Utah State’s Blake Anderson was fired for contacting a potential domestic violence victim and a witness to the incident after an Aggies football player was arrested, and for failing to properly report the case, according to a termination letter sent to coach earlier this month.
The final report of the review conducted by the law firm Husch Blackwell and the termination letter from athletic director Diana Sabau and president Elizabeth Cantwell were obtained Friday by The Associated Press through an open records request.
The review concluded that Anderson violated university policy by failing to report information to the Office of Equity.
“He also undermined the university’s goal of diligently responding to issues of sexual misconduct by delaying the suspension of this student-athlete and failing to disclose arrest information to other university administrators while discussing climate issues within the football program,” said the report.
Anderson’s response to the school’s termination letter said he was fired for “convenience,” not cause, and that the investigation that led to his dismissal was a “sham.”
Anderson’s attorney, Tom Mars, posted excerpts on Friday on the social networks of the 70-page response that was provided to the school earlier this week. Anderson’s dismissal was made official on Thursday. State of Utah notified him of his intention to dismiss for cause on July 2 after an investigation found he failed to comply with Title IX policies regarding reporting sexual misconduct cases.
The incident with the player occurred in April 2023. The state of Utah ordered an investigation in August 2023.
Anderson told investigators, according to the report, that he went on a “fact-finding mission” to determine whether the player should be punished after being informed of an incident.
“While failure to report sexual misconduct alone is grounds for dismissal, his violations of USU Policy 340 were much more egregious. As described in the Investigation Results and Conclusions, you acknowledged that, in addition to not reporting sexual misconduct, you took responsibility for investigating the matter and interviewed not only the student-athlete, but also the potential victim and a witness to the event that led to the arrest of the student-athlete and requested written statements from these witnesses,” the termination letter said.
Associate vice president and deputy athletic director for external relations Jerry Bovee and director of player development and football community Austin Albrecht were also fired “for violations of university policies relating to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures in professional responsibilities”.
Anderson’s response referred to Kansas’ firing of then-football coach David Beaty in 2018 as the start of a trend in college sports where schools try to fabricate reasons to fire high-paid coaches without paying the agreed-upon buyout.
Beaty earned a $2.5 million deal with Kansas. Anderson was under contract through 2027 and his contract called for a buyout.
The response said the state of Utah failed to understand the limitations of its policies, violated standards for a professional investigation while “grasping at straws to find the cause.”
The response concludes that Utah State owes Anderson his full buyout — which was $4.5 million last December, according to USA Today’s coaches’ salary database — and a public apology.
“While I recognize today’s decision has a significant impact, it is the only one that could be made based on the facts,” Cantwell said in a statement Thursday announcing Anderson’s resignation. “We are committed to moving forward in building a winning athletics program based on student success and integrity.”
The 55-year-old Anderson was 23-17 and won the Mountain West title in three seasons at Utah State. He went 6-7 in each of the last two seasons. He is 74-54 in 10 seasons as a college football coach, including seven seasons at Arkansas State.
Nate Dreiling, who had been defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Utah State, was promoted on July 2 to interim head coach for the upcoming season.
The Aggies open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Robert Morris.
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