Utah State fires coach Blake Anderson for ‘significant violations of his contractual obligations’

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! LOGAN, Utah — Utah State fired coach Blake Anderson for “significant violations of his contractual obligations” on Thursday, 16 days after the school informed him that he would be dismissed following an external review that found he failed to comply with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct cases. “Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU’s academic values.” Nate Dreiling, who had been Utah State’s defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach, was elevated on July 2 to interim coach for the upcoming season. Associate vice president and deputy athletic director of external affairs Jerry Bovee and football director of player development and community Austin Albrecht were fired on July 2 “for violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.” Anderson was given two weeks to respond to the university’s decision under terms of his employment agreement. Utah State said Anderson’s response “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’s attorney, Tom Mars, said in a post on X that the school’s July 2 announcement was deliberately inflammatory and the decision to fire the coach violated terms of his contract.