Utah State Football Coach has a plus one of trouble going his way. As of Tuesday, he was informed of the college’s intent to terminate his employment. Head Football Coach Blake Anderson has 14 days to respond to accusations of violating his employment agreement and USU policy.
Blake Anderson has been the Head Coach for the Aggies for four years and 29 years in the head coach program. His record is 74-54 and 23-17 record for Utah State University. What’s even more impressive is his 15-9 Mountain West record. Coach Anderson is only the second guy to take USU to a bowl game.
Blake Anderson Is No Longer The Head Coach For Utah State University
In his 30 years of coaching, Anderson has participated in six conference championships and 14 bowl games and has won a national championship at the junior college level. He was also named 2021 AFCA Region Five Coach of the Year and an Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award finalist.
Anderson’s assertions of university policies on sexual misconduct are changing all that. Jerry Bovee, Associate Vice Principal and Deputy Athletic Director of External Affairs, and Austin Albrecht, Utah State University Football Director of Player Development and Community, have also been dismissed.
Following Utah’s public record laws and USU policies, the university will not release any further information for 14 days.
For now, the Utah State football team will have a Defensive Coordinator, and Defensive Ends Coach Nate Dreiling will be the interim head coach.
This may all be due to a particular USU student who sued the school in 2021 under claims that the then-USU football player raped her. She stated that when she reported the offense, the school did nothing.
The student is Kaytri Flint, and the University settled almost two years ago, but when she received word about what was going to happen to Coach Anderson, she said, “I didn’t ever think they would do this.”
She went on to say that ” it feels so unfair” and that she struggles “a lot, so there’s a lot of me that doesn’t want to forgive, and it feels like it’s way too late.”
On the other hand, we have word from Tom Mars, who is Anderson’s attorney, stating, “Like any university, Utah State could fire Blake Anderson for any reason as long as they paid his buyout,” the statement reads. “However, based on the facts alleged and the language in Blake’s employment agreement, USU will be fighting an uphill battle if they try to fire him for cause just to avoid paying Blake what he’s owed.”
Mars also indicated, “Stiffing a head coach by blaming him for what his supervisor allegedly failed to do is a novel approach that hasn’t been tried before, but that theory will never hold up in court.”
Another student who could relate to Kaytri is Patrick Maddox, who sued the school in 2022. Patrick added, “In regard to Blake Anderson being dismissed, I think it’s important to remember where this all started — and that’s with the courage of Kaytri Flint reporting that she was sexually assaulted by a football player. I wonder how things would have played out had she been believed and supported from the beginning by all parties. She deserved so much better.”
No matter what has or will occur, USU hasn’t taken lightly any information that could or would be in danger to their students. Utah State issued this statement on Flint’s case.
“We take these types of incidents and concerns very seriously, and while the investigations take longer than anyone would like, everyone must be comfortable reporting such concerns. I want to ensure you and others know that anyone who knows something about an incident of sexual misconduct in the USU community should report it to the USU Office of Equity. Students can also find resources and reporting options at sexualrespect.usu.edu.”
No matter the turnout or change, this does spell problems for USU students, football’s heritage, and the coaching staff.
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