Pat Fitzgerald was relieved of his coaching duties at Northwestern effective immediately back in July 2023.[1] Pat Fitzgerald has been with Northwestern for nearly thirty (30) years, as he started off as a student-athlete, where he was two-time national defensive player of the year at the school. He then moved to assistant coach, and finally to head coach.[2] He has impacted and changed the lives of hundreds of students at the school.[3] Fitzgerald is the most successful coach at Northwestern with 110 victories in 17 seasons.
Michael Schill, President of Northwestern University, sent out a notification to the community on July 10, 2023, after the difficult and complex evaluation of Coach Fitzgerald.[4] Not all aspects of the investigation were public, but the information shared stated that eleven (11) current or former football student-athletes acknowledged that hazing had been ongoing within the football program.[5] Even during this release, Schill stated there were former students still confirming that hazing was systemic dating back many years.[6] The alleged hazing included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature, in clear violation of Northwestern policies and values.[7] The hazing was well-known by many in the program, though the investigator failed to find any credible evidence that Coach Fitzgerald himself knew about it.[8] As the head coach is responsible for the culture of the team. Schill stated these actions did not align with the values of the institution and the decision was his own, based upon the violations.[9]
Fast forward to present date, Fitzgerald has now missed two seasons of football since he was fired. The attorneys for Fitzgerald are now seeking a new date, sometime in December 2024, for trial as Fitzgerald does not want to miss a third season.[10] The current trial date is set for April 2025. Fitzgerald had a virtual court meeting, Tuesday February 13, to discuss these plans, during which he was notified that he will not be rehired until his case is resolved.[11] Fitzgerald and his attorneys are worried that if he misses a third season it will have a severe impact on his ability to get a chance to have a comparable coaching job.[12] In the NCAA, coaching decisions are made in December and January for the following seasons, so that is why the attorneys are trying for December.[13] This case has a lot of discovery documents. So even April 2025 was an aggressive date, but it was achievable.[14] The court has stated the date needs to be realistic, and so they will reconvene for another hearing on April 2, 2024.[15] Until then, Fitzgerald and his attorneys’ best bet is to come to a settlement agreement pre-trial, as that seems as the most effective path to allow him to enter the next hiring cycle.
[1] https://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2023/decision-to-relieve-head-football-coach-pat-fitzgerald-of-his-duties.html
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39518370/pat-fitzgerald-attorney-seeking-december-trial-date
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
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