As of Sunday, here is all that we know about Northwestern football and its hazing allegations, including the status of head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
NOTE: This story is ongoing, and FanSided will provide further updates as they become available.
What was a typical Friday afternoon in Evanston, Ill., quickly turned into arguably the darkest 48 hours in Northwestern football history.
University administration suspended 17-year coach and ex-Wildcat legend Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks Friday following an independent investigation in which it was alleged there was hazing within the football program, particularly relating to freshman players engaging in sexual acts as punishments for their on-field mistakes.
The investigation took place during a six-month period beginning last December, which, according to an article in The Daily Northwestern, the school's student paper, revealed two anonymous former players speaking out against the Wildcats' program beliefs while explaining this kind of behavior was encouraged.
What hazing activities are alleged at Northwestern?
Both players said there were various drills with names like "Shrek's List" and "The Carwash," both with the intention to embarrass the alleged victims and demonstrate "team bonding."
"It's a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room," one player told The Daily Northwestern. "It's just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now."
What is Northwestern doing about hazing allegations
Saturday night painted a grimmer picture, as Northwestern president, Michael Schill, sent an email to the student body about the allegations and the next steps in the process of the school's interpretation.
"After reviewing the report, I assessed a two-week suspension for Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald, which went into effect immediately. However, upon reflection, I believe I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald," Schill stated.
Schill added Northwestern's contribution and his responsibility to protect the student body from any misconduct that occurs and is taking swift action in doing so. Newer protocols include no longer hosting team-organized practices in Kenosha, Wis., which is where the alleged acts took place, along with having a person present in the football locker room who does not report to the head coach.
"Coach Fitzgerald is not only responsible for what happens within the program but also must take great care to uphold our institutional commitment to the student experience and our priority to ensure all students — undergraduate and graduate — can thrive during their time at Northwestern," Schill said. "Clearly, he failed to uphold that commitment, and I failed to sufficiently consider that failure in levying a sanction."
The letter did not state what further sanctions would be placed upon Fitzgerald, as he will receive zero compensation during his suspension, but it did reveal Schill's commitment to upholding Northwestern's reputation as a world-class institution.
What are current Northwestern players saying about hazing allegations?
Concurrently, a letter on behalf of the "entire team" at Northwestern defended Fitzgerald and the values of the program, which several outlets obtained.
The entire statement can be read above, courtesy of ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, which states the student newspaper's reporting was "exaggerated and twisted." It is unknown as to who wrote the letter and if every person associated with the team signed off on it. They also wrote that Fitzgerald knew nothing about the incidents.
Former and current players speak out in support of Pat Fitzgerald, while anonymous staff members say otherwise
Though they have not been made public, there are pictures of whiteboards with these exact phrases and other hazing-type acts, according to Rittenberg.
"The former Northwestern player sent ESPN a screenshot of a whiteboard, which he says was in the middle of the locker room. Image is headlined "SHREK'S LIST" and includes a list of players' names and several bulleted items, including "naked slingshot" and "naked bear crawls," Rittenberg's tweet read.
Rittenberg added the anonymous player he spoke with said every player who was with the team from 2020-2023 knew what "Shrek" was and that hazing exists within the program.
Support of Fitzgerald has been made public by current and former players, including Riley Lees, Paddy Fisher, Ryan Hilinski, Trevor Siemian, Dom D'Antonio, Will Hampton, Jeremy Ebert and others. However, thus far, none have directly stated whether the alleged hazing did or did not happen.
An anonymous current player who spoke to ESPN claimed the former player who brought forth allegations had a vendetta against Fitzgerald.
"He just kept emphasizing, 'Yeah, it'll be OK. I'm just trying to get Coach Fitz fired,'" the current player told ESPN. "I don't think he ever acknowledged what he's saying is not true. It was just like, 'I might embellish or exaggerate to get Coach Fitz fired.' He said his sole goal was to see Coach Fitz rot in jail.
"The truth is none of that stuff happened in our locker room."
Despite the support, news from Wildcat Report's Louie Vaccher said several anonymous former Northwestern staff members witnessed the hazing described in the original article. Inside NU, an outlet from SB Nation said the hazing has been going on for at least 16 years, confirming Vaccher's findings.
Pat Fitzgerald has been part of the Northwestern staff as a head or assistant coach since 2001
Fitzgerald turned around the Wildcat program after succeeding Randy Walker in 2006. His accolades include 10 bowl game appearances, two Big Ten title game appearances, and sending the likes of Justin Jackson, Cam Mitchell, Peter Skronski, and Ben Sowronek to the NFL in recent years.
The Wildcats open the season against Rutgers Sunday, Sept. 3 on CBS, as they are coming off a 1-11 season which saw Northwestern fail to win a single game in the U.S.
At press time, Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gregg has yet to comment on the allegations.
