In Evanston, Illinois, attorneys for former head football coach of Northwestern University, Pat Fitzgerald, have confirmed reaching a settlement with the institution.
Fitzgerald was fired in July of 2023 after a hazing scandal in the football program.
The ex-coach expressed, “The rapid judgment by the media in July 2023, and the claims suggesting my knowledge or involvement in hazing, are unfounded. These accusations have brought significant stress, embarrassment, and damage to the reputation of me, my wife, and my three sons over the past two years. Although I assert that Northwestern lacked valid grounds to terminate my employment under my contract terms, I have prioritized resolving this issue to alleviate my family’s burden from ongoing litigation. Thus, Northwestern and I have agreed to a settlement that meets my satisfaction.
SEE ALSO: Northwestern University releases report on investigation into alleged hazing
Northwestern terminated Fitzgerald in July 2023 after 17 years with the team due to a hazing controversy, sparking lawsuits across various sports involving allegations of sexual misconduct by teammates and racially offensive remarks and actions by the coaching staff.
Initially, Fitzgerald faced suspension following a probe led by attorney Maggie Hickey of the law firm ArentFox Schiff. The investigation did not present “sufficient” evidence of the coaching staff’s awareness of hazing activities but highlighted “significant opportunities” where they could have learned of the incidents.
A spokesperson for Northwestern University stated, “Today, Northwestern University and former Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald have settled the lawsuit filed by Coach Fitzgerald regarding his dismissal in July 2023.
“The parties are not disclosing the specific terms of the settlement.
“Northwestern’s foremost commitment is ensuring the health and safety of its community members, including student-athletes. To prevent future hazing, the University has implemented new training programs alongside improved feedback and reporting measures.
“While the litigation brought to light highly inappropriate conduct in the football program and the harm it caused, the evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing. Moreover, when presented with the details of the conduct, he was incredibly upset and saddened by the negative impact this conduct had on players within the program.
“Northwestern appreciates Coach Fitzgerald’s 26 years as a Northwestern player and coach. Northwestern is proud of Coach Fitzgerald’s team’s success on the field as well as its success in the classroom. Northwestern football had the highest graduation rate of any Division 1 football program from 2016-2022.“
Northwestern wishes Coach Fitzgerald the best in resuming his football career.
Full statement by Fitzgerald:
“I have agreed to a settlement that resolves my breach of contract, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims against Northwestern University and its President.
“For the past two years, I have engaged in a process of extensive fact and expert discovery, which showed what I have known and said all along-that I had no knowledge of hazing ever occurring in the Northwestern football program, and that I never directed or encouraged hazing in any way.
“Through discovery, I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern. I am extremely disappointed that members of the team engaged in this behavior and that no one reported it to me, so that I could have alerted Northwestern’s Athletic Department and administrators, stopped the inappropriate behavior, and taken every necessary step to protect Northwestern’s student athletes. In July of 2023, when Northwestern first summarized to me the hazing conduct investigated by Maggie Hickey, I was eager to address the misconduct with the team and put an end to any improper behavior, just like I had in every other facet of my work during my 17 years as Northwestern’s head football coach.
“The rush to judgment in the media in July of 2023 and the reports that suggested I knew about and directed hazing are false and have caused me, my wife, and my three sons great stress, embarrassment, and reputational harm in the last two years. Though I maintain Northwestern had no legal basis to terminate my employment for cause under the terms of my Employment Agreement, in the interest of resolving this matter and, in particular, to relieve my family from the stress of ongoing litigation, Northwestern and I have agreed to a settlement, and I am satisfied with the terms of the settlement.
“I am proud to say that I ran a world-class football program at Northwestern. I made every reasonable effort to prevent student misconduct, including any hazing misconduct. I continue to love and have the utmost respect for Northwestern as an institution. I love Northwestern’s student athletes, its fans, and the people that I worked with in my 25 plus years at Northwestern. I remain proud of the vast majority of Northwestern student athletes who I had the privilege of coaching-so many of whom have gone on to build incredible lives and careers on and off the football field.”
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