Anderson placed on leave from Utah State; intent to terminate his contract
With just 54 days before their scheduled first game of the 2024 football season, officials with Utah State University released a statement that coach Blake Anderson has been placed on administrative leave “with the intent to terminate his contract for actions taken in spring 2023.”
According to the statement, Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Ends Coach Nate Dreiling will serve as the interim head coach for the 2024 season.
The Aggies are scheduled to host Robert Morris University in Logan on August 31 before traveling to the University of Southern California to play the Trojans on September 7 and then host the Utah Utes the following week. The Aggies are scheduled to play the Wyoming Cowboys in Laramie on October 26.
Anderson was hired to replace Gary Andersen at Utah State in 2021 after seven years at Arkansas State. Anderson immediately led the Aggies to an 11-3 record with a Mountain West title and a win over Oregon State in the Los Angeles Bowl. Anderson has a record of (23-17) overall with USU although the program produced back-to-back (6-7) campaigns in the past two seasons.
The full statement from Utah State University is below:
Dear Friends of USU Athletics:
Today, Utah State University placed Head Football Coach Blake Anderson on paid administrative leave with the intent to terminate his contract for actions taken in spring 2023. These actions violated both his employment agreement and university policy. Under his employment agreement, Coach Anderson will be provided 14 days to respond.
This decision comes after a thorough external review of alleged non-compliance 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.
Please see Utah State Today for more information.
Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Ends Coach Nate Dreiling will serve as our interim head coach for the 2024 season. Nate brings a wealth of experience to this role, and we are confident that he is the right person to lead us through this transition.
While we understand the magnitude of these decisions and their impact, this action is a critical step to move our football and athletics programs forward and focus our energy on our outstanding football student-athletes and the enormous opportunities ahead for this strong and rising program.
Now is the time we need your help in supporting your Aggies. Our student-athletes will continue to achieve greatness academically, athletically and with community service. As we move forward living our vision and values, we will be stronger together. Thank you for your continued unwavering commitment to our student-athletes and helping USU create thriving athletic programs.
GO AGGIES!
