Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
LOGAN — Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau's appearance on the first day of fall camp for the Aggies football team came as a bit of a surprise.
Sabau wasn't initially scheduled to speak to media in the days leading up to Thursday, but did so for about 20 minutes before interim head coach Nate Dreiling sat in front of the backdrop of the athletic facility just north of Maverik Stadium.
Sabau had recently made the media rounds, giving several interviews about the decision to fire former football coach Blake Anderson and three other members of the athletics administration for violating Title IX policies as it relates to promptly reporting domestic and sexual assault.
On Thursday, she answered more questions about the issue, but this time with an eye toward the future.
"I'm looking very much forward to changing that culture and to having improvements in our young men … on the field (and) both academically and in the community," Sabau said.
Her comments came not long after more than 100 former and current Utah State student-athletes signed a letter in defense of Anderson, former interim AD Jerry Bovee, football director of player development and community Austin Albrecht, and executive associate athletics director for internal affairs Amy Crosbie, who were fired as a result of the investigation.
Sabau said the U.S. Department of Justice has "lived" on campus since 2020 "because of crimes within the football program, and will continue to do so for another year "because there has not been improvement" in the program's culture.
But one of the players who has been with the Aggies since 2021 disagrees that the dismissal of Anderson, Bovee, Albrecht and Crosbie will help change the team culture.
"By firing those guys, it's doing a disservice to the program," safety Ike Larsen said. "They turned the program around in 2021 when I got here. … I'm not following her with that, I guess. I disagree with that, with her. I don't know, maybe she just has to say that."
Larsen added that he's spoken with people who have since pulled money out of Utah State's football program due to the firings of the four administrators.
Dreiling, who is 33 and has never been a head coach, said there's an "unbelievable foundation" of players who want to be successful.
"Great football players," Dreiling said. "But even more importantly, great men. That's how we're going to continue to improve this culture, but also improve our image drastically throughout this whole state."
He said the change to the program's culture will also have an impact on recruiting, where high schools are going to be the team's "lifeline," starting in the state of Utah.
"It's those types of people that we know have the values that we want," Dreiling said.
Sabau said it's not just her that wants the football culture to change.
"It's how the institution, alumni and the community need the change," she said. "It is getting and modernizing our athletics department to current social standards — applicable, acceptable behaviors — and being in alignment with the values of this community and our institution. This is not what I want, this is for the greater good as one institution."
Sabau outlined some of what's to come for the football program, saying the education process will continue with the coaches and players, and the Title IX office will meet with coaches individually to form relationships "so people realize what they need to do when they need to do it."
"When you are a Title IX reporting official at a university, that is a job that has severe and specific parameters," Sabau said. "And it must be taken seriously."
Sabau added that more signage will be present for players, and there will be more "enrichment and refresher" conversations for people year-round.
