The USC Trojans are set to face off against the Utah State Aggies on September 7, during the second week of the season. Unfortunately for Utah State, they will be without their head coach for the game. The Athletic Department at Utah State has announced that Head Football Coach Blake Anderson’s employment agreement has been terminated due to violations of university policies related to Title IX.
The decision to terminate Coach Anderson’s contract was made after a thorough external review of alleged noncompliance with university policies related to Title IX, specifically regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct and domestic violence. In addition to Coach Anderson, Associate Vice President & Deputy Athletic Director of External Affairs Jerry Bovee and Utah State Football Director of Player Development & Community Austin Albrecht have also been dismissed for similar violations.
Due to Utah’s public records laws and university policies, no additional information can be released until all opportunities to respond and appeal have been exhausted, which is a minimum of 14 days. This means that no further details about the allegations or the reasons behind the termination can be made public until after this time period has passed.
The game against Utah State falls between high-profile matchups for USC against LSU and Michigan in Las Vegas and Ann Arbor, respectively. Fans can also check out more content on the Trojans Wire website and affiliated sites like Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire, and UCLA Wire, as well as the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub for coverage of the upcoming draft.