Utah college will fire football coach for noncompliance with Title IX

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University officials announced Tuesday that they had notified Head Football Coach Blake Anderson of their intent to fire him. 

According to a press release from USU, the decision comes after a review of alleged noncompliance with Title IX. 

Title IX requires full and timely reports of disclosed sexual misconduct. Additionally, it prohibits program employees from investigating the behavior themselves. 

Domestic violence is included under Title IX. 

The press release said that Anderson has been placed on leave and notified of termination after actions he took in spring 2023. It did not elaborate on the actions in question. 

“Consistent with Utah’s public records laws and USU policies, the university is not able to release any additional information until all opportunities to respond and/or appeal have expired, which is a minimum of 14 days,” read the press release.

Related: USU coach apologizes for sexual-assault comments

Anderson’s attorney “won’t hold up in court”

By Tuesday afternoon, Anderson’s attorney, Tom Mars, had reached out to KSL NewsRadio with a statement.

Mars said that Utah State University would be “fighting an uphill battle if they try to fire him for cause just to avoid paying Blake what he’s owed.” 

“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 is going to be fighting an uphill battle if they try to fire him for cause just to avoid paying Blake what he’s owed.”

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.”

USU football coach’s previous comments about sexual assault

In Dec. 2021, KSL NewsRadio reported that Anderson had apologized for comments he made to the USU football team. 

According to the report, the comments followed a team meeting in August of that year. During the meeting, USU said he talked about how the Title IX process works. 

In recordings that were obtained by KSL TV, Anderson was heard saying, “It has never been more glamorized to be a victim.” He goes on to claim the football team is a target for allegations. 

This story is breaking and will be updated. 

Related: Former USU football player settles lawsuit