Gordon Monson: Utah State AD Jerry Bovee shares his side of football firings story

There are multiple sides to most stories and Jerry Bovee wants his side told after Utah State dismissed him as the school’s deputy athletic director.

Here is that telling.

First, the setup: USU president Elizabeth Cantwell and athletic director Diana Sabau this past week gave Bovee notice that he and Utah State football coach Blake Anderson were being fired. The reason, according to a statement from the school’s top administrators, was that there had been an unacceptable rupture in a required reporting process for sexual misconduct, including domestic violence, inside Anderson’s football program.

In Bovee’s case, USU said in a news release, there had been “violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence” and “failures of professional responsibilities.”

Au contraire, said Bovee.

I wrote a column criticizing Anderson for his shortcomings in this regard, past and present, and congratulated Cantwell and Sabau for knocking down walls that often are put up by coaches and administrators to protect their programs and themselves.

Bovee subsequently told me he did report information he received from Anderson within 24 hours of hearing about it, as is required according to school policy, to an appropriate USU official.

“I reported it through the vice president of student affairs to the Equity Office,” he said. “That’s ingrained in our heads … we take that seriously.”

Two other individuals at the school reported alongside Bovee, he said. “All three of our names are on the report.”

Bovee said he couldn’t speak to Anderson’s actions in this case or others.

For the university’s part, it said it would have no additional comment until further notice.

The incident at hand centered on a football player at Utah State who Bovee said was involved in an “incident” with a woman in April, 2023. Said athlete shortly thereafter transferred to another school. Because Bovee is filing a grievance against Utah State for his termination, he did not share specifics of what precisely took place, other than to say there were no charges filed in the case.

The deputy AD, who at the time of that incident and report was the school’s interim athletic director, said he is confused by the decision reached by Cantwell and Sabau to fire him on these grounds. Asked why Cantwell and Sabau would fire him if he had followed proper channels in the case, he said he could only guess. And he preferred not to. Again, Bovee wouldn’t speak to or for Anderson or the coach’s situation, but he reiterated that he reported what he knew when he knew it, promptly and properly.

“My reputation and my name, I’m going to fight for that,” he said. “… It’s hurtful that my name is associated with this. I’ve been doing [sports leadership] for 32 years, this is at the top of my list, the importance of getting [such issues] right regarding women.”

Bovee said he’s gone to great lengths to educate personnel and players at Utah State regarding issues of sexual misconduct, how to report it, how to eradicate it, how to — due to past history — make Utah State a “safe school.”

He added that it’s not his intention to do harm to USU, the school that is his alma mater: “I have a great love for Utah State. I have confidence in the grievance process,” and that the school upon further review “will get this right.”

Bovee and his attorney issued this statement to The Salt Lake Tribune:

“Jerry Bovee, recently terminated by Utah State University, is vigorously defending his reputation as a loyal Aggies alum and stellar Associate Vice President and Deputy Athletics Director. With decades of athletic leadership under his belt, Bovee is a firm supporter and defender of Title IX civil rights law. In his tenured career, he has never incurred disciplinary action or accusations of misconduct of any kind.

“Bovee, who was blind-sighted by this decision, understands he was terminated based on an inconclusive and untimely review of an incident that took place more than a year ago in April of 2023, while he was Interim Athletic Director. Contrary to what has been represented, Bovee and two other USU employees did in fact report the incident to the USU Office of Equity. Even so, the external review did not commence until the fall of 2023. And not until July 2, 2024, some eight months later, was Bovee summarily terminated, without an opportunity to respond to the results of the review.

“He fully intends to file a grievance pursuant to USU policy within 30 days of termination. Bovee has no ill will against USU, an institution that he loves. He trusts the University will consider in good faith all the circumstances specific to actions taken by Bovee in considering his grievance and will also refrain from further comment while his grievance is pending.”

Bovee’s side of the story includes this comment, though: “This is the most painful week I’ve had in my career. I’m hopeful I’ll get fair treatment. To say there’s been a lot of tears shed in the Bovee home this week is understating it.”