Northwestern suspended coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay Friday following an investigation into alleged hazing within the football program.
The school said an investigation led by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff did not find 鈥渟ufficient鈥 evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing. But investigators found there were 鈥渟ignificant opportunities鈥 to find out about it and report the conduct.
Fitzgerald started serving his suspension on Friday. He said in a statement he was 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥 when he heard about the hazing allegations.
鈥淣orthwestern football prides itself on producing not just athletes, but fine young men with character befitting the program and our university,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e hold our student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.鈥
Investigators said the hazing often happened in the team's locker room and the activities might have begun at its longtime training camp home in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Northwestern said Friday it will no longer hold camp in Kenosha and will have someone not affiliated with the program monitor the locker room.
The school said it will require annual anti-hazing training for coaches, staff members and athletes with an emphasis on reporting options and the responsibility to report as well as discipline. Other measures include creating an online tool for athletes to report hazing anonymously, and the formation of an internal working group of Northwestern leaders 鈥渁cross various disciplines鈥 to 鈥渃reate a report on policy development, organizational culture, communication, training and enforcement.鈥 The school also said it will work with the NCAA and Big Ten to 鈥渆nsure all processes and rules are followed.鈥
鈥淣orthwestern Athletics prides itself on providing a world-class student-athlete experience, which includes a safe and respectful environment for all of our students, coaches and staff,鈥 athletic director Derrick Gragg said. 鈥淲e respect the courage of the individuals who came forward to make us aware of the issue, and we vow to do our part to create a more positive environment moving forward.鈥
Fitzgerald's suspension comes after the Wildcats went 1-11 last season for their worst record since the 1989 team finished 0-11. They鈥檝e lost 17 of their past 18 games.
Fitzgerald is 110-101 in 17 seasons leading his alma mater and is by far the school鈥檚 winningest coach. He led the Wildcats to Big Ten West championships in 2018 and 2020 plus five bowl victories. But they are 4-20 over the past two seasons.
___
AP college football: and . Sign up for the AP鈥檚 college football newsletter:
