“This group is hungry to continue to improve and finish this thing together and understand what an incredible opportunity is in front of us,” said David Braun, who had the interim tag removed when he was named head coach Nov. 16.

The Wildcats (7-5) will make their first bowl appearance in three years when they play the Utes (8-4) on Dec. 23 at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas.

Three months ago, a bowl would have seemed an impossibility.

Days after last season ended, Northwestern’s administration received a complaint of players being hazed by teammates. An investigation found there were significant opportunities for coaches to know hazing was occurring and longtime coach and alumni Pat Fitzgerald was fired in July, with Braun named interim coach.

Braun, 38, had been hired as defensive coordinator Jan. 17 after four years in the same position at North Dakota State. Northwestern was his first job at the Bowl Subdivision level.

The Wildcats won just three games two years ago and went 1-11 last season. They were picked last in the West in this year’s preseason media poll. Ben Bryant and Brendan Sullivan split the quarterback job because of injuries to Bryant, and the Wildcats ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten in most statistical categories.

Still, they won every other game before reeling off three straight victories to end the regular season 7-5 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play. Braun was named Big Ten coach of the year in media and coaches’ voting coordinated by the conference office.

Northwestern has been bowl-eligible since Nov. 18, so a postseason game has been on the horizon for a while. But Braun said he could tell from his text traffic Sunday that it hit home with the official announcement.

“You can tell through the buzz on these group chats that we have a group that is excited about where we’re going, who our opponent is and getting to work,” he said.

Braun said he hasn’t been able to enjoy the moment, at least not yet.

“I think it’s really important that myself and others that have been involved in this reflect on what this group has achieved and the story they’ve written together,” he said.

The game was a rematch of last year’s championship, won by the Tar Heels 2-1, a game that marked the end of Karen Shelton’s 42-year run as the coach and the fourth title for senior Erin Matson. Matson is now the Tar Heels coach and the championship was played in Karen Shelton Stadium.

“There are no words for this,” Matson said. “I thought being on the field, rushing to celebrate with your teammates, was great. Then we hoisted the trophy with the ACC championship a couple weeks back, and I thought that was great seeing it as a coach.

“Nothing tops a national championship on your home field. … It’s special.”

Northwestern beat the Tar Heels for the 2021 championship. North Carolina is now 11-11 in title games.

“It doesn’t get any better than a national championship and a sudden death shootout,” Matson said. “I’m so proud of our girls. They’re so happy. They wanted it so badly. Incredible day. I’m speechless.”

After second-seeded Northwestern (21-2) scored in the first two rounds of the shootout, the Wildcats couldn’t get another shot past Maddie Kahn, a graduate transfer from Lehigh. Before Heck’s winner, Kahn stopped Peyton Halsey, who had scored a goal for Northwestern in the first round of the shootout, as did Heck.

“She’s been a rock for us all season long. She’s the exact piece of the puzzle we needed,” Matson said of her goalie. “She’s just a brick wall. We have total confidence and trust in her…to see her do it in a shootout, sold out stadium, national championship atmosphere, that’s exactly why she is a Tar Heel for life now.”

After a quiet first half, with neither team getting a shot on goal, the action picked up in the second half.

Charly Bruder put the top-seeded Tar Heels (18-3) on top by squeezing a long shot off a corner between the post and Wildcats’ goalie Annabel Skubisz early in the third quarter. Northwestern’s Petyon Halsey tied it with a penalty stroke goal with 1:19 left in the quarter.

Both teams had chances with corners in the closing minutes of regulation but couldn’t break through. Heck had a penalty stroke with 2:17 to go in the first overtime, but Skubisz got a stick on the shot.

North Carolina outshot Northwestern 14-8, with Skubisz making five saves and Kahn three.

Football is back at the Friendly Confines, with the Northwestern Wildcats hosting the Iowa Hawkeyes at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Saturday’s game will mark Northwestern’s first game at Wrigley in two seasons, last playing at Clark and Addison on Nov. 20, 2021 against Purdue, falling 32-14 to the Boilermakers in a season in which the Wildcats won just a single Big Ten game.

Prior to 2021, the Cats played at Wrigley Field just one other time, a matchup against the in-state rival Illinois Fighting Illini on Nov. 20, 2010, in a game that marked the return of the sport to the revered stadium after a 40-year hiatus.

Wrigley Field was the longtime home of the Chicago Bears, hosting the Monsters of the Midway from 1921 through 1970, before the team moved to Soldier Field.

In addition to the Bears, Wrigley Field also served as the home of the Chicago Cardinals from 1931 to 1939.

The fledgling Cardinals had called Comiskey Park on the South Side home for two separate stints in the 1920’s before hosting the club again from 1940 to 1958.

Though neither Northwestern or Iowa are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, Saturday afternoon’s affair promises to be a thrilling rivalry matchup between the 6-2 Hawkeyes and 4-4 Wildcats.

Evanston’s Land Use Commission voted 7-2 against a zoning amendment that would allow concerts and similar events at the planned open-air arena. The panel gave Northwestern some of what it wanted, unanimously approving in a separate vote a planned development authorizing the stadium.

But the school has insisted concert revenue is essential to make the $800 million project viable. During the meeting, Dave Davis, senior executive director of neighborhood and community relations for NU, pressed that point. “This project cannot and will not move forward without this approval,” Davis said.

Commissioner George Halik said “it’s obvious” that the concerts will have a negative effect on the area. “I’m still not convinced these concerts are necessary,” he said.

Commission Chairman Matt Rodgers said NU’s insistence on the need for concerts was “somewhat laughable.” Rodgers at the last minute proposed an amendment to give NU flexibility for concerts, with the number and conditions to be negotiated with the city, but his idea was voted down.

The votes came at the end of the panel’s third lengthy meeting on the topic, with the prior two dominated by testimony from the plan’s opponents.

The commission’s decision is advisory only, and the City Council could back the project anyway. But the votes could influence the council or force Northwestern to make concessions to Ryan Field neighbors who live in an upscale area of mostly single-family homes.

The critics have argued that NU’s plans would bring more traffic and noise to the blocks around the stadium, outweighing economic benefits and hurting the quality of life. The school, citing a study it commissioned, said the construction would generate $659.9 million in benefits for Evanston without requiring a tax subsidy.

Northwestern wants to demolish the 97-year-old bowl-style arena at 1501 Central St. and replace it with a stadium that has a different alignment. The seating capacity would be reduced from the current 47,000 to 35,000 for football, a change the school said would improve the fan experience. It would continue to be the home of the Northwestern Wildcats football team.

The school’s proposal calls for incorporating technology for events and up to six annual concerts, the part that has inspired opposition. Critics have balked at NU’s contention that it needs revenue from other activities to make the project viable. It has trimmed its concert proposal from an initial request of 15 dates.

Business groups, meanwhile, have championed the project. The village board in Wilmette, Evanston’s neighbor, has gone on record against it.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, the commission gave Northwestern representatives time to answer arguments made by speakers at the two previous sessions. The nine-member commission then had its own questions for the school.

NU representatives said the proposal amounts to a slight increase in use for the school’s athletic complex, which includes the indoor Welsh-Ryan Arena next to the stadium. Katie Jahnke Dale, an attorney for DLA Piper representing Northwestern, said the school has detailed plans for traffic and crowd control and that adding six concerts will be “quite nominal.”

George Kisiel, a planning consultant hired by NU, said the impact from concerts will be similar to that of football games that the community supports, He called the project “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace an aging and obsolete structure.”

Some commission members questioned representatives about the school’s need for concerts and whether the design can minimize community impact.

A main driver of the project is a $480 million pledge from businessman and NU benefactor Pat Ryan.

The fate of the proposal is now in the hands of Evanston’s nine-member City Council. One of its members has said he will recuse himself from the matter because he works for Northwestern.

Several of the remaining alderpersons have raised objections. A 4-4 tie vote would throw the matter to Mayor Daniel Biss, who has been neutral.

Northwestern has said it wants to begin construction at the end of the current football season, but it may be unable to keep to that timetable. Observers have said that if the project is approved, Evanston and Wilmette residents are likely to file suit to stop it.

NU faces numerous other challenges. Some residents see the Ryan Field work as a reward for a football program needing reform after disclosures of a hazing scandal implicating players and coaches. The scandal cost football coach Pat Fitzgerald his job, and he has sued the university, saying he had no knowledge of hazing.

More than 200 NU faculty members signed a letter to administrators calling for changes in the athletic department and saying the Ryan Field work should be put on hold. It said that “disturbing evidence of harassment and abuse — and high-level efforts to minimize those problems — suggest that we need to get the existing house in order before expanding it.”

On Oct. 6, a representative of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians told the commission in a letter that the redevelopment site may contain a Native American burial ground. The letter said federal law requires archeological oversight before and during excavation.

Other objections have cited environmental concerns. Ald. Eleanor Revelle of Evanston’s 7th Ward, home to Ryan Field, said she opposes the project because it would divert groundwater into the nearby North Shore Channel.

“They would be pumping groundwater 24-7. I have concerns about the environmental impact and what this does to our trees and sewers,” she told the Sun-Times.

The announcement by Chicago-based attorney Dan K. Webb on Thursday comes nearly three months after Fitzgerald was suspended and then fired after 17 years as head coach of the Wildcats.

Webb said that Fitzgerald would also be seeking additional money for “infliction of emotional distress,” future lost income and punitive damages. The $130 million includes $68 million remaining in owed salary plus $62 million in future lost income, Webb added.

The suit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the university and its President Michael Schill, he said. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

“If there was ever — if there was ever — an athletic coach at Northwestern University that should not have been terminated, it’s Coach Fitzgerald,” Webb said. “The fact that he was terminated based on no rational reasons or facts whatsoever, the fact that they’ve gone out and destroyed his reputation as one of the best football coaches in America based on no legitimate reason or evidence is disgraceful, is despicable conduct on behalf of Northwestern.”

The 48-year-old Fitzgerald was fired July 10, three days after the school announced a two-week suspension without pay following an investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff. That probe did not find “sufficient” evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing, but concluded there were “significant opportunities” to find out about it.

Webb called that “a ridiculous allegation,” adding that “no coach in America” did as much to prevent hazing and to make sure he would have a way to find out if it did happen. Webb said the whistleblower in the investigation had a grudge against Fitzgerald, who found out from a teammate during a leadership council meeting that the player planned to report false allegations of hazing.

The lawsuit states that Fitzgerald met with athletic director Derrick Gragg and Northwestern general counsel Stephanie Graham on July 3. It says Gragg told Fitzgerald that Schill wanted him to “take a hit” for the findings in Hickey’s report.

The lawsuit also says Northwestern violated an oral contract agreed to on July 6 that Fitzgerald would not face further penalties if he accepted the suspension and issued a statement supporting the program.

On July 8, the Daily Northwestern student newspaper published a story alleging both hazing and racism in the football program. The school changed its stance and fired Fitzgerald. Schill said at the time the hazing was “widespread” and not a secret within the program.

“As head coach of the football program for 17 years, Patrick Fitzgerald was responsible for the conduct of the program. He had the responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so,” said a statement from Northwestern University released Thursday.

Multiple current and former football student-athletes acknowledged that hazing took place in the football program during the six-month independent investigation into the issue, the university’s statement said, adding that “Student-athletes across a range of years corroborated these findings, showing beyond question that hazing – which included nudity and sexualized acts – took place on Fitzgerald’s watch.”

“The safety of our students remains our highest priority, and we deeply regret that any student-athletes experienced hazing. We remain confident that the University acted appropriately in terminating Fitzgerald and we will vigorously defend our position in court,” the statement said.

Webb on Thursday said he has interviewed “maybe 40 to 50” former Northwestern players and coaches who “did not see any significant hazing other than horseplay,” which he described as somebody making fun of somebody, or slapping them on the arm or having a fight in the shower. He expects to call current players and coaches as witnesses. And he is asking for Hickey’s full report; the school released a summary when it announced Fitzgerald’s suspension.

Northwestern is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse of players by teammates, as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults. Baseball coach Jim Foster was fired July 13 amid allegations of a toxic culture that included bullying and abusive behavior.

Attorneys from several Chicago law firms representing former Northwestern football players issued a statement calling Fitzgerald’s lawsuit “all about financial gain for him.” They said he was “incredibly tone deaf in defending his actions,” and his lawsuit “re-traumatizes” their clients.

“His complaint ironically details claims that he was deeply involved in each player’s life, mental health, academic career, athletic performance and potential after graduation… all of which actually supports what we’ve been saying all along, that given the head coach’s proximity he knew or should have known what was happening in his program,” they said.

Fitzgerald’s dismissal capped a rapid fall from grace for someone who seemed entrenched at his alma mater. He was an All-American linebacker, a star on the 1995 team that won the Big Ten and reached the Rose Bowl after decades of losing at Northwestern.

Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to a 110-101 record and — by a wide margin — more wins than any other coach. Northwestern won Big Ten West championships in 2018 and 2020, plus five bowl games. But the team went 4-20 over his last two seasons.

Defensive coordinator David Braun was elevated to interim coach six months after joining Fitzgerald’s staff.

Just over two months ago, Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an investigation into the culture of its athletic department and its anti-hazing procedures. The university announced no timetable for the investigation but said the results will be made public, unlike those of the previous investigation.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25

Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt threw a touchdown and ran for another as the Scarlet Knights dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for almost 38 minutes.

The loss in interim coach David Braun’s first game is Northwestern’s 12th straight dating back to last season. Braun replaced longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was first suspended and then fired after allegations of hazing surfaced in the summer and spread to other programs at the university.

Northwestern, which finished last season 1-11, had one positive moment — scoring with about 20 seconds to play on a 1-yard pass by backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan to Caleb Komolafe. Cincinnati transfer Ben Bryant started and finished 20-of-35 passing for 169 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked five times. The Rutgers defense only allowed 201 yards.

The Scarlet Knights (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) scored on their first two drives, with Wimsatt (17 of 29 for 163) hitting Ian Strong on an 11-yard pass to cap the first and running six yards for the second. The first TD was initially called incomplete but a review showed Strong had a foot down in the end zone. Jai Patel added a 32-yard field goal on the third drive after Braun gambled on a fake punt. Kyle Monangai scored on a 15-yard run in the third quarter.

With their team down 17-0, many of the Northwestern (0-1, 0-1) fans at the game said they expected more from the Wildcats.

“Not a very impressive first half,” said 18-year-old Ellis Zuckerman of New York, who will be starting his first semester at Northwestern next week.

Zuckerman, whose father Andrew attended the Chicago school, said hearing about the hazing scandal the past two months was concerning but did not impact his decision to attend the university, saying he was not going there for football.

Jared Breslaw, who grew up in Chicago and attended Northwestern games with his father and two brothers, flew up from Miami to see the game.

“I thought it was going be a little more competitive,” the 35-year-old said. “I thought we would rally around this. Then again we’re a second-half team, Cardiac Cats.”

THE TAKEAWAYS

Northwestern: Bryant showed flashes at quarterback and the receivers are surehanded. The offensive line struggled, especially in the running game. The defense was on the field way too much but has promise.

Rutgers: Coach Greg Schiano felt his defense was very good coming into the season and it more than lived up to his expectations on all three levels. The biggest surprise was the maturity and confidence Wimsatt showed. There were only a couple of throws that were slightly questionable and most of his passes were on target. The only knock is his handoffs are not fluid at times.

UP NEXT:

Northwestern: Hosts UTEP in home opener on Saturday.

Rutgers: Hosts Temple on Saturday night.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Wildcats have finally made a decision prior to their season opener against Rutgers, as they will task Ben Bryant with the starting role:

Bryant started 11 games at Cincinnati last season, with a 61.2% completion percentage as he threw for 2,731 yards and 21 touchdowns.

In his career, which also saw a stop at Eastern Michigan, he has thrown 37 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions, along with 6,405 yards.

Bryant transferred into the Wildcats’ program for this season, and he ended up beating out Brendan Sullivan for the starting role. Sullivan appeared in five games last season, with 589 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions to his credit.

He also rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Northwestern enters the game on an 11-game losing streak, having won their season opener in Ireland against Nebraska last season. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m., and the game will air on CBS.

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Greenspan has been a coach in the college circuit for nearly 15 years, beginning his coaching career with six seasons at Indiana University starting in 2009.

His tenure at IU was followed by seven seasons as an assistant coach at Arizona State University from 2015 to 2021.

Greenspan was then assistant coach for California Polytechnic State University in 2022 before serving as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Michigan in 2023.

“I am honored and humbled to be selected as the next Head Baseball Coach at Northwestern. My personal and professional beliefs align with the mission and values of Northwestern University, where academically oriented student-athletes strive for excellence on the field and in the classroom. My playing and coaching experience in the Big Ten has provided me with a knowledge of the fierce competition and excellence of the Conference. This is a challenge that I welcome,” Greenspan said in a statement.

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Fitzgerald has two children at Loyola Academy, a private Catholic high school located in suburban Wilmette.

A spokesperson for Loyola Academy issued the following statement regarding the football team’s coaching staff:

“Beau Desherow ’93 was named head coach of the Loyola Academy varsity football team in the spring. He takes over for longtime coach John Holecek, who led the Ramblers to IHSA 8A state championship titles in 2015, 2018, and 2022. Coach Desherow looks forward to continuing this tradition of excellence as he prepares for the 2023-2024 season. Supporting him are many assistant coaches as well as parent volunteers, who provide an invaluable service to all of our athletic teams—indeed, our entire Loyola community—assisting with gameday management, logistics, offering fresh insight, etc.”

“Among other volunteers, current parent Pat Fitzgerald P ’23, P’25, P’27 will serve as a volunteer for the football program. As required by Loyola Academy, the Archdiocese of Chicago, and State of Illinois, all Loyola Academy coaches and volunteers must complete a number of trainings, background checks, and sign a code of conduct agreement. Coach Desherow is laser-focused on the season ahead, which starts with the Ramblers’ first matchup vs Catholic Central High School (MI) on Saturday, August 26.”

A graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park and four-year player at Northwestern, Fitzgerald served as the school’s head coach from 2006 up until his recent suspension and firing.

After the school initially suspended Fitzgerald, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested he may have been aware.

A former Northwestern football player, identified in one lawsuit as John Doe, alleged last month in the Cook County Court in Chicago that Fitzgerald, Northwestern University President Michael Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

The shirts, which said “Cats Against the World,” sparked an immediate firestorm of controversy, and Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Derrick Gragg spoke out against the shirts.

“I am extremely disappointed that a few members of our football program decided to wear ‘Cats Against the World’ T-shirts,” Gragg said. “Neither I, nor the university, were aware that they owned or would wear those shirts today. The shirts are inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf. Let me be crystal clear: hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any other misconduct.”

Northwestern’s interim head coach, David Braun, was asked about the shirts after practice but called the matter one of free speech.

“It certainly isn’t my business to censor anyone’s free speech,” he said.

Fitzgerald, who had been the coach since 2006, was fired last month after the release of a report into allegations of hazing within the football program.

That report did not find evidence that Fitzgerald had known about the hazing, but found that he had “ample opportunity” to find out about it.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in the wake of his departure, with former players accusing the coaching staff of looking past, and sometimes even encouraging, hazing behavior that included sexual assault and racist actions.

Northwestern will kick off their 2023 season on Sept. 3 with a Sunday game against Rutgers. The team’s home schedule will get underway on Sept. 9 against UTEP in Evanston.

“They understand that these aren’t calm waters. They are turbulent,” interim head coach David Braun said. “In some regards they are facing the storm.”

That theme of overcoming adversity has been one sounded often by the Wildcats since Fitzgerald’s dismissal, including during Braun’s remarks at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis last month.

Several players, including linebacker Bryce Gallagher and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz, were supposed to address media in Indianapolis, but opted out of the availability. They both spoke to media on Wednesday in Evanston.

“We have really just stuck together through all of this,” Gallagher said. “Checking in with each other to make sure everyone is doing okay through this difficult time, especially the younger guys who just got here. Just looking out for them.”

While most players did not comment directly on the allegations against Fitzgerald and the program, there were still some shows of support for the former coach, with some staffers and coaches wearing t-shirts that said “Cats Against the World,” along with Fitzgerald’s No. 51 jersey number.

That decision sparked immediate criticism, and Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Derrick Gragg issued a statement on the matter.  

“I am extremely disappointed that a few members of our football program decided to wear ‘Cats Against the World’ t-shirts,” Gragg said. “Neither I, nor the university, were aware that they owned or would wear those shirts today. The shirts are inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf. Let me be crystal clear: hazing has no place at Northwestern, and we are committed to do whatever is necessary to address hazing-related issues, including thoroughly investigating any incidents or allegations of hazing or any other misconduct.”

Braun called the matter one of free speech.

“It certainly isn’t my business to censor anyone’s free speech,” he said.

Braun also spoke about his ongoing relationship with Fitzgerald, whose son Jack is still on the Wildcats’ roster.

“Coach Fitz and his family brought me in under their roof for two months,” he said. “The relationship with Pat is much deeper than just as someone I worked for six months.”

Northwestern is currently facing numerous lawsuits from former players that alleged intense hazing rituals during their time with the program. Several have directly named Fitzgerald and former Northwestern AD Mark Murphy, now the CEO of the Green Bay Packers.

With all of the turmoil, which has included several high-profile recruits decommitting from the programs, players are insisting that they will focus on football in the weeks ahead.

“Our main focus is to win games and stick together,” defensive back Rod Heard said. “That’s a big aspect of what we’ve been trying to do as a team.”

Northwestern will kick off their 2023 season on Sept. 3 with a Sunday game against Rutgers. Their home schedule will get underway on Sept. 9 against UTEP in Evanston.

Details on exact timing of their address remain unclear. (Live coverage will appear in the vide player above as it happens)

The scheduled address comes as the university grapples with fallout of a recent hazing investigation that saw allegations of abusive behavior and racism within the football program and other teams.

A decade after Northwestern was at the center of an attempt to establish the first college athletes union, the university is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults. The cases span from 2004 to 2022, and attorneys representing some of the athletes who have already sued say more are coming. Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after 17 seasons.

Fitzgerald, whose attorney says he had no knowledge of hazing in his program, was fired July 10 after initially being suspended two weeks by President Michael Schill following an investigation by a law firm. It found hazing within the program and “significant opportunities” for the coaching staff to know about it. He was replaced an interim basis by David Braun, who was hired as defensive coordinator six months earlier.

Baseball coach Jim Foster was fired July 13 amid allegations of a toxic culture that included bullying and abusive behavior. Assistant Brian Anderson, a former major leaguer who won a World Series ring with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, took over on an interim basis.

“Hazing has absolutely no place at Northwestern. Period,” Northwestern President Michael Schill said in a statement. “I am determined that with the help of Attorney General Lynch, we will become a leader in combating the practice of hazing in intercollegiate athletics and a model for other universities. We will provide all of our students with the resources and support they need and do whatever is necessary to protect their safety and ensure that our athletics program remains one we can all be proud of.”

Attorneys representing athletes suing Northwestern blasted it as a publicity stunt and questioned whether the previous investigation that led to longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald’s firing was thorough enough.

Northwestern said following Hickey’s investigation the football team would no longer hold training camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as it did for years and would have someone not affiliated with the program monitor the locker room.

The school said at the time it would require annual anti-hazing training for coaches, staff members and athletes with an emphasis on reporting options and the responsibility to report as well as discipline. Other measures include creating an online tool for athletes to report hazing anonymously.

Attorneys for Ramon Diaz, who played as an offensive lineman for the Wildcats from 2005 to 2008, say Diaz was physically and sexually hazed, racially discriminated and put though dehumanizing acts.

In the lawsuit, Diaz, who is Latino, says his teammates once shaved the words “Cinco de Mayo” into the back of his head while players watched. He also says that, while he was underage, he was forced to participating in a hazing tradition in the locker room that was sexual in nature.

The lawsuit alleges that the school, the board of trustees along with Northwestern’s former coach Pat Fitzgerald were all in a position to address the toxic culture, but didn’t.

“The social pressure and hazing on the football team was so severe that even unwilling participants were forced to conform to a culture of abuse, racial discrimination, bigotry, and sexual exploitation to be part of the ‘Wildcat family,’” said Diaz’s attorney Patrick A. Salvi II. “Had he known the true culture of the football program, Ramon would not have committed to play for Northwestern. Once he was at school, he was unfortunately under immense social and financial pressure to remain on scholarship at Northwestern.”

Attorneys for Diaz are expected to hold a press conference Wednesday at 9 a.m. to share more information and discuss the lawsuit, which is expected to be filed Wednesday morning.

The lawsuit comes a day after Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an investigation into the culture of its athletic department and its anti-hazing procedures, following multiple allegations of abusive behavior and racism within the football program and other teams.

Lynch, who served as Attorney General from 2015 to 2017 under former President Barack Obama, will begin her review immediately, the school announced Tuesday. She will seek input from faculty, staff, students and alumni. The university announced no timetable for the investigation but said the results will be made public, unlike those of a previous investigation commissioned by the school.

“Hazing has absolutely no place at Northwestern. Period,” Northwestern President Michael Schill said in a statement. “I am determined that with the help of Attorney General Lynch, we will become a leader in combating the practice of hazing in intercollegiate athletics and a model for other universities. We will provide all of our students with the resources and support they need and do whatever is necessary to protect their safety and ensure that our athletics program remains one we can all be proud of.”

Athletic director Derrick Gragg said his department welcomes the investigation, calling it “a critical tool in identifying the additional steps Northwestern can take to eradicate hazing.”

“By making the results of her review public, we hope our entire community will be better informed and guided as we all work to address this critical issue in college athletics,” he said.

The former AG, who is now in private practice, is no stranger to major investigations of Chicago institutions.

In 2015, it was Lynch who announced justice department findings that lead to a consent decree with the Chicago Police Department. That decree that is still in effect.

She also oversaw a review of the campus police at Syracuse University. According to the University, her findings will be made public.

Attorneys representing athletes suing Northwestern blasted it as a publicity stunt and questioned whether the previous investigation that led to longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald’s firing was thorough enough.

“We have to wonder if this is nothing more than an effort to counteract negative press, and more importantly, the growing number of former Northwestern football players filing lawsuits against the University,” attorneys Ben Crump, Steve Levin and Margaret Battersby Black said. “The University’s top priority should have been, and should be, doing right by the victims of these despicable acts and eradicating hazing from their campus. And they can start by being transparent and releasing the full report from the first investigation to the public.”

Lynch, who works for the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, was hired in November by the Boston Bruins to investigate the NHL team’s player-vetting process after it signed prospect Mitchell Miller and then rescinded his contract offer. Miller had his draft rights relinquished by Arizona for bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in middle school.

Lynch is representing the NFL in Brian Flores’ race discrimination lawsuit. She also oversaw the sprawling investigation of international soccer that was unsealed in 2015 and led to the removal of a generation of soccer leaders in North and South America, and Switzerland-based FIFA and UEFA.

Northwestern is facing lawsuits from multiple former football players as well as one from a former volleyball player who says she was physically harmed during a hazing situation and mistreated by coach Shane Davis. Attorneys representing the former Northwestern athletes have said more lawsuits will be filed.

Fitzgerald — the program’s winningest coach and a star linebacker for the Wildcats in the 1990s — was fired by Schill on July 10 after initially being suspended two weeks following an investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff that found hazing within the program and “significant opportunities” for the coaching staff to know about it. He was replaced an interim basis by David Braun, who was hired as defensive coordinator six months earlier.

Baseball coach Jim Foster was fired July 13 amid allegations of a toxic culture that included bullying and abusive behavior. Assistant Brian Anderson, a former major leaguer who won a World Series ring with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, took over on an interim basis.

Northwestern said following Hickey’s investigation the football team would no longer hold training camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as it did for years and would have someone not affiliated with the program monitor the locker room.

The school said at the time it would require annual anti-hazing training for coaches, staff members and athletes with an emphasis on reporting options and the responsibility to report as well as discipline. Other measures include creating an online tool for athletes to report hazing anonymously.

Linebacker Bryce Gallagher, defensive back Rod Heard, and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz were all scheduled to have a media availability on Wednesday following interim head coach David Braun, but the trio released a statement Tuesday saying they would not participate.  

“After taking with our parents, our teammates and Coach Braun, we have made the decision to not attend Big Ten Media Day,” the players said. “This was very difficult since we were excited about the opportunity to participate in this great Big Ten tradition, and to talk about the game we love and the season ahead. But given the recent events involving the Northwestern football program, we did not want our participation to be dominated by the hazing issue and steal the focus away from football and the upcoming season.”

Braun also released a statement saying that he is “fully supportive” of the players’ decision.

“The decision from our players to forgo Big Ten Media Day was entirely theirs, and they approached it with a great deal of maturity and thoughtfulness,” he said. “I’m fully supportive of both their reasoning and the decision itself, and I look forward to attending the event.”

The hazing scandal at Northwestern University recently widened to include a volleyball player who on Monday became the first female athlete to sue the university over allegations she was retaliated against by the coach for reporting her mistreatment.

The player, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, says she was physically harmed to the point of requiring medical attention during a hazing incident in early 2021.

According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe contracted COVID-19 in February of that year, despite following the team’s COVID guidelines. Despite this, she says, Northwestern volleyball coach Shane Davis and an assistant coach informed her she would need to undergo a “punishment” for violating the guidelines. A day later, on March 2, 2021, the coaches permitted the volleyball team’s captains to pick the punishment: She was forced to run “suicides” in the gym while diving to the floor each time she reached a line on the court. As she did this, the suit says, volleyball coaching staff, team members and trainers watched.

Campus police were made aware of the incident, as was the athletic department, the lawsuit says. Jane Doe says she was isolated from the team and Davis forced her to write an apology letter to trainers. The lawsuit also says the player met with athletic director Derrick Gragg to discuss the culture of the volleyball program but he “did nothing in response” to her concerns.

Davis did not immediately respond Monday morning to messages seeking comment.

The school announced in December 2021 that it had signed Davis to a multi-year contract extension. A year later, in December 2022, the player medically retired from the sport.

The lawsuit was submitted in Cook County, Illinois, by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm and names as defendants Davis and Cragg as well as the university, its current and former presidents and the board of trustees. The suit also names Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner James J. Phillips, who was Northwestern’s athletic director until 2021. Phillips, who has been named as a defendant in two other lawsuits, has said he never “condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct” against athletes while he was Northwestern’s athletics director.

“Northwestern enabled, tolerated, and, as shared in Jane Doe’s complaint, encouraged a culture of hazing,” said Parker Stinar, one of her attorneys.

Also Monday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump planned to announce another lawsuit against Northwestern over hazing allegations in its athletic programs, with the latest suit touted as containing “damning new details” of sexual hazing and abuse in its football program.

Crump and other attorneys were expected to join former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates in discussing the lawsuit’s filing Monday afternoon in Chicago. A news advisory says the complaint will allege “negligence, willful and wanton disregard for player safety and well-being” among other claims.

Yates is among more than 15 men and women who have retained Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law to seek damages against Northwestern due to its hazing scandal.

Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” school President Michael Schill said.

One previous lawsuit accuses Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats, has maintained he had no knowledge of hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan and his lawyer, Dan Webb, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

The hazing allegations have broadened beyond the school’s football program as attorneys said last week that male and female athletes reported misconduct within its baseball and softball programs. They also suggested that sexual abuse and racial discrimination within the football program was so rampant that coaches knew it was happening.

Crump’s advisory for Monday’s news conference states that the suit will identify “one Northwestern football coach who allegedly witnessed the hazing and sexual conduct and failed to report it.”

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

The lawsuit is the first to name the plaintiff. The three lawsuits filed last week were all filed as John Does.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump wants the lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of former student football player Lloyd Yates to be known as the “college sports Me Too movement.”

“It’s a big deal when these young people have the courage to take a stand and refuse to be victims anymore, refuse to have their voices silenced and to take a stand,” Crump said.

The 52-page complaint filed in Cook County court alleges Yates suffered frequent locker room harassment and unwanted physical and sexual contact. The lawsuit quotes other players on the extent of the abuse and alleges two assistant coaches were also hazed in a ritual known as “running.”

A “run” consisted of players forcibly holding down a teammate and rubbing their genital areas against the teammate’s genitals, face and buttocks while rocking back and forth without consent from the teammate, the lawsuit states.

Crump says he plans to file more than 30 lawsuits on behalf of former players.

The lawsuit describes examples of the homoerotic and violent nature of the sexual hazing in the Northwestern football program. The alleged ritualized hazing had colorful names including “Carwash,” “Kenosha Rap Battle” “Belly Flop Contest,” “Runsgiving/Runsmas,” “Shrek Squad,” “Trading Block,” The Dredge,” and “Bus 2 Stories.”

Former NU quarterback Lloyd Yates starred at Oak Park-River Forest High School. His grandfather, father and older brother all attended NU.

Yates said he wants justice for victims of the hazing and closure for himself and for players who “suffered in silence.”

“Too often many of us have blamed ourselves for things that were beyond our control,” Yates told reporters Monday.

He also said he wants protection for future players.

“We were conditioned to believe that this behavior was normal, which was sickening and unacceptable,” Yates said. “To all the young athletes out there, I urge you to stand up, stand up for yourself, even when the odds are against you.”

Yates’ father, William Yates, said he hopes the lawsuit puts other universities on notice.

“College years are supposed to be magical. And a lot of us, as we sit around and talk to our college buddies, we always reminisce. But yet it seems this is not the case for Lloyd,” William Yates said. “Him and his comrades, despite their best efforts have been exploited and sexually harassed in a way that it’s hard for me to even describe this culture appears to be so commonplace.”

Asked to respond to the new lawsuit, a spokesperson for Northwestern said the university has implemented locker room monitoring, anti-hazing training and an online tool for reporting complaints.

Crump said Northwestern has had a zero-tolerance policy on hazing for years and it didn’t stop the alleged culture of abuse.

Three lawsuits were filed last week by anonymous former NU football players who alleged similar abuse on the team. Those lawsuits were filed in Cook County by the Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard law firm.

Lawyers have said the culture of hazing and abuse extended beyond the football team and included the volleyball, softball, cheerleading and men’s soccer teams. Attorneys allege the hazing was so rampant that coaches knew about it.

The allegations of Northwestern University’s hazing scandal became public July 7 when the school suspended head football Coach Pat Fitzgerald after a school-funded investigation into hazing allegations.

The next day, the school’s student paper, The Daily Northwestern, published an article detailing the alleged abuse by two unnamed former football players. The school fired Fitzgerald two days later.

The player, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, says she was physically harmed to the point of requiring medical attention during a hazing incident in early 2021.

According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe contracted COVID-19 in February of that year, despite following the team’s COVID guidelines. Despite this, she says, Northwestern volleyball coach Shane Davis and an assistant coach informed her she would need to undergo a “punishment” for violating the guidelines. A day later, on March 2, 2021, the coaches permitted the volleyball team’s captains to pick the punishment: She was forced to run “suicides” in the gym while diving to the floor each time she reached a line on the court. As she did this, the suit says, volleyball coaching staff, team members and trainers watched.

Campus police were made aware of the incident, as was the athletic department, the lawsuit says. Jane Doe says she was isolated from the team and Davis forced her to write an apology letter to trainers. The lawsuit also says the player met with athletic director Derrick Gragg to discuss the culture of the volleyball program but he “did nothing in response” to her concerns.

Davis did not immediately respond Monday morning to messages seeking comment.

The school announced in December 2021 that it had signed Davis to a multi-year contract extension. A year later, in December 2022, the player medically retired from the sport.

The lawsuit was submitted in Cook County, Illinois, by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm and names as defendants Davis and Cragg as well as the university, its current and former presidents and the board of trustees. The suit also names Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner James J. Phillips, who was Northwestern’s athletic director until 2021. Phillips, who has been named as a defendant in two other lawsuits, has said he never “condoned or tolerated inappropriate conduct” against athletes while he was Northwestern’s athletics director.

“Northwestern enabled, tolerated, and, as shared in Jane Doe’s complaint, encouraged a culture of hazing,” said Parker Stinar, one of her attorneys.

Also Monday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump planned to announce another lawsuit against Northwestern over hazing allegations in its athletic programs, with the latest suit touted as containing “damning new details” of sexual hazing and abuse in its football program.

Crump and other attorneys were expected to join former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates in discussing the lawsuit’s filing Monday afternoon in Chicago. A news advisory says the complaint will allege “negligence, willful and wanton disregard for player safety and well-being” among other claims.

Yates is among more than 15 men and women who have retained Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law to seek damages against Northwestern due to its hazing scandal.

Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” school President Michael Schill said.

One previous lawsuit accuses Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats, has maintained he had no knowledge of hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan and his lawyer, Dan Webb, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

The hazing allegations have broadened beyond the school’s football program as attorneys said last week that male and female athletes reported misconduct within its baseball and softball programs. They also suggested that sexual abuse and racial discrimination within the football program was so rampant that coaches knew it was happening.

Crump’s advisory for Monday’s news conference states that the suit will identify “one Northwestern football coach who allegedly witnessed the hazing and sexual conduct and failed to report it.”

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said he and other attorneys have received disturbing details from former baseball and softball players at the university, in addition to growing complaints of abuse in the football program, which players described as widespread and devastating.

“This is a civil rights issue for me,” said Crump, who said 50 former Northwestern athletes — male and female — have spoken to the Levin & Perconti law firm. “I think these players have the right to be respected and valued and not hazed, intimidated and retaliated.”

Black football players appeared to have faced an additional layer of abuse.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

“The abusive culture was especially devastating for many players of color,” said former Northwestern quarterback and receiver Lloyd Yates, who is Black.

Crump and Chicago-based attorney Steven Levin said they have not filed a lawsuit yet on behalf of any athletes. The attorneys represent 15 people, including Yates, and have been in touch with dozens of former athletes. Crump said the majority of those are football players.

Warren Miles Long, a running back on Northwestern’s football team starting in 2013, said players were put into a culture where sexual violence and hazing was “rampant.” He said new recruits had no sense of whether it was normal or limited to Northwestern.

The attorneys declined to detail the former athletes’ complaints about the baseball or softball programs.

The Evanston, Illinois-based private school fired baseball coach Jim Foster amid allegations of misconduct last week, three days after Fitzgerald was dismissed.

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from the hazing scandal.

More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school.

Yates said every member of the team were victims, “no matter what our role was at the time,” and lamented the school and team’s lack of leadership.

“The university and football program let us down and that’s why we are here today,” Yates said, surrounded by some teammates who have also retained the Crump-led team of attorneys.

In a letter to Northwestern’s faculty and staff, University President Michael Schill wrote that an outside firm will be hired to evaluate how the school detects threats to student-athletes’ welfare and to examine the athletics culture in Evanston, Illinois, and its relationship to academics at the prestigious institution.

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald last week after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill wrote.

After the school initially suspended Fitzgerald, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested he may have been aware.

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats, has maintained he had no knowledge of the hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan, and his lawyer, Dan Webb, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

An emailed statement Wednesday from Fitzgerald’s defense team quoted Webb responding to allegations, saying: “no arguments were made that would present any substantive, detailed, factual allegations, let alone evidence, about Coach Fitzgerald’s conduct,” and that Fitzgerald’s legal team “will aggressively defend against these and any other allegations with facts and evidence.” Webb, a former U.S. attorney, has been one of the most sought-after private lawyers in the country for decades.

The former Northwestern football player, identified in the Tuesday lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Fitzgerald, Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination. The player, who was on the football team from 2018 to 2022, had his filing submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.

A second lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of another former Northwestern athlete who was on the football team during the same period, identified as John Doe 2. It named Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner James J. Phillips, Northwestern’s athletic director until 2021, as a defendant. Phillips did not immediately respond to a text request for comment.

“It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor,” said attorney Parker Stinar, adding that he expects to file several more related lawsuits.

At a Wednesday news conference, Crump and Chicago attorney Steven Levin said they have not filed a lawsuit yet on behalf of any athletes but represent 15 people and have been in touch with dozens of former athletes. Crump said the majority of those are football players.

Warren Miles Long, a running back on Northwestern’s football team starting in 2013, said players were put into a culture where sexual violence and hazing was “rampant.” He said new recruits had no sense of whether it was normal or limited to Northwestern.

Former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates is among more than 15 men and women who have retained Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law to seek damages against the school due to its hazing scandal.

“The abusive culture was especially devastating for many players of color,” Yates, who is Black, said Wednesday at a news conference.

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

“This is a civil rights issue for me,” said Crump, who said 50 former Northwestern athletes — male and female — have spoken to the law firm. “Because I think these players have the right to be respected and valued and not hazed, intimidated and retaliated.”

A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.

More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school.

The private, Big Ten institution now has another thing in common with other schools in the conference, including Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota, with a scandal tied to sexual abuse.

And, connection may be costly.

Criminal charges are also possible.

Illinois, like nearly all states in recent decades, has criminalized hazing. It is typically a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry up to one year in prison. Under Illinois law, failure of a school official to report hazing is also a crime — a misdemeanor — and can carry a maximum penalty of between six months and a year in prison.

A “hazing prevention” page on Northwestern’s website includes descriptions of Illinois hazing laws.

Yates said every member of team were victims, “no matter what our role was at the time,” and lamented the school and team’s lack of leadership.

“The university and football program let us down and that’s why we are here today,” Yates said, surrounded by some teammates, who have also retained Crump and the Levin & Perconti law firm.

In a letter to Northwestern’s faculty and staff, Schill wrote that an outside firm will be hired to evaluate how the school detects threats to student-athletes’ welfare and to examine the athletics culture in Evanston, Illinois, and its relationship to academics at the prestigious institution.

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald last week after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill wrote.

After the school initially suspended Fitzgerald, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested he may have been aware.

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats, has maintained he had no knowledge of the hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan and his lawyer, Dan Webb, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

An emailed statement Tuesday from Fitzgerald’s defense team quoted Webb, as saying, “the complaint has no validity as to Coach Fitzgerald and we will aggressively defend against these allegations with facts and evidence.” Webb, a former U.S. attorney, has been one of the most sought-after private lawyers in the country for decades.

A former Northwestern football player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Tuesday in the Cook County Court in Chicago that Fitzgerald, Northwestern University President Michael Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

The player, who was on the football team from 2018 to 2022, had his filing submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.

“It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor,” attorney Parker Stinar said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The lawsuit’s allegations include an accusation that Fitzgerald enabled a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

“This is a civil rights issue for me,” Crump said at a news conference Wednesday. “Because I think these players have the right to be respected and valued and not hazed, intimidated and retaliated.”

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.

A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.

More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school.

The private, Big Ten institution now has another thing in common with other schools in the conference, including Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota, with a scandal tied to sexual abuse.

And, connection may be costly.

Criminal charges are also possible.

Illinois, like nearly all states in recent decades, has criminalized hazing. It is typically a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry up to one year in prison. Under Illinois law, failure of a school official to report hazing is also a crime — a misdemeanor — and can carry a maximum penalty of between six months and a year in prison.

A “hazing prevention” page on Northwestern’s website includes descriptions of Illinois hazing laws.

In a letter to Northwestern’s faculty and staff, Schill wrote that an outside firm will be hired to evaluate how the school detects threats to student-athletes’ welfare and to examine the athletics culture in Evanston, Illinois, and its relationship to academics at the prestigious institution.

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald last week after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill wrote.

After the school initially suspended Fitzgerald, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested he may have been aware.

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats, has maintained he had no knowledge of the hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan and his lawyer, Dan Webb, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

An emailed statement Tuesday from Fitzgerald’s defense team quoted Webb, as saying, “the complaint has no validity as to Coach Fitzgerald and we will aggressively defend against these allegations with facts and evidence.” Webb, a former U.S. attorney, has been one of the most sought-after private lawyers in the country for decades.

A former Northwestern football player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Tuesday in the Cook County Court in Chicago that Fitzgerald, Northwestern University President Michael Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

The player, who was on the football team from 2018 to 2022, had his filing submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.

“It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor,” attorney Parker Stinar said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The lawsuit’s allegations include an accusation that Fitzgerald enabled a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

In the letter, Schill announced that the two reviews would both be undertaken with the “feedback and engagement of faculty, staff and students,” but that they will be conducted by outside groups.

“We will implement the faculty senate’s prior request that we engage an outside firm to evaluate the sufficiency of our accountability mechanism, including the Committee on Athletics and Recreation, and our ability to detect threats to the welfare of student-athletes,” he said in the letter.

Schill said that the investigations would also “examine closely the culture of Northwestern athletics, and its relationship to its academic mission.”

Earlier this week, a former Northwestern football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.

The player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Tuesday in the Cook County Court in Chicago that Fitzgerald, Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

The player, who was on the football team from 2018 to 2022, had his filing submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.

“It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor,” attorney Parker Stinar said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It wasn’t just confined to one team, like the football team. It also included a culture that was accepted and tolerated and encouraged on the baseball team and other sports teams, and also with men and women’s sports.

“So, it’s a tainted athletic department.”

Pat Fitzgerald Jul 10

Pat Fitzgerald fired by Northwestern amid fallout over hazing investigation

The lawsuit allegations include naked players in locker rooms forcing freshmen to also strip naked and then perform various acts. It also accuses Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates said the school’s policy is to not comment on the specifics of pending litigation.

“Protecting the welfare of every student at Northwestern University is central to our mission and something we approach with the utmost seriousness,” Yates said. “When the University was made aware of anonymous hazing complaints in November 2022, we acted immediately with an independent investigator to conduct a comprehensive review of the allegations. We have taken a number of subsequent actions to eliminate hazing from our football program, and we will introduce additional actions in the coming weeks.”

Fitzgerald’s agent, Bryan Harlan, declined comment and the office of Fitzgerald’s lawyer, Dan Webb, said Tuesday that Webb had no comment. Webb is a former U.S. attorney and for decades has been one of the most sought after private lawyers in the country, with a client list that includes multiple governors, Microsoft and tobacco giant Philip Morris.

A message seeking comment was left with Gragg.

More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the Wildcats.

At least eight former Northwestern football players have retained attorneys following recent revelations that led to Fitzgerald’s firing and sharp criticism of university leadership for its initial response to the allegations.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law firm announced Monday they have “uncovered a vast array of incidents of abuse in the Northwestern football program.” They also said more athletes are expected to join the legal action and it will expand beyond Northwestern football to other college athletic programs.

A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Chicago with Crump, former Northwestern athletes and attorneys from Levin & Perconti.

Crump has represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others in high-profile civil rights cases.

Stinar represented about 200 of the 1,050 people who shared in a $490 million financial settlement last year with the University of Michigan after saying they were sexually assaulted by a late sports doctor, Robert Anderson. The attorney also had clients among the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and were part of a $380 million settlement in late 2021.

“It’s disgusting that this conduct is continuing into 2022,” Stinar said. “We fully intend to hold those that were involved, that knew, that enabled, and hold the university accountable as well.”

Northwestern may eventually join a long list of American universities that have made large payouts following accusations of sexual abuse.

Fitzgerald was fired last week after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill wrote.

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats in the mid-1990s, has maintained he had no knowledge of the hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan, and Chicago defense attorney Dan Webb, who recently represented Fox News in a defamation case, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

After the school initially suspended him, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested Fitzgerald may have been aware.

“Based on the allegations that we’ve seen and the reports we’ve seen, he (Fitzgerald) knew and approved of the sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, hazing and racial discrimination,” Stinar said. “He was aware of it. It was happening under his roof. He knew what was going on and he permitted it for years upon years upon years.”

The player, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, alleged Tuesday in the Cook County Court in Chicago that Fitzgerald, Northwestern University President Michael Schill, the board of trustees and athletic director Derrick Gragg enabled and concealed sexual misconduct and racial discrimination.

The player, who was on the football team from 2018 to 2022, had his filing submitted by the Chicago-based Salvi Law Firm.

“It wasn’t just confined to one bad actor,” attorney Parker Stinar said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It wasn’t just confined to one team, like the football team. It also included a culture that was accepted and tolerated and encouraged on the baseball team and other sports teams, and also with men and women’s sports.

“So, it’s a tainted athletic department.”

Pat Fitzgerald Jul 10

Pat Fitzgerald fired by Northwestern amid fallout over hazing investigation

The lawsuit allegations include naked players in locker rooms forcing freshmen to also strip naked and then perform various acts. It also accuses Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”

Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates said the school’s policy is to not comment on the specifics of pending litigation.

“Protecting the welfare of every student at Northwestern University is central to our mission and something we approach with the utmost seriousness,” Yates said. “When the University was made aware of anonymous hazing complaints in November 2022, we acted immediately with an independent investigator to conduct a comprehensive review of the allegations. We have taken a number of subsequent actions to eliminate hazing from our football program, and we will introduce additional actions in the coming weeks.”

Fitzgerald’s agent, Bryan Harlan, declined comment and the office of Fitzgerald’s lawyer, Dan Webb, said Tuesday that Webb had no comment. Webb is a former U.S. attorney and for decades has been one of the most sought after private lawyers in the country, with a client list that includes multiple governors, Microsoft and tobacco giant Philip Morris.

A message seeking comment was left with Gragg.

More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the Wildcats.

At least eight former Northwestern football players have retained attorneys following recent revelations that led to Fitzgerald’s firing and sharp criticism of university leadership for its initial response to the allegations.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Chicago-based Levin & Perconti law firm announced Monday they have “uncovered a vast array of incidents of abuse in the Northwestern football program.” They also said more athletes are expected to join the legal action and it will expand beyond Northwestern football to other college athletic programs.

A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday morning in Chicago with Crump, former Northwestern athletes and attorneys from Levin & Perconti.

Crump has represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others in high-profile civil rights cases.

Stinar represented about 200 of the 1,050 people who shared in a $490 million financial settlement last year with the University of Michigan after saying they were sexually assaulted by a late sports doctor, Robert Anderson. The attorney also had clients among the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and were part of a $380 million settlement in late 2021.

“It’s disgusting that this conduct is continuing into 2022,” Stinar said. “We fully intend to hold those that were involved, that knew, that enabled, and hold the university accountable as well.”

Northwestern may eventually join a long list of American universities that have made large payouts following accusations of sexual abuse.

Fitzgerald was fired last week after a university investigation found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill wrote.

Fitzgerald, who led Northwestern for 17 seasons and was a star linebacker for the Wildcats in the mid-1990s, has maintained he had no knowledge of the hazing. Fitzgerald said after being fired that he was working with his agent, Bryan Harlan, and Chicago defense attorney Dan Webb, who recently represented Fox News in a defamation case, to “protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

After the school initially suspended him, The Daily Northwestern published an article including allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and abuse and suggested Fitzgerald may have been aware.

“Based on the allegations that we’ve seen and the reports we’ve seen, he (Fitzgerald) knew and approved of the sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, hazing and racial discrimination,” Stinar said. “He was aware of it. It was happening under his roof. He knew what was going on and he permitted it for years upon years upon years.”

Shortly after, Northwestern hired Brian Anderson, former White Sox center fielder, to become the new head coach.

“Love it,” Guillen said Friday on the White Sox Pregame Live show of Anderson’s hiring. “Great for him, man. I wish him the best. And I talked to him about it, I said anything he needs, I’m available to help him. It’s great news, personally, for the Guillen family.”

Anderson, 41, was drafted in the first round of the 2003 MLB amateur draft by the White Sox. He played for the Sox for four seasons between 2005-08, helping them win a World Series in 2005 under Guillen’s leadership as the manager.

He slashed .225/.288/.364 with the Sox, hitting 20 home runs and 75 RBIs during his time on the South Side.

Frank Thomas chimed in with his thoughts on Anderson’s hiring, detailing the time he spent with him in Triple-A while on a rehab assignment.

“I went down there with him, spent a month with him and really helped get him on track,” Thomas said subsequent to Guillen’s comment. “But he’s a fun kid, man. I like him a lot and he’s gonna do well.

“They’re gonna have a lot of fun. He’s a fun teammate.”

Click here to follow the White Sox Talk Podcast.

“The opportunity to lead this team at this crucial moment in its history is not something I take lightly, and I’m grateful for the trust placed in me by Dr. Gragg and Northwestern leadership,” Braun said in a release from Northwestern. “Our focus today and every day moving forward is on supporting these men, many of whom have only been on campus for several weeks, in their preparation for the 2023 football season and the 2023-24 academic year.”

Braun was named the defensive coordinator at Northwestern in Jan. 2023 after a successful stint with North Dakota State, where he was named FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2021.

The school finished as the top-ranked scoring defense in the FCS twice under his leadership, and won national titles in 2019 and 2021.

Fitzgerald was fired as head coach in the ongoing aftermath of a hazing investigation that revealed harrowing allegations of sexual abuse and mistreatment within the program.

Originally, Fitzgerald was suspended for two weeks, but as new revelations from the report came to light, the school decided to part ways with him on Monday.

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“Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest-level, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive,” Athletic Director Dr. Derrick Gragg said in a statement. “This has been an ongoing situation and many factors were considered before reaching this resolution.”

Danny Parkins of 670 the Score, who originally broke the story of the investigation into the baseball program, was first to report Foster’s firing. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN corroborated the report a short time later.

Rittenberg also reported that the “separation process” began earlier, and likely would have occurred sooner had it not been for the firing of Pat Fitzgerald, who was relieved of his duties

The school says that former Chicago White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson, who was serving as an assistant on Foster’s staff, will take over as coach.

According to Parkins’ Monday reports, Foster was the target of a human resources investigation after multiple players and staffers levied complaints about his conduct as the team’s baseball coach.

The investigation, according to Parkins, found that Foster “engaged in bullying and abusive behavior,” and “made inappropriate comments regarding a female staff member.”

Foster was also investigated for making comments that were “racially insensitive,” and that he “allegedly discouraged members of the team from seeking medical attention for their injuries,” according to the report.

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Ramon Diaz, who played on the university’s football team from 2005 to 2009, said in the end, he felt alienated by the program.

“I didn’t even walk in my graduation, because I wanted to leave Evanston as quickly as I could,” he said.

Diaz told NBC Chicago’s Natalie Martinez that he was the first natural born citizen in his family and that locker room jabs were common on Fitzgerald’s watch.

“Living on dirt floors and living here now, I should know better, I don’t have to keep a dirty floor underneath me…That to this day I’m still talking to my therapist about,” he said, detailing the claims.

Diaz said for years he fought to get those memories out of his head.

“My dad grew up only with dirt floors,” he explained. “So the idea to insult that to make it a point of a joke where I was surrounded by white athletes and no one said anything is almost mocking my father and mother who didn’t have the privileges that I have now.”

The former team member said he and his roommate, who was Black, somehow looked past it all.

“He would often say to me ‘I want to fit in so I can play.’ I refused to do that,” Diaz said. “And I paid dearly for that.”

Diaz told NBC Chicago that he removed his belongings from the locker room when no one else was there, and that move was “was fairly indicative” of his experience on the team.

“I never thought my career would end that way, when I spent most of my time training for those four years, to feel like it was taken from me through an oppressive culture,” he said.

Northwestern on Monday afternoon relieved head football coach Pat Fitzgerald of his duties amid the continuing fallout from an investigation into hazing at the school.

In a letter to the school, President Michael Schill confirmed that he had spoken to Fitzgerald and informed him of the decision.

“The decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program,” Schill said. “Ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.”

Fitzgerald had served as Northwestern’s coach since 2006, compiling a 110-101 record and leading the team to 10 bowl games.

The decision comes in the wake of a scandal involving allegations of hazing in the football program. Fitzgerald had been suspended for two weeks on Friday, but as new revelations came to light, including interviews with players who had witnessed or been the subject of the alleged hazing, the school said it was reevaluating the situation.

In the letter, President Michael Schill said, in part, “the decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program,” adding the decision to suspend Fitzgerald was “mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.”

Fitzgerald had been suspended for two weeks on Friday, but as new revelations came to light, including interviews with players who had witnessed or been the subject of the alleged hazing, the school said it was reevaluating the situation.

Read Schill’s complete message to the Northwestern community below:

“Dear Northwestern Community:

This afternoon, I informed Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald that he was being relieved of his duties effective immediately. 

The decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program. Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a great deal of time in thought and in discussions with people who love our University — the Chair and members of our Board of Trustees, faculty leadership, students, alumni and Coach Fitzgerald himself. I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from those I know, and those I don’t, sharing their thoughts. While I am appreciative of the feedback and considered it in my decision-making, ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.

While the independent investigative report will remain confidential, it is important for our community to know the facts. 

• During the investigation, eleven current or former football student-athletes acknowledged that hazing has been ongoing within the football program. In new media reporting today, still more former Northwestern football student-athletes confirmed that hazing was systemic dating back many years. This has never been about one former student-athlete and his motives; this is much bigger than that.
• The hazing included forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature, in clear violation of Northwestern policies and values. I am grateful that — to my knowledge — no student suffered physical injury as a result of these behaviors.
• While some student-athletes believed the hazing was in jest and not harmful, others viewed it as causing significant harm with long-term consequences.
• 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.   
• As the entire six-month independent investigation was confidential, I only recently learned many of the details, including the complainant’s identity. I spoke with his parents on Friday and the student on Sunday.

Since Friday, I have kept going back to what we should reasonably expect from our head coaches, our faculty and our campus leaders. And that is what led me to make this decision. The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team. The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others. 

There is no doubt that Coach Fitzgerald has had a tremendous impact on our institution, well beyond the football field. For nearly thirty years, he has given himself to Northwestern as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, and he has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. His players have almost all graduated and represented the University with distinction. Over the last two days, I have received hundreds and hundreds of emails describing how he has transformed the lives of current and former student-athletes. However, as much as Coach Fitzgerald has meant to our institution and our student-athletes, we have an obligation — in fact a responsibility — to live by our values, even when it means making difficult and painful decisions such as this one. We must move forward.  

I recognize that my decision will not be universally applauded, and there will be those in our community who may vehemently disagree with it. Ultimately, I am charged with acting in the best interests of the entire University, and this decision is reflective of that. The damage done to our institution is significant, as is the harm to some of our students. 

In the days ahead, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Derrick Gragg will announce the leadership for this upcoming football season, and I encourage all of you to rally around the young men in our football program as they take the field this fall. As always, the welfare of our students is paramount and we will move forward expeditiously to make the reforms I outlined in my letter, dated July 8.

Over my ten months serving as your President, I have found the Northwestern University community to be proud, to be passionate, to be supportive, and yes, to be demanding. While today is a difficult day, I take solace in knowing that what we stand for endures. Finally, I am grateful for the partnership and support of the Board of Trustees and Chair Peter Barris.“

Pat Fitzgerald Jul 10

Pat Fitzgerald fired by Northwestern amid fallout over hazing investigation

Northwestern University Jul 9

Northwestern ‘may have erred' in only giving Pat Fitzgerald two-week suspension: president

Northwestern University Jul 10

Northwestern baseball coach ‘engaged in bullying and abusive behavior,' reports say

Those reports were released Monday, with 670 the Score radio host Danny Parkins and the Chicago Tribune both releasing details of a human resources investigation that was undertaken in late 2022 after multiple players and staffers levied complaints about Foster’s conduct.

According to both Parkins and the Tribune, Foster was found in the investigation to have “engaged in bullying and abusive behavior” and “made an inappropriate comment regarding a female staff member.”

Parkins’ reporting also indicates that Foster was accused of making comments that were “racially insensitive” and that he allegedly “discouraged members of the team from seeking medical attention for their injuries.”

The university’s report indicated that it did not find enough corroborating evidence to support those allegations, according to Parkins, but the investigation did not interview players regarding the claims.

Players also reported being subjected to “punishment runs” of at least two and a half hours, according to Parkins.

These allegations follow the death of a Rhode Island baseball player Joseph Ciancola, who collapsed during a team workout in 2011.

Ciancola’s mother told reporters that her son had died of heat stroke and that his body temperature spiked to 107 degrees following the workout, which occurred while Foster was the head coach at the school.

She later sued the school and a settlement was reached in the case in 2016.

In a statement made to Parkins, Foster said that the allegations stemmed from “players (not being) good enough, and just making excuses or being disgruntled.”

Parkins reported that Foster called the racism allegations “ridiculous,” and he also denied trying to dissuade players from seeking medical treatment.

Finally, Foster said that the reporting felt like “piling on because of what’s happening with the football program,” according to Parkins’ account of the conversation.

Foster declined comment in the Tribune’s story, citing the school’s communications policy.

These new allegations come as the football program copes with the fallout from a hazing investigation that led to the suspension of head coach Pat Fitzgerald, with investigators finding corroborating evidence of the claims while saying that Fitzgerald and the team’s coaching staff had “significant opportunities” to discover the hazing practices.

The report’s executive summary, released by the school Friday, found that Fitzgerald and the staff likely were not aware of the issues.

The school said Friday that Fitzgerald, a onetime star player and now the Wildcats’ winningest coach, was suspended after an investigation led by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff did not find “sufficient” evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing — though there were “significant opportunities” to find out about it.

The next day, though, The Daily Northwestern published a story detailing allegations from a former player who described specific instances of hazing and sexual abuse. The report also indicated that Fitzgerald “may have known that hazing took place.”

That led Northwestern President Michael Schill to write an open letter to the university community in which he acknowledged focusing “too much on what the report concluded (Fitzgerald) didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known.” Schill went on to say that he planned to speak with university leadership, members of the board of trustees and leaders of the faculty senate to determine his next steps, which could include additional punishment for Fitzgerald and his staff.

“As the head coach of one of our athletics programs,” Schill wrote, “Coach Fitzgerald is not only responsible for what happens within the program but also must take great care to uphold our institutional commitment to the student experience and our priority to ensure all students — undergraduate and graduate — can thrive during their time at Northwestern.

MORE: Read the full letter in response to the allegations from the Northwestern Football team here

“He failed to uphold that commitment,” Schill added, “and I failed to sufficiently consider that failure in levying a sanction.”

A university spokesman declined to provide any update Sunday on Schill’s plans or discussions that may have occurred.

When the allegations began

The school first learned of the hazing allegations in late 2022, and the former player who brought the complaint spoke to investigators earlier this year as part of a six-month probe launched by the university. The report concluded the claims could be “largely supported by the evidence” but could not determine whether the coaching staff was aware of the incidents.

Along with Fitzgerald’s two-week suspension, the university said preseason football camps in Wisconsin would be discontinued; the locker room would be monitored by an official outside the purview of the coaching staff; the school would create an online tool for anonymously reporting hazing; coaches, staff and athletes would be required to take anti-hazing training; and the university would form a working group to report on policy, culture, training and enforcement.

PODCAST: How Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s suspension could impact team culture

“We respect the courage of the individuals who came forward to make us aware of the issue, and we vow to do our part to create a more positive environment moving forward,” Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg said in a statement Friday.

Northwestern is only the latest school forced to confront hazing within its athletic programs.

Last month, two former New Mexico State basketball players agreed to an $8 million settlement with the university after filing a lawsuit in April alleging they were sexually assaulted by teammates. The lawsuit was filed two months after one of the players brought his allegations to campus police, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the remainder of the season.

Then-Aggies coach Greg Heiar, who was fired in February, was recently hired to coach Mineral Area College in Missouri.

Also last month, Harvard women’s hockey coach Katey Stone announced her retirement months after The Boston Globe published a report detailing multiple instances of verbal abuse, hazing and pressure to return prematurely from injuries. Stone had led the Crimson for nearly three decades and made four national title games while winning the 1999 championship.

Fitzgerald’s history with Northwestern

Fitzgerald, who starred for Northwestern in the 1990s and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, was hired to coach his alma mater in 2006 after the sudden death of then-coach Randy Walker. Fitzgerald has led the Wildcats to 110 wins over 17 seasons, including 10 trips to the bowl games, and five times they have finished in the final AP Top 25 poll.

Many current and former players rushed to Fitzgerald’s defense after suspension was announced.

Wildcats quarterback Ryan Hilinski tweeted: “When it comes to being a man I admire and respect, Coach Fitz has always been that man for me in my time at Northwestern! He always offers an ear when I need to talk and a hand whenever I need help up! I’ve got his back like he always has had ours.”

Former quarterback Trevor Semien, now with the Cincinnati Bengals, tweeted: “Fitz emphasized integrity, sacrificing for others, respect, and accountability. These are values that I strive to uphold now as a husband and father. While I won’t speak for anyone else, I can say that my experience at NU did not reflect what I read in the Daily Northwestern.”

A letter circulated on social media, signed by “The ENTIRE Northwestern Football Team” but without disclosing an authors, said that “throughout his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has consistently prioritized the well-being and development of his players, and we stand behind him in his unwavering commitment to our team.”

The Wildcats, who went 1-11 last season, open the coming season Sept. 3 at Rutgers.

Schill says that Fitzgerald “failed to uphold” his commitment to players and students, and that the university’s president also failed in “sufficiently considering that failure” when suspending Fitzgerald for two weeks.

“Upon reflection, I believe I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald,” Schill said. “Coach Fitzgerald is not only responsible for what happens within the program but also must take great care to uphold our institutional commitment to the student experience and our priority to ensure all students — undergraduate and graduate — can thrive during their time at Northwestern.

“Clearly, he failed to uphold that commitment, and I failed to sufficiently consider that failure in levying a suspension,” he added.

Schill says he will discuss next steps with university leadership, the school’s board of trustees and the faculty senate.

On Friday, the university released an executive summary of an independent investigation into allegations of hazing within the Northwestern football program. That summary did not detail where the hazing took place, but concluded that there was “evidence to corroborate claims” of hazing, and that the football team’s coaching staff may not have known about the situation, but that “there had been opportunities for them to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

Following the release of that summary, the school announced that Fitzgerald would be suspended for two weeks, effective immediately.

Fitzgerald said in a statement issued Friday that was he was “not aware of the alleged incidents.”

“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Although I was not aware of the alleged incidents, I have spoken to university officials, and they informed me of a two-week suspension, effective immediately. Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University. We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

A new phase of the story began Saturday when The Daily Northwestern, the university’s student newspaper, published a report in which a former football player told the publication that instances of sexual assault were among the hazing conduct allegations being investigated by the university.

Schill says he attempted to reach out to the player after learning his identity this weekend, and wanted to “offer his apologies” directly.

Following those new revelations, embers of Northwestern University’s football team have released a statement regarding the situation, expressing their support for Fitzgerald and denying wrongdoing.

NBC Chicago’s Mike Berman spoke with a current Wildcats player who shared the letter, which the individual claims was signed by the entire team and is being presented as a “unified group.” The player who spoke to NBC Chicago asked to remain anonymous.

In the letter addressed to the Northwestern community, the players, in part, called the recent allegations that have been brought forth “exaggerated and twisted.”

“These fabrications have been made with the intention of harming our program and tarnish the reputation of our dedicated players and coaching staff,” they stated, in part. “We firmly deny the validity of these accusations and stand united in our assertion that they do not reflect the true character of the team.”

The players wrote in defense of Fitzgerald, alleging he was “not involved in any of the alleged incidents in any way, shape or form.”

The investigation was launched in December 2022 and led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff, the former inspector general of Illinois, the school said. It included interviews with current and former players, coaches and staff, as well as a review of thousands of documents.

The university said the investigation did not find evidence that coach staff knew about the hazing, but noted “investigators said that there had been opportunities for them to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

“Hazing in any form is unacceptable and goes against our core values at Northwestern, where we strive to make the University a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students,” said university President Michael Schill. “Our athletics programs are held to the highest standards, and in this case, we failed to meet them. I expect that today’s actions will prevent this from ever happening again.”

The full list of measures the university said it plans to take includes:

• Head coach Fitzgerald has been placed on a two-week suspension without pay, beginning immediately.
• Football practices at “Camp Kenosha” in Wisconsin will be permanently discontinued.
• The University will require monitoring of the football locker room by someone who doesn’t report to the football coaching staff.
• The University will create an online reporting tool specifically for student athletes to anonymously report incidents of potential hazing or hazing-related concerns.
• The University will provide and require annual mandatory anti-hazing training for all coaches, staff members and student-athletes, with an emphasis on reporting options, the duties to report, discipline for future violations and the fact that hazing is not acceptable regardless of consent.
• The University will form an internal working group comprising Northwestern leaders across various disciplines to create a report on policy development, organizational culture, communication, training and enforcement. The group will solicit input from external experts and will make their report open to the entire community.
• Northwestern Athletics will better utilize the annual student-athlete-survey process to ensure coaches are aware of and act on student concerns.
• Northwestern Athletics will work with the NCAA and Big Ten Conference to ensure all processes and rules are followed.

The complete letter, sent by a Northwestern player to NBC Chicago, can be found here.

NBC Chicago’s Mike Berman spoke with a current Wildcats player who shared the letter, which the individual claims was signed by the entire team and is being presented as a “unified group.” The player who spoke to NBC Chicago asked to remain anonymous.

In the letter addressed to the Northwestern community, the players, in part, called the recent allegations that have been brought forth “exaggerated and twisted.”

“These fabrications have been made with the intention of harming our program and tarnish the reputation of our dedicated players and coaching staff,” they stated, in part. “We firmly deny the validity of these accusations and stand united in our assertion that they do not reflect the true character of the team.”

In regard to the hazing claims, the team members said the university “took the matter seriously and engaged in comprehensive interviews with current and former players and staff.”

“Following this thorough examination, outside counsel in collaboration with the university reached its own conclusions, which we trust were based on a fair and unbiased evaluation of the facts,” the team members stated.

The players wrote in defense of Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald, alleging he was “not involved in any of the alleged incidents in any way, shape or form.”

“Coach Fitzgerald had no knowledge of these allegations until they were brought to his attention during the investigation,” the players stated, in part. “Throughout his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has consistently prioritized the well-being and development of his players, and we stand behind him in his unwavering commitment to our team.”

On Friday, Northwestern University announced that Fitzgerald would be issued a two-week, no-pay suspension on the heels of a months-long investigation into allegations of hazing in the football program. The Daily Northwestern, the university’s student newspaper, published a report Saturday, in which a former football player told the publication that instances of sexual assault were among the hazing conduct allegations being investigated by the university.

Responding to a request for comment from NBC Chicago on Saturday afternoon, Northwestern University’s Vice President for Global Marketing and Communications Jon Yates offered the following statement:

“Our first priority is to support and protect our students, including the young man who brought these matters to our attention and all student-athletes who had the courage to come forward in this independent investigation,” the statement read. “That is why the University immediately opened this investigation upon learning of the allegations and why we took decisive action once we ascertained the facts. Out of respect for the privacy of our student-athletes, we will not comment about the findings beyond what we stated in the release and executive summary of the investigation.”

The investigation was launched in December 2022 and led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff, the former inspector general of Illinois, the school said. It included interviews with current and former players, coaches and staff, as well as a review of thousands of documents.

Fitzgerald said in a statement issued Friday that was he was “not aware of the alleged incidents.”

“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Although I was not aware of the alleged incidents, I have spoken to university officials, and they informed me of a two-week suspension, effective immediately. Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University. We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

The university said the investigation did not find evidence that coach staff knew about the hazing, but noted “investigators said that there had been opportunities for them to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

“Hazing in any form is unacceptable and goes against our core values at Northwestern, where we strive to make the University a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students,” said university President Michael Schill. “Our athletics programs are held to the highest standards, and in this case, we failed to meet them. I expect that today’s actions will prevent this from ever happening again.”

The full list of measures the university said it plans to take includes:

• Head coach Fitzgerald has been placed on a two-week suspension without pay, beginning immediately.
• Football practices at “Camp Kenosha” in Wisconsin will be permanently discontinued.
• The University will require monitoring of the football locker room by someone who doesn’t report to the football coaching staff.
• The University will create an online reporting tool specifically for student athletes to anonymously report incidents of potential hazing or hazing-related concerns.
• The University will provide and require annual mandatory anti-hazing training for all coaches, staff members and student-athletes, with an emphasis on reporting options, the duties to report, discipline for future violations and the fact that hazing is not acceptable regardless of consent.
• The University will form an internal working group comprising Northwestern leaders across various disciplines to create a report on policy development, organizational culture, communication, training and enforcement. The group will solicit input from external experts and will make their report open to the entire community.
• Northwestern Athletics will better utilize the annual student-athlete-survey process to ensure coaches are aware of and act on student concerns.
• Northwestern Athletics will work with the NCAA and Big Ten Conference to ensure all processes and rules are followed.

The complete letter, sent by a Northwestern player to NBC Chicago, can be found here.

A former Northwestern University football player told the school’s student newspaper that instances of sexual assault were among the hazing conduct allegations being investigated by the university, The Daily Northwestern wrote in a report published Saturday.

The player, who spoke to the newspaper anonymously, said he reported his experiences to the university late last fall and alleged a specific hazing practice called “running” took place. He said “running” involved a group of eight to 10 upperclassmen dressed in “Purge-like” masks who would “dry-hump” a team member, typically a freshman, in a dark room.

The player also told The Daily Northwestern that head coach Pat Fitzgerald may have known the hazing was taking place.

On Friday, Northwestern University announced that Fitzgerald would be issued a two-week, no-pay suspension on the heels of a months-long investigation into allegations of hazing in the football program.

Responding to a request for comment from NBC Chicago, Northwestern University’s Vice President for Global Marketing and Communications Jon Yates offered the following statement:

“Our first priority is to support and protect our students, including the young man who brought these matters to our attention and all student-athletes who had the courage to come forward in this independent investigation,” the statement read. “That is why the University immediately opened this investigation upon learning of the allegations and why we took decisive action once we ascertained the facts. Out of respect for the privacy of our student-athletes, we will not comment about the findings beyond what we stated in the release and executive summary of the investigation.”

The investigation was launched in December 2022 and led by Maggie Hickey of ArentFox Schiff, the former inspector general of Illinois, the school said. It included interviews with current and former players, coaches and staff, as well as a review of thousands of documents.

Fitzgerald said in a statement issued Friday that was he was “not aware of the alleged incidents.”

“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football team,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Although I was not aware of the alleged incidents, I have spoken to university officials, and they informed me of a two-week suspension, effective immediately. Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our University. We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

According to the player who spoke to The Daily Northwestern, the “running” practice was particularly prevalent during training camp, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas. The two holidays were referred to as “Runsgiving” and “Runsmas” by members of the team, the player said, according to the report.

The player said that teammates would identify players for “running” by clapping their hands above their head around the player being targeted, a practice known as the “Shrek clap,” according to the report.

The player further alleged that Fitzgerald made the clapping signal during practices when players, particularly freshmen, made mistakes, according to the report.

The Daily Northwestern reported that the whistleblower detailed other specific hazing practices, alleging that he witnessed instances of freshman team members being forced to strip naked and perform various acts, such as bear crawling and sling-shotting themselves across the room with exercise bands.

According to The Daily Northwestern, one player described an annual hazing tradition that players dubbed “the carwash,” alleging that players would stand naked at the entrance of the showers and spin around, forcing those entering to likely make incidental contact with them.

The player also alleged that teammates set up a hose they connected to the shower to spray people, which the player described to The Daily Northwestern as “extremely painful.”

Another hazing practice, a naked center-quarterback exchange, was described by the player to The Daily Northwestern.

The player said he witnessed and was forced to participate in the hazing, in which a freshman quarterback would be forced to take an under-center snap while both players were naked.

According to The Daily Northwestern, the player said that in one instance, a teammate was “very vocally adamant” about not wanting to participate in exchange.

In response, older players threatened to “run him,” while saying that refusing to participate wasn’t an option, the report detailed.

Another hazing practice detailed in The Daily Northwestern report was known as the “Gatorade shake challenge,” in which players were forced to drink as many Gatorade shakes as possible in a 10-minute period.

One player who spoke to The Daily Northwestern said that a friend of his who was forced to participate in the challenge felt sick and had trouble eating for several days afterwards.

The player also said he observed teammates deal with significant mental health challenges after enduring the hazing, telling The Daily Northwestern that one friend admitted he had “suicidal tendencies.”

The investigation from ArentFox Schiff found that participation or knowledge in the hazing activities present on the team were widespread among the players.

“Hickey’s investigation found that while current and former players varied on their perspectives about the conduct, the whistleblower’s claims were largely supported by the evidence,” the university said in a statement.

The university said the investigation did not find evidence that coach staff knew about the hazing, but noted “investigators said that there had been opportunities for them to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

“Hazing in any form is unacceptable and goes against our core values at Northwestern, where we strive to make the University a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students,” said university President Michael Schill. “Our athletics programs are held to the highest standards, and in this case, we failed to meet them. I expect that today’s actions will prevent this from ever happening again.”

The full list of measures the university said it plans to take includes:

• Head coach Fitzgerald has been placed on a two-week suspension without pay, beginning immediately.
• Football practices at “Camp Kenosha” in Wisconsin will be permanently discontinued.
• The University will require monitoring of the football locker room by someone who doesn’t report to the football coaching staff.
• The University will create an online reporting tool specifically for student athletes to anonymously report incidents of potential hazing or hazing-related concerns.
• The University will provide and require annual mandatory anti-hazing training for all coaches, staff members and student-athletes, with an emphasis on reporting options, the duties to report, discipline for future violations and the fact that hazing is not acceptable regardless of consent.
• The University will form an internal working group comprising Northwestern leaders across various disciplines to create a report on policy development, organizational culture, communication, training and enforcement. The group will solicit input from external experts and will make their report open to the entire community.
• Northwestern Athletics will better utilize the annual student-athlete-survey process to ensure coaches are aware of and act on student concerns.
• Northwestern Athletics will work with the NCAA and Big Ten Conference to ensure all processes and rules are followed.