Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Settle Lawsuit Over Firing

On Thursday, former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald announced he had reached a settlement with the university, resolving a $130 million wrongful termination lawsuit he filed in the fall of 2023. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though Fitzgerald’s agent said he was “very, very satisfied.” 

The news marks the end of litigation in a saga that began in 2023, when two articles in the student newspaper detailed widespread allegations of hazing on the football team under Fitzgerald.

That summer, multiple groups of former Northwestern football players sued the university, alleging emotional, physical, sexual, and racist abuse from teammates. They also alleged coaches were aware of certain toxic practices, even if they didn’t participate themselves. 

The school suspended and ultimately fired Fitzgerald, who had been employed by the Wildcats for 17 years. They also conducted an internal investigation.

Fitzgerald sued the university for wrongful termination that October. He said he would be seeking $130 million in damages: $68 million for a lost 10-year contract extension he signed in 2021, and $62 million in presumed future lost income, as well as emotional distress.

He has not coached in the last two seasons while the lawsuits played out. Fitzgerald has always denied ever knowing about any abusive behavior, and said the same in a lengthy statement Thursday.

“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,” he said.

“I learned that some hazing did occur in the football program at Northwestern,” he added. “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 a statement shared with Front Office Sports, the university said that “evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing.”

The Northwestern spokesperson said the financial terms of the settlement would not be disclosed.“I am satisfied with the terms of the settlement,” Fitzgerald said.

Two different groups of attorneys represented the players. One was led by prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, and another was led by Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar, who previously represented some victims of abusive gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Both groups have reached settlements with Northwestern.

“It was a lengthy process, but we’re very, very satisfied with the terms of the settlement,” Fitzgerald’s agent, Bryan Harlan, said. “Coach Fitzgerald is eager to resume his coaching career.”