A Pennsylvania judge ruled Friday that a criminal case stemming from the 2024 death of an 18-year-old Bucknell University football player can move forward against one of his former coaches.
Mark Kulbis, a former Bucknell strength and conditioning coach, will face trial on felony aggravated hazing charges as well as misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and hazing in connection with the death of Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr.
“This was an important step in the prosecution process and in our continued pursuit of justice for a young man who died tragically due to the defendant’s conduct,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement released by his department.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Jaime Keating is leading the prosecution. Kulbis has denied responsibility through his lawyer.
Dickey was a freshman in July 2024 when, according to the attorney general’s office, Kulbis instructed him and other football players to complete 100 “up-downs,” also known as burpees, along with full-body plank exercises. Dickey had sickle-cell trait, a condition that can heighten the risk of severe injury or death during extreme physical exertion.
“We’re at the point where we’re just glad that someone is being held responsible for our son’s death,” Calvin Dickey Sr. of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, told The Associated Press by phone after charges were filed in July. “We just want to see the process through, and we’re going to leave it to the attorney general to continue following the evidence.”
Former Bucknell assistant coach Mark Kulbis will stand trial on felony aggravated hazing and misdemeanor charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and hazing.
CJ Dickey Jr. (right) is shown at Bucknell, where he began his college football career in 2024.
“While the death of Calvin Dickey is tragic, Mark Kulbis did not contribute to it and is not responsible for it,” Kulbis’ attorney, Barbara Zemlock, said in a written statement. “The strength and conditioning program that was implemented was appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received, and with applicable standards.”
Sickle-cell trait is identified through a blood test and generally does not interfere with everyday life. However, intense exercise, dehydration or high temperatures can contribute to reduced blood flow and muscle breakdown. In extremely rare cases, those complications can lead to collapse and death.
Following other deaths involving athletes with sickle-cell trait, the NCAA began requiring new Division I athletes to be screened for the condition in 2010. The organization also instructed coaches to help affected athletes gradually increase workout intensity and receive sufficient rest and recovery time.
Dickey stood 6 feet 5 inches (195 centimeters) tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds (136 kilograms). His parents said he grew up playing multiple sports before deciding in high school to concentrate on football. He played both offensive and defensive line, positions that often kept him on the field for most of a game.
In a federal lawsuit filed against Bucknell last year, Dickey’s parents said they did not learn that their son had sickle-cell trait until he completed a required screening several weeks before training camp. Calvin Dickey Sr. said an offensive line coach assured him the day before camp began that his son would be protected.
Dickey Jr. is pictured on Bucknell’s Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, campus after enrolling at the university.
The lawsuit alleges that Dickey began struggling and eventually collapsed while performing exercises Kulbis had assigned as punishment for players who failed to execute drills correctly.
“Upon information and belief, the up-downs were intended to serve as a punishment for all or some of the Bucknell freshman football players, including CJ,” the lawsuit stated, according to a copy obtained by Our News Outlet.
Dickey was taken to a hospital, where he died two days later.
The federal complaint also claims Bucknell was not adequately prepared to respond to the medical emergency.
“Although the NCAA requires college sports facilities to have Emergency Action Plans (‘EAPs’) designed to respond to emergencies such as the incident involving CJ, and requires that the EAPs be rehearsed by all coaches, trainers, and university employees, Defendant Bucknell did not have the required EAPs and therefore could not and had not rehearsed the EAPs,” the complaint said.
Bucknell has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
‘The death of a student is always a tragic loss,’ Bucknell said in an April 2025 statement. ‘While the University will not comment on pending litigation, we again extend heartfelt sympathies to CJ’s family, and we will continue to focus on our most important priority — the health and safety of all Bucknell students.’
While it is rare for coaches to be charged criminally in cases where athletes collapse and die, there are several examples.
Calvin Dickey Jr., center, poses for a photo with his father, Calvin Dickey Sr., and mother, Nicole Dickey, in Tampa on March 31, 2024. The family is currently suing Bucknell
In Georgia, a girls basketball coach and an assistant coach were charged with murder after 16-year-old Imani Bell suffered heat stroke and died in 2019 during a training session that was held outdoors despite a heat advisory being in effect. That case remains pending. The school district settled the family’s lawsuit for $10 million and agreed to rename the gym in her honor.
In 2009, a former Kentucky high school football coach was acquitted of reckless homicide and endangerment charges in the heatstroke death of 15-year-old Max Gilpin. Defense attorneys argued that Gilpin’s medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had caused him to overheat.
Dickey Sr. and his wife, Nicole Dickey, said their son loved playing football, but he planned to use his scholarship to Bucknell to receive an education that would eventually help him work in pharmacy. He became enamored of the field after speaking to a family friend who worked as a hospital pharmacist, they said.
Since his death, they have channeled their grief into a foundation that helps raise awareness about sickle cell trait in athletes and promotes the health of student-athletes. It provides scholarships and hosts a program for football linemen called ’50 Cal Big Man Camp,’ after the number he wore.
‘Those are the kind of things right now that bring a smile to my face and touch my heart,’ Nicole Dickey told The Associated Press in July. ‘We want to protect the next generation and share what we’ve learned.’
