(670 The Score) Northwestern has fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald, university president Michael Schill officially announced on Monday evening. This decision comes days after an investigation confirmed allegations of hazing within the program.
Fitzgerald came under fire following a bombshell report from the Daily Northwestern, the student-run media group, which revealed the details and extent of hazing within the football program. He was initially suspended for two weeks without pay on Friday by the university after the investigation was completed.
Schill announced the decision, which he says was "mine and mine alone," in a statement released Monday evening.
"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. "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. I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from those I know, and those I don’t, sharing their thoughts. While I am appreciative of the feedback and considered it in my decision-making, ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.
"There is no doubt that Coach Fitzgerald has had a tremendous impact on our institution, well beyond the football field. For nearly thirty years, he has given himself to Northwestern as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, and he has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. His players have almost all graduated and represented the University with distinction. Over the last two days, I have received hundreds and hundreds of emails describing how he has transformed the lives of current and former student-athletes. However, as much as Coach Fitzgerald has meant to our institution and our student-athletes, we have an obligation — in fact a responsibility — to live by our values, even when it means making difficult and painful decisions such as this one. We must move forward.
"I recognize that my decision will not be universally applauded, and there will be those in our community who may vehemently disagree with it. Ultimately, I am charged with acting in the best interests of the entire University, and this decision is reflective of that. The damage done to our institution is significant, as is the harm to some of our students."
On Saturday, the report was revealed and detailed the hazing within the football program. Later that night, Northwestern president Michael Schell admitted he "may have erred" in his initial punishment.
The Daily Northwestern released a separate story on Monday detailing allegations of a racist environment within the program in the late 2000s.
A two-time All-American linebacker at Northwestern, Fitzgerald was named head coach in 2006 following the sudden passing of head coach Randy Walker. He had previously served as linebackers coach for the program. Fitzgerald was 110-101 over 16 years as head coach.
Northwestern has not made the firing of Fitzgerald official. Further decisions are not yet clear, including the future of the baseball program following a report by Danny Parkins on Monday afternoon.
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