The Weekender: Hazing Details Emerge in Northwestern Football Scandal, More Hell on Wheels in Georgia, and Bob Huggins Goes George Costanza Mode

By George Eisner on July 9, 2023 at 2:45 pm
Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald
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Time to Drain the Swamp in Evanston with Pat Fitzgerald

Even the bottom of the barrel in the Big Ten appears far from immune to the plague of scandals sweeping across major Midwestern athletic departments of late.

Nearly half of the conference's members have had scandals surface involving misconduct of a sexual nature over the last decade. Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and even Ohio State have all had tragic stories of staff within their athletic departments abusing authority.

Less heralded among the transgressing institutions, however, was the controversy that emerged two years ago at the school commonly held as the B1G pinnacle of academic achievement: Northwestern University.

Two years ago, the Wildcats attempted to appoint a new athletic director — Mike Polisky — in wake of Jim Phillips leaving to become the commissioner of the ACC. However, the public response in Evanston to the decision was so transparently negative that Polisky ultimately resigned only ten days after assuming the role. That blowback stemmed from Polisky's naming as a defendant in a Title IX lawsuit filed a few months earlier concerning allegations from a Northwestern cheerleader of sexual exploitation and harassment.

Now, a similar problem has emerged to public light concerning a hazing culture that football coach Pat Fitzgerald has allowed to take shape with his Wildcats.

Prior to these public statements from a Northwestern football player, the university's internal investigation concluded a two-week suspension would be the most appropriate course of action for the school's head football coach that led his team to its most recent Rose Bowl appearance as an All-American linebacker in the 1990s.

A statement made late yesterday from "The ENTIRE Northwestern Football Team," refuted these allegations as, "exaggerated and twisted."

But as more details around the story begin to emerge, the school already appears to be preparing to take more drastic action than what it had initially deemed the correct way to handle the issue.

Northwestern opens its football season away from home against Greg Schiano's Rutgers squad on September 3rd — less than two months from today.

More Reckless Driving at UGA

The lack of institutional control concerning roadways seems to have no signs of slowing down in Athens.

By the end of May, a double-digit number of Georgia football players had been arrested for motor-focused offenses going back to the beginning of 2022 — more than half of which included racing-related charges as well as a pair of DUIs. Most infamously, a fatal crash following the CFP National Championship involving the NFL Draft's 9th overall pick in 2023 — Jalen Carter — took the lives of an offensive lineman and recruiting staffer with the program.

About a week later, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article relaying how over 300 incidents of campus traffic violations had taken place at UGA going back to Kirby Smart's arrival on campus in 2015. Now, a month after that report, the citations for the Bulldogs continue to pile up.

UGA claims the school will not place suspensions on players charged cited for speeding or other minor traffic transgressions, “but we do pursue appropriate action. In response to the severity of more recent behavior, we proactively introduced punitive measures to heighten consequences.” Players deemed to be "Super Speeders" must meet with athletic director Josh Brooks to “address high-risk behavior.”

How does that Charlie Daniels song go?

"Kirby, rosin up your bow and coach your football hard
'Cause Hell's on wheels in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards
And if you win, you get this shiny trophy made of gold
But if you lose, the devil gets your soul!"

Bob Huggins Demands Reinstatement at West Virginia

It was not even a month ago that Bob Huggins found himself arrested and charged with DUI — curiously in the Backyard Brawl enemy territory of Pittsburgh — after claiming he had been at Burger King only hours before, despite allegedly being picked up only blocks away from the Taylor Swift concert that night.

Now, after what appeared to be an unceremonious resigning from his position at West Virginia University the following day, Huggins has decided to throw yet another curveball into this saga by demanding his reinstatement. Huggins alleges that he never resigned despite the university receiving a letter from his wife that served as, "formal notice of resignation as WVU Head Basketball Coach."

In these situations, we must consider the perspective-shaping experiences of great intellectual characters throughout the history of our society.

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What's Next?

  • 55 Days: Until Ohio State football kicks off the 2023 season against Indiana in Bloomington
  • 76 Days: Until Ohio State football invades Notre Dame Stadium to play the Fighting Irish
  • 139 Days: Until Ohio State football gets revenge against Michigan in Michigan Stadium
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