Utah State fires coach Blake Anderson for 'significant violations of his contractual obligations'

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Utah State fired coach Blake Anderson for “significant violations of his contractual obligations” on Thursday, 16 days after the school informed him that he would be dismissed following an external review that found he failed to comply with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct cases.

“These reporting requirements include a prohibition on employees outside the USU Office of Equity from investigating issues of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence,” the school said. “Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.”

Nate Dreiling, who had been Utah State’s defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach, was elevated on July 2 to interim coach for the upcoming season.

Associate vice president and deputy athletic director of external affairs Jerry Bovee and football director of player development and community Austin Albrecht were fired on July 2 “for violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.”

Anderson was given two weeks to respond to the university’s decision under terms of his employment agreement.

Utah State said Anderson’s response “failed to acknowledge his responsibilities as a USU employee and as a head coach and instead sought to make excuses and unsuccessfully recast the clear language of USU’s policies.”

Anderson's attorney, Tom Mars, said in a post on X that the school's July 2 announcement was deliberately inflammatory and the decision to fire the coach violated terms of his contract.

“We will be pursuing all legal remedies on his behalf,” Mars said.

Mars said Anderson would release a statement “at an appropriate time.”

“While I recognize that today’s decision has a significant impact, it is the only one that could be made based on the facts. We are committed to moving forward in building a winning athletics program grounded in student success and integrity,” university president Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement.

Anderson was 23-17 with a Mountain West title in three seasons at Utah State. He went 6-7 in each of the last two seasons. He is 74-54 in 10 seasons as a major college football coach, including seven seasons at Arkansas State.

The Aggies open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Robert Morris.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football