Northwestern’s head football coach was fired after a shady investigation

The head coach of Northwestern University’s football team has been fired following an investigation into allegations of cheating among team members, the school’s president announced Monday.

Coach Pat Fitzgerald was suspended last week for two weeks without pay, but Michael Schill, the school’s president in Evanston, Illinois, said in a memo to the school’s community that he had reevaluated the decision.

The disciplinary action sought to address Fitzgerald’s “failure to recognize and prevent significant decentralization in the football program,” Schill said.

He said the results of the school’s investigation, launched about six months ago, remained confidential.

“Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a lot of time in thoughts and conversations with people who love our university,” Schill said. “Ultimately, the decision to initially suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as was the decision to fire him.”

That’s what the investigation led by attorney Maggie Hickey concluded not enough evidence to say the coaches knew about the ongoing hazing, but it also said the coaches had opportunities to clear it up.

A report by the student newspaper The Daily Northwestern later detailed allegations from a former player who vividly described hazing and sexual abuse.

Schill said Monday that Fitzgerald should have known about the alleged hazing as part of his job as a leader shaping team culture.

“The barking we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, and it provided an opportunity for coach Fitzgerald to learn what was going on,” he said.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero is a news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Matthew Mata and TJ Swigart attended.