He was elevated to the head coaching position in June 2006 following the death of Randy Walker. He returned to his alma mater as a linebacker coach and recruiting coordinator in 2001, according to The Daily Northwestern. Northwestern won Big Ten West division titles under Fitzgerald in 20. The team was 5-5 in bowl games under Fitzgerald but had won their last four postseason appearances, most recently at the Citrus Bowl during the 2020 season. Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to 10-3 seasons three times, in 2012, 20. Staples believes the former Michigan star can take the Hawkeyes offense from anemic to competitive in 2023. Northwestern was coming off a 1-11 season in 2022, according to. “We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.” “Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our university,” Fitzgerald said. He helped the team to a 10-1 record in 1995 and an appearance in the 1996 Rose Bowl, according to the newspaper.įitzgerald said in a statement on Friday that he was “very disappointed” to hear about the hazing allegations, adding that he had no prior knowledge of the incidents, ESPN reported. “I am grateful that - to my knowledge - no student suffered physical injury as a result of these behaviors,” Schill wrote.įitzgerald, a Northwestern alumnus, played linebacker for the Wildcats from 1993 to 1995, according to The Daily Northwestern. He said the hazing included “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature,” Schill added that 11 current or former football athletes acknowledged that hazing “has been ongoing” within the football program. What Schill doesn’t effectively explain is why these investigation findings equaled a two-week suspension on Friday and a firing on Monday. This is from Northwestern president Michael Schill’s letter explaining his firing of Pat Fitzgerald. I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from those I know, and those I don’t, sharing their thoughts. “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. “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 wrote. Schill said that Fitzgerald had been relieved of his duties “immediately.” In a letter released on Monday, Northwestern President Michael H. The suspension was announced after a six-month, university-commissioned probe into the allegations that were made by the anonymous whistleblower, WGN-TV reported. BREAKING: A hazing scandal surrounding Northwestern University’s football team has led to the ouster of its longtime head coach.
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