Northwestern parts ways with Pat Fitzgerald in wake of hazing allegations

Northwestern has parted ways with head coach Pat Fitzgerald, college football reporter Matt Fortuna first reported Monday. The decision comes in the wake of hazing allegations within the program that saw Fitzgerald receive a two-week suspension.

Northwestern’s staff got the news via Zoom Monday evening, On3’s Matt Zenitz reported.

Fitzgerald was the head coach at his alma mater for 17 years, taking over after the sudden death of former coach Randy Walker in 2006. A former Northwestern linebacker and College Football Hall of Famer, Fitzgerald totaled a 110-101 record in his time at the helm, including a 65-76 mark in Big Ten play.

In January, Northwestern launched an investigation into the football program after receiving allegations of hazing. On July 7, Fitzgerald received a two-week suspension without pay as a result of the investigation even though the investigation “did not discover sufficient evidence to believe that coaching staff knew about the ongoing hazing conduct.”

The Wildcats also had to permanently halt their “Camp Kenosha” practices in Wisconsin. Additionally, the university said it will require someone who doesn’t report to the football coaching staff to monitor the locker room.

Fitzgerald released a statement on the matter after he received his suspension, saying he had no prior knowledge of the allegations and expressing his disappointment.

“Northwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our university,” Fitzgerald said in his statement. “We hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

One day after the punishments came down, The Daily Northwestern reported some disturbing new details of the hazing allegations. The reporters spoke with an anonymous player about the situation, and the university later released a statement saying it wouldn’t comment beyond the executive summary.

“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, via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “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.”

Northwestern then reversed course on July 9, digging deeper into the situation while reconsidered the originally announced punishment for Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald’s tenure in Evanston was up-and-down. It started with a 4-8 record in his first year in 2006, but he had Northwestern in a bowl game by 2008. All told, the Wildcats played in 10 bowl games under Fitzgerald and made their first-ever Big Ten Championship appearance in 2020.

That season, the Wildcats won the Big Ten West before falling to Ohio State in the title game. Still, they played in the Citrus Bowl, where they defeated Auburn.

In the two years after the Big Ten Championship appearance, though, it was a rough go for Northwestern. The Wildcats went 3-9 in 2021 and just 1-11 in 2022 after defeating Nebraska in Ireland. That marked Northwestern’s third losing record in four years after four straight years over .500.