Utah State intends to fire football head coach Blake Anderson following an investigation into alleged university Title IX policy violations in spring 2023, the school announced Tuesday.
The school said in a statement that those polices “require full and timely reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct — including domestic violence — and prohibit employees from investigating disclosures of sexual misconduct themselves.”
Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling will serve as interim head coach. Dreiling joined the staff this offseason after two years at New Mexico State.
Anderson has 14 days to respond to the school’s decision, per his contract. Former interim athletic director Jerry Bovee, now the deputy athletic director of external affairs, and football director of player development and community Austin Albrecht were also dismissed for violating policies related to reporting sexual and domestic violence and failure of professional responsibilities. Bovee was the interim AD in the first half of 2023, before Diana Sabau was hired last August.
Details on the investigation were not made public. The school said it cannot release additional information until all opportunities to respond or appeal have expired.
“Today’s actions are the result of a thorough external investigation, and we believe the evidence demands immediate action,” Sabau and president Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement. “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.”
In 2021, Anderson apologized after audio was leaked where he said it’s never been more glamorized to be a victim of sexual assault, as part of a team presentation with the USU police chief Earl Morris. Patrick Maddox, who played for USU from 2019-2021, said he experienced retaliation and harassment after releasing the recordings of Anderson and Morris making derogatory comments about sexual assault victims. Anderson said in a 2023 legal filing that he was never told about such actions. Maddox’s lawsuit was settled in summer of 2023.
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A message left for Anderson was not returned.
(Photo: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)