Northwestern University fires football coach Pat Fitzgerald amid hazing scandal

Northwestern University fired coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday amid a hazing scandal that called into question his leadership of the program and damaged the university's reputation after it mishandled its response to the allegations.

Fitzgerald's dismissal completed a rapid fall from grace for the former Northwestern linebacker. The 48-year-old Fitzgerald had been firmly entrenched at his alma mater, an annual fixture on any list of college coaches with the most job security.

"The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team," Northwestern president Michael Schill wrote in an open letter to the university community. "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."

Fitzgerald went 110-101 in 17 seasons as Northwestern's head coach. He led the Wildcats to Big Ten West championships in 2018 and 2020, plus five bowl victories. But they went 4-20 over his last two seasons.

CW: This story contains mention of hazing, sexual assault and suicidal ideation.<br><br>BREAKING: A former Northwestern football player is alleging that some of the hazing conduct that took place on the team involved coerced sexual acts.