Utah State Athletic Director On Recent Firings: There is No Agenda
Jul 26, 2024, 3:43 PM
Utah State Vice President & Director of Athletics Diana Sabau at the introductory press conference for new men's and women's basketball head coaches on Tuesday, April 2.
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah State Vice President and Athletics Director Diana Sabau shot down claims that recent firings in the Athletics department were backed by an agenda.
On Friday, Sabau joined KSL Sports Zone and discussed the termination of Head Football Coach Blake Anderson and Deputy Athletics Director Jerry Bovee.
Sabau Denies Claims That Firings Were Fueled By ‘An Agenda’
Both Bovee and Anderson have given statements since being terminated from USU.
Anderson’s legal representation released parts of a 70-page statement last week that showcased his side of the events.
The response implied that Utah State’s investigation was faulty, some or all of the allegations made against Anderson were false, and the whole process unfolded the way it did so that Utah State wouldn’t have to buy out his contract.
RELATED: Former Utah State Administrator Jerry Bovee Disputes School’s Accusations, Recounts Firing
“What I do want to talk about today is the timeline,” Sabau said. “It’s important for me to express that I inherited these events that happened in April of 2023. The independent investigation was commissioned in July of 2023. I didn’t start at Utah State until August of 2023. Any inference or assertion that this independent review was part of an agenda is false and is easily disproven with the facts of the timeline.”
Excerpts from Coach Blake Anderson’s 70-page response to USU’s termination letter. ⬇️
Full response to follow with
attached exhibits, which include USU’s termination letter, investigation summary, court records, and witness statements. https://t.co/tJJMElgxnV pic.twitter.com/HrdVVGFFOF— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) July 19, 2024
That quote was preceded by Sabau saying that the employment decisions are “ongoing personnel matters” and certain specifics would not be commented on.
She went on to explain that the University made the decisions it did to properly represent the values it promotes.
One of those decisions being the elevation of Nate Dreiling to interim head coach. Sabau has previously spoken highly of Dreiling’s experience and his ability to lead the program through the transition period.
“Obviously, once the University received the findings from this independent investigation,” Sabau said. “These decisions were made to uphold our University values and policies, to create a culture of accountability and transparency, and to move forward strongly.”
Sabau didn’t address Anderson’s claims that the investigation’s findings were inconsistent.
However, she did note that the Department of Justice has been involved in some capacity with the football team since 2020.
“The Department of Justice has been involved with Utah State since 2020 because of cases involving football players,” Sabau said during the interview.
Utah State Looks To Move Forward Strongly
The Utah State Football team reports to camp on August 1. The fall semester begins about three weeks later on August 26.
The timing for these firings is far from ideal and Sabau acknowledged that.
“I am the last Athletics Director in the country who would want to make a change with their head football coach in July,” Sabau said.
Both the University and the Athletics Department aim to move forward as quickly and efficiently as possible and begin a new era in Logan.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @CHoltSports or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
