Former Utah State University football coach Blake Anderson has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school, its vice president of legal affairs and its athletic director.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, Anderson was fired July 18, with USU contending the coach violated Title IX reporting requirements regarding an athlete’s assault case in the spring of 2023.
The lawsuit, which seeks $15 million in damages, says Anderson followed the school’s protocol correctly and claims that he was scapegoated for the university’s ongoing problems with the Department of Justice.
Anderson, who coached the Aggies to one Mountain West Conference title in his three years at USU, was accused of conducting his own “fact-finding mission” into the allegation behind a football player’s 2023 off-campus arrest for domestic violence, rather than immediately reporting it to the proper USU officials.
An investigation by the Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell found that Anderson talked directly to the alleged victim about what she reported happened.
Related: Utah State: Football Coach Fired for Interviewing Potential Victim Following Player's Arrest
USU fired Anderson, who had four years remaining on his contract, for “significant violations” of his contract and violating reporting requirements. Former deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee and director of player development Austin Albrecht were also terminated. Amy Crosbie, who was the executive associate athletic director for internal affairs for nearly five years, was also terminated by the university at that time. No reason has been given.
Anderson and Bovee have both denied the allegations against them, saying they responded to the case according to procedure, the Tribune reported.
Related: Fired USU Athletic Director Fighting 'Bully' to Clear His Name
The DOJ began looking into sexual misconduct and harassment within the football program, the school’s fraternities and sororities, as well as its piano program in 2017. In August, the DOJ slapped the university with a notice of “substantial noncompliance.”
The agency said that USU was not adhering to a 2020 agreement to improve its response to reports of alleged sexual assault. The DOJ said that USU had “failed to take prompt, equitable, and effective steps to remedy an ongoing hostile environment within its football program.”
