Utah State Responds to Justice Department's 'Notice of Noncompliance'

Utah State University filed a lengthy response Tuesday to last month's notice of noncompliance from the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from "persistent climate concerns in the USU football program," noting that it would take "additional actions" to address those concerns.

As reported by Sean Walker of Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL, the Justice Department sent a letter to the university Aug. 21 — the same day former head coach Blake Anderson declared his intentions to sue the school over his termination — that informed the university it was "not compliant" with certain requirements the school and department agreed upon in a resolution filed in February 2020.

Anderson was fired a few weeks before the start of preseason training camp for violating Title IX policies regarding timely reporting of domestic and sexual abuse, as KSL reported at the time.

Former Utah State deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee, football director of player development Austin Albrecht and senior athletic director Amy Crosbie were also terminated at the time, per Walker's reporting.

Both Bovee and Crosbie have filed a grievance against Utah State since their terminations. Anderson's intent of the legal action is "to clear his name," he said in a statement through his attorneys, Bearnson and Caldwell, based in Logan.

"Coach Anderson is particularly mindful of the numerous inaccurate statements that have been made by USU's new administrators, including athletic director Diana Sabau, regarding not only coach Anderson's termination, but also USU's character and culture as a whole," the statement read, in part, according to KSL.

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"Coach Anderson, as a husband, father, coach and leader, does not condone any type of abuse whatsoever and has always been the first to step in to prevent those behaviors and enforce accountability when these issues have arisen."

"We acknowledge and share the DOJ's concerns. We will take all steps necessary to create an enduring culture of respect within USU and especially within USU Football," Utah State president Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement. "Our students, staff and faculty have put an enormous amount of work into making USU better, with a culture we can all be proud of.

"We will build on those accomplishments. We will fully ensure that our whole community not only knows our policies and state and federal law, but respects and are held accountable for them."

The notice outlined specific issues wherein the university "failed to take prompt, equitable, and effective steps to remedy an ongoing hostile environment with its football program." In a response to the notice filed Monday, the university says it "has a great deal more work to do," including athletics and the football program, in becoming more compliant.

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So far, according to Walker, Utah State has launched new training and prevention programs for all students and employees of the university, including the "Upstanding" bystander intervention program that aims to "prepare members of the USU campus community with the skills and knowledge needed to safely and effectively intervene when they sense a threat or potential harm to another," including sexual misconduct, drug and alcohol misuse, bias and discrimination, suicidal thoughts and interpersonal violence. That began in fall 2016.

As recently as February 2023, the university updated and revised portions of the school's sexual misconduct policies and procedures in response to the Department of Justice and in working with the campus community through the Office of Equity. Among the policy updates is a change in reporting requirements for university employees and providing grievance processes for individuals who encounter sexual misconduct in a university program or activity, Walker reported.

The Department of Justice acknowledged the work that the university has implemented in the process, but also reiterated that "significant work remains" in addressing sexual misconduct within the athletic department, and particularly the football program.

The university noted the following updates and trainings since:

• Updating training materials to further emphasize policy 340's prohibition on employees conducting their own investigations of sexual misconduct.
• Developing an internal protocol to enhance the Office of Equity's ability to identify and remedy culture and climate issues.
• Facilitating direct and prompt communications between the Office of Equity and Athletics staff.
• Engaging Athletics leadership in the development and delivery of training and customizing and tailoring training for Athletics staff and student-athletes.
• Ensuring that leaders of the football program send clear, consistent and firm messaging that sexual misconduct will not be tolerated.
• Establishing criteria and a process for determining appropriate interim measures, which is documented in an updated memorandum of understanding between the Office of Equity and Athletics. Additionally, Athletics is updating the student-athlete handbook to ensure a consistent Athletics-based response to arrests for criminal conduct.

"This is a renewed opportunity for leaders and coaches in Athletics to engage with university partners to create a respectful culture, and our staff is committed to this goal," Sabau said in a statement. "This will benefit our entire campus, especially our student-athletes, who are already contributing positively to the Cache Valley community."

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Per Walker's reporting, Utah State has been in involved in sexual misconduct incidents related to the football program, fraternity and sorority life, and even the school's piano program. Former football player Torrey Green was found guilty of assaulting six women in 2019, and denied an appeal in 2023.