LOGAN — Utah State football head coach Blake Anderson and his legal representatives have filed a 70-page response to USU’s notification that it intends to terminate Anderson for cause. The filing of this response was publicly stated by Tom Mars, the attorney representing Anderson in this case.
“On behalf of Head Football Coach Blake Anderson, we submitted a 70-page response to USU’s termination notice to the Athletics Director earlier today,” Mars said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As a courtesy to the university, we won’t be commenting or releasing the response while Coach Anderson is still employed by USU.”
On behalf of Head Football Coach Blake Anderson, we submitted a 70-page response to USU’s termination notice to the Athletics Director earlier today. As a courtesy to the university, we won’t be commenting or releasing the response while Coach Anderson is still employed by USU. https://t.co/RRC7Ie3f4V
— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) July 16, 2024
On July 2, Utah State released a statement announcing it had informed Anderson of its intent to terminate his contract due to “noncompliance with university policies that implement Title IX, which require full and timely reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct — including domestic violence — and prohibit employees from investigating disclosures of sexual misconduct themselves.”
USU also announced it would be terminating the employment of Deputy Athletic Director Jerry Bovee and Football Director of Player Development Austin Albrecht for “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.” A week after the announcement, it was revealed by Bovee on social media that Executive Associate Athletics Director for Internal Affairs and Senior Woman Administrator, Amy Crosbie, was also being terminated. Cache Valley Daily confirmed the report with Utah State, although the university declined further comment or even to confirm if the firing was related to the dismissals announced on July 2.
Utah State continues shake up of athletic department, terminating Senior Woman Administrator Amy Crosbie
Anderson, Bovee and Albrecht were given 14 days to respond to this notification, including appeals. Anderson did so with his 70-page submission turned in 13 days after being notified. Bovee has also responded. He released a statement in which says he “fully intends to file a grievance” with the university over the firing.
Both Anderson and Bovee have made statements that deny the accusations from USU that led to the dismissal. Albrecht has not as of yet made a public statement. Cache Valley Daily received a copy of Albrecht’s termination notice from Utah State via a public records request. The email re-iterated that the reason behind the dismissal was “based upon violations of USU Policy 340: Reporting of Sexual Misconduct” and gave Albrecht until July 8 to return work equipment and collect his belongings.
Cache Valley Daily’s requests for similar termination notices for Anderson, Bovee and Crosbie were denied by USU on the grounds that they are “classified as ‘protected’ if release of such records could ‘reasonably be expected to interfere’ with the proceedings, ‘reasonably be expected to interfere with investigations undertaken,’ or ‘would create danger of depriving a person of a right to a…impartial hearing’” citing Utah Code section 63G-2-305(10) regarding GRAMA requests.
