed a lawsuit alleging USU did not investigate cases of sexual assault involving football players thoroughly enough. She also said the school misguided her with her Title IX case.
While Flint alleged she was sexually assaulted in 2019 by a football player — before Anderson was the coach — the lawsuit uncovered recordings of Anderson talking about sexual assault victims with his players in 2021.
Anderson was heard saying it “has never been more glamorized to be a victim” of sexual assault. He also said the football team was a “target” and “way more at risk” for being accused of sexual assault.
“You don’t need to put yourself in a position that you can create a victim,” he said in the recording. “And it doesn’t take a whole lot. So it scares the s--- out of me.”
The recordings were taken by one of his players, Patrick Maddox. Maddox left the team and said Anderson forced him to apologize to the group for recording. Maddox filed a lawsuit against USU for allegedly retaliating against him. He settled the lawsuit for $150,000 out of court.
After the recording was released, Anderson apologized for his comments. He was allowed to continue coaching.
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