LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University has officially fired Blake Anderson as the school's football head coach, weeks after placing him on administrative leave due to what it claimed were rules violations.
Anderson was notified of his termination Thursday.
Earlier this month, Utah State said a review of Anderson showed that he failed to comply with school policies that required him to report sexual misconduct, and that he had also violated a policy prohibiting school employees from investigating alleged sexual misconduct on their own.
"Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values," the school said in a statement announcing Anderson’s firing.
Anderson had 14 days to respond to the school's intent to relieve him of his duties. On Thursday, the school claimed the coach "failed to acknowledge his responsibilities as a USU employee and as a head coach and instead sought to make excuses and unsuccessfully recast the clear language of USU’s policies."
Anderson has not spoken publicly about his dismissal, although his attorneyreleased a statement following the school's announcement.
"We were disappointed to learn this evening that Utah State University has terminated the employment of head coach Blake Anderson. Coach Anderson's legal team believes this decision - as well as USU's deliberately inflammatory July 2 press release - violate the terms of Coach Anderson's Employment Agreement and the implied covenant of good faith. We will be pursuing all available legal remedies on his behalf," said attorney Tom Mars.
In addition to Anderson, the school has also terminated several other leaders within the Utah State athletics program this month.
“While I recognize that today’s decision has a significant impact, it is the only one that could be made based on the facts,'" said USU President Elizabeth Cantwell. "We are committed to moving forward in building a winning Athletics program grounded in student success and integrity.”
