Northwestern University, former head football coach Pat Fitzgerald reach settlement in hazing scandal lawsuit

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Attorneys for former Northwestern University head football coach Pat Fitzgerald announced a settlement with the university on Thursday.

As construction ushers in a new era at Ryan Field, Northwestern closes another as the university and Fitzgerald reach a settlement in his wrongful termination lawsuit filed after he was let go over a hazing scandal two years ago.

SEE ALSO: Northwestern University releases report on investigation into alleged hazing

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald in July 2023 after 17 seasons amid a hazing scandal in the football program that led to lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults.

The former coach said in part, “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.

Thursday afternoon, in an emailed statement, a Northwestern University spokesperson echoed Fitzgerald’s position, saying the university wished Fitzgerald the best as he resumes his football career, adding in part, “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 condone or directed any hazing… Northwestern’s number one priority is the health and safety of all members of its community, including our student athletes.”

Northwestern wished coach Fitzgerald the best in resuming his football career.

Fitzgerald was Northwestern’s head football coach for 17 seasons, leading the Wildcats to a 110-101 record with two Big Ten West titles and 10 bowl appearances.

In a lengthy statement provided by his attorneys, Fitzgerald claims he was not aware of any hazing in the program.

The university has recommended enhanced hazing prevention training.

Fitzgerald’s case had been set to go to trial in November.

Full statement from 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.”