September 30, 2023; East Hartford, Conn., USA; Utah State Aggies head coach Blake Anderson watches from the sidelines as they take on the UConn Huskies at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports Utah State announced Thursday that it has officially fired football coach Blake Anderson, two weeks after he informed him of the school’s intention to terminate his contract.
In a statement released Thursday, Utah State said:
“This action is based on significant violations of his contractual obligations related to USU’s employee reporting requirements. These reporting requirements include prohibiting employees outside of the USU Equity Office from investigating issues of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence. Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflected USU’s academic values.”
Anderson responded to the allegations within 14 days of receiving the notice, in a 70-page response submitted by Anderson and his attorney Tom Mars.
“Coach Anderson’s legal team believes that this decision, along with USU’s deliberately inflammatory press release of July 2, violates the terms of Coach Anderson’s employment contract and the implied covenant of good faith,” Mars said in a statement. “We will pursue all available legal remedies on his behalf.”
In its initial notice two weeks ago, the school cited “actions taken (by Anderson) in the spring of 2023.” The school also announced in the initial statement that it had also fired Jerry Bovee, an assistant athletic director who was interim athletic director in 2023, and Austin Albrecht, director of player and community development. They were part of the same investigation.
The Athletic reported Thursday that the investigation was prompted by a domestic violence incident that occurred in April 2023.
Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling will serve as the Aggies’ interim coach this season.
Anderson, 55, was entering his fourth season at Utah State. He went 23-17, including a second straight 6-7 campaign in 2023.
The Aggies finished 11-3 in his first season with the Mountain West program in 2021 and won the LA Bowl, finishing the year ranked 24th in the Associated Press Top 25.
Anderson has an overall record of 74-54, including seven seasons at Arkansas State from 2014-2020.
Utah State opens the season against Robert Morris on Aug. 31.
–Field level media
