The season-opening opponent for Rutgers football, Northwestern, fired head coach Pat Fiztgerald on Monday evening.
Amid allegations of hazing and a racist culture, Northwestern’s president Michael Schill ultimately decided to fire Fitzgerald. The Northwestern head coach had originally been suspended for two weeks following an investigation into hazing allegations.
But more allegations eventually emerged and have now led to Fitzgerald’s dismissal. The Wildcats open the season at Rutgers football on September 3 at 12:00 PM ET. The game will air on CBS.
Schill informed the school’s community of the firing of Fitzgerald on Monday evening.
“Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a great deal of time in thought and in discussions with people who love our University,” Schill said. “Ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.”
Fitzgerald is a former linebacker at Northwestern who has been the program’s head coach since 2006. During that time, Northwestern made 10 bowl games.
In 17 seasons, he had 110 wins and 101 losses, owning a 5-5 record in bowl games.
He was considered an outstanding coach, given Northwestern’s lack of facilities coupled with the difficulties of recruiting players to a school with such high academic standards.
Northwestern now has inside eight weeks before their season opens at Rutgers to hire a new head coach.
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