Utah State is firing coach Blake Anderson.
The school announced Tuesday afternoon that Anderson has been placed on administrative leave with the intention of firing.
Utah State said in its statement that Anderson violated his employment agreement in the spring of 2023 and that the coach has 14 days to respond.
“This decision was made following a thorough external investigation into alleged noncompliance with the university’s policy implementing Title IX, which requires full and timely reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct – including domestic violence – and prohibits employees from independently investigating disclosures of sexual misconduct.”
“Utah State Football Association Associate Vice President and Associate Director of External Affairs Jerry Bovee and Utah State Football Association Director of Player Development and Community Austin Albrecht have also been terminated for violating university policies regarding reporting of sexual and domestic violence and neglecting professional responsibilities.”
“In accordance with Utah’s open records laws and USU policy, the university may not release any additional information until all opportunities to respond and/or appeal have expired, which is a minimum of 14 days.”
Bovee served as the school’s interim athletic director in 2023.
News of Anderson’s possible departure was first reported by ESPN on Tuesday morning. Utah State has named defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling as the team’s interim head coach.
Anderson was set to enter his fourth season as coach of the Aggies after leaving Arkansas State. Utah State was 11-3 in his first season in 2021. He apologized in December of that year after he was caught on tape telling his players that it had never been a more glamorous time to be a victim of sexual abuse. The apology came after a Title IX lawsuit against the school, which alleged it shielded football players from sexual abuse claims.
Utah State is 6-7 over the past two seasons. Utah State lost the First Responder Bowl at the end of the 2022 season, finishing below .500, and lost the Potato Bowl a season ago for its seventh loss of the season.
Anderson landed his first head coaching job at the highest level of college football at ASU in 2014. The Red Wolves had winning seasons in each of his first six seasons before going 4-7 in the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign. Anderson, who was mentioned as a candidate for Power Five head coaching jobs later in his time at ASU, left Jonesboro after that season to replace Gary Andersen at Utah State.
Dreiling enters his first season at Utah State after spending the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at New Mexico State. New Mexico State went 10-5 in 2023 and reached the Conference USA title game.
If Anderson doesn’t return to the team, Utah State players would have 30 days to enter the transfer portal due to a coaching change. However, the late timing of Anderson’s reported departure would make it difficult for players to find new schools, given that fall workouts are about to begin and teams are essentially set for the 2024 season.
Utah State’s coaching change would also mark the second straight season in which a school has fired a coach in July for disciplinary reasons. A year ago, Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald amid the fallout from a hazing scandal. The school promoted David Braun — a defensive coordinator entering his first year at the school — to replace Fitzgerald for the season, and Braun was subsequently named the team’s permanent coach.
