USU Terminates Football Coach Employment Agreement

Editor's note: The following is a continually updated collection of news releases and statements from Utah State University regarding the dismissal of former football head coach Blake Anderson and members of the Athletics staff.

USU Clarifies and Corrects Information Around Athletics Dismissals

Published July 30, 2024

In response to misinformation circling online, we offer the following clarifying background information.

In July 2023, USU’s previous president, Noelle Cockett, initiated an independent review by law firm Husch Blackwell upon the recommendation of USU’s Office of Equity and Office of Legal Affairs.

The investigation did not target any particular employee. Specifically, the university asked Husch Blackwell to investigate:

1. Which employees learned of allegations of sexual misconduct and/or criminal conduct by a USU football player during the spring of 2023.
2. How the employees learned about the allegations.
3. When they learned about any allegations.
4. Whom they told about these allegations. The university also asked the investigators to look into relevant employees’ understanding of Athletics’ and USU reporting policies and requirements.

Following the presidential transition, the investigation continued at the approval and request of President Elizabeth Cantwell. Investigators notified Interim Athletics Director Jerry Bovee and previous head coach Blake Anderson of the investigation in mid-August, before Diana Sabau started her role as vice president and athletics director.

USU provides employees an employee grievance process. Like all benefitted employees at the university, Jerry Bovee and Amy Crosbie can appeal their dismissals through the employee grievance process. The first step is to file a grievance within 30 days of the dismissal. Consistent with USU policy and public records laws, until this process is complete or the timeline for filing a grievance expires, the university will not provide additional information regarding their dismissals or any other private personnel information.

Explanation of the Policy at Issue

Published July 19, 1:20 p.m.

USU Policy 340 is the university's policy on reporting sexual misconduct. This policy is a companion to USU Policy 339 (Title IX jurisdiction) and USU Policy 339A (non-Title IX jurisdiction) — two USU policies that prohibit sexual misconduct. USU Policy 340 requires employees to report sexual misconduct, including domestic violence, that would fall under either USU policy 339 or 339A. In short, employees are required to report any sexual misconduct involving USU students.

Every employee at USU goes through a mandatory annual training to ensure they understand their responsibilities. You can learn more at usu.edu/equity/sexual-misconduct/employees.

USU Terminates Football Coach Employment Agreement

Published July 18, 2024

Utah State University notified Blake Anderson on Thursday that it is moving forward with terminating for cause his employment agreement.

This action is based on significant violations of his contractual obligations related to USU’s employee reporting requirements. These reporting requirements include a prohibition on employees outside the USU Office of Equity from investigating issues of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence. Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.

Consistent with Anderson’s employment agreement, the university provided him with written notice of its intent to terminate and 14 days to respond. To USU’s disappointment, 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.

Regarding the termination, USU President Elizabeth Cantwell said: “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.”

USU Makes Changes in Athletics

Published July 2, 2024

Utah State University officials informed Head Football Coach Blake Anderson on Tuesday of their intent to terminate his employment agreement for actions taken in spring 2023. These actions violated both his employment agreement and university policy. Under his employment agreement Coach Anderson will have 14 days to respond.

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.

Associate Vice President & Deputy Athletic Director of External Affairs Jerry Bovee (Interim Athletic Director, 2023) and Utah State Football Director of Player Development & Community Austin Albrecht have also been dismissed for violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.

Consistent with Utah’s public records laws and USU policies, the university is not able to release any additional information until all opportunities to respond and/or appeal have expired, which is a minimum of 14 days.

This morning, USU Vice President & Director of Athletics Diana Sabau met with the student athletes and staff of the football program to inform them of these changes and to share that Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Ends Coach Nate Dreiling will serve as USU’s interim head football coach for the 2024 season.

In an email to faculty and staff this morning, President Cantwell and Sabau shared the importance of taking these actions:

“As leaders, we are responsible for ensuring allegations of USU policy violations are investigated. 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.”