An automotive dealership has reclaimed the courtesy cars it once provided to Utah State University coaches in an apparent protest of recent firings within the school’s athletic department.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, the Murdock Auto Team previously provided courtesy vehicles to Utah State head coaches. Murdock ended its relationship with the USU athletic program after associate athletic directors Jerry Bovee and Amy Crosbie were fired last month.
“I’m very aware of Murdock’s decision,” USU athletic director Diana Sabau told the Tribune. “We’re super appreciative for all the years of providing courtesy cars for our head coaches. And it’s their business and their decision and we respect that decision. Yeah, it hurts our coaches because now we don’t have cars for them.
“We understand that, and we will come together and we’ll recover from it. It should never be about Diana Sabau. It’s about our student athletes, and it’s about our coaches who work with our student athletes every day. So, I’m hoping that over time maybe we’ll get them back involved and maybe they’ll like the direction that we’re going. This community, this Utah State campus has had crimes of sexual violence for too long. And, to just continue to allow it to happen, I wouldn’t be proud to be associated with that.”
Bovee was fired July 2 following a Title IX investigation led by Kansas City-based law firm Husch Blackwell, which concluded that former head coach Blake Anderson, Bovee and director of player personnel and community engagement Austin Albrecht violated reporting policies regarding sexual assault and domestic violence cases. Crosbie was terminated July 8 for reasons that have not been made public.
Related: Current, Former Utah State Athletes Petition for Investigation Into Associate AD Firings
Jeannine Bennett, who is the chair of the Utah State Foundation, hopes that Utah State donors who are now hesitant to donate or are pulling funds completely from the university will jump back on board in the future, Tribune staff writer Jason Batacao reported, adding Bennett feels more confident in the direction and the culture of the athletic department despite the pushback Sabau and others have faced from the community.
“I am very hopeful that they see the progress that the university is making, and also still see that there are so many students that still need our support to get their education, and that’s what we need to do as a university,” Bennett said. “We are taking the appropriate steps to right any wrongs that have happened in the past, and so I’m sorry that we have alumni that have told their support, and I hope that with the more information they gain, that they will change their position.”
