Former football coach Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern have settled a lawsuit over a wrongful termination that the coach filed after his dismissal from the school two years ago.
The 50-year-old sued the school for $130 million after he was fired in July 2023 over hazing allegations.
On Thursday, August 21, Fitzgerald issued a statement noting, "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 programme and that I never directed or encouraged hazing in any way."
He expressed his disappointment in the team who "engaged in this behaviour and that no one reported it to me," so that he could have informed the relevant authorities and "protect Northwestern's student athletes."
Fitzgerald's firing made a significant impact on the Northwestern athletics, as he had been one of the most transformative figures on the campus as both a player and coach.
The former player coached at the school for 17 seasons and went 110-101 over that time, making him statistically the best coach in the school’s history.
Pat Fitzgerald, whose dismissal came after a university investigation found hazing in the programme but no knowledge that he knew of it, expressed satisfaction over the settlement terms.
