Utah State fires football coach Blake Anderson for 'significant' contract violations

Utah State fired football coach Blake Anderson Thursday for what it called "significant violations of his contractual obligations."

The firing came more than two weeks after the school informed Anderson of its plans to terminate his contract due to actions in the spring of 2023 that violated "both his employment agreement and university policy." The school said it conducted an external review that found he failed to comply with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct cases.

The university also dismissed Jerry Bovee, associate vice president and deputy athletic director of external affairs at Utah State, and Austin Albrecht, the director of player development and community, for alleged violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.

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After informing Anderson his employment agreement would be terminated July 2, the school waited two weeks for Anderson’s response as required by Utah law.

On Thursday, Utah State officially terminated Anderson. 

"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," the university said.

Anderson, in a statement released Friday, called his firing something the university set in motion in order to avoid paying his buyout, as he was under contract through 2027.

"USU set in motion a sham ‘investigation’ with the intention of firing Coach Anderson for ‘cause’ over an incident that occurred in April 2023. In doing so, USU followed a trend that started when the former head football coach at the University of Kansas, David Beaty, was fired for ‘cause,’ followed by other notable examples where schools unsuccessfully attempted to manufacture grounds to fire head coaches to avoid paying them multimillion dollar ‘buyouts.’"

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Beaty won a $2.5 million settlement with Kansas. 

Anderson, 55, was about to enter his fourth season with the school after posting a 23-17 record in his first three seasons, including the Aggies' first-ever Mountain West championship his first season. 

Nate Dreiling was elevated to interim head coach after serving as Utah State’s defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach under Anderson.

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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