Northwestern football is coming off a 1-11 season in 2022, and now a rapidly evolving scandal hangs over the Big Ten program weeks before the start of the season.
Hazing allegations led the school to suspend coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks, and new claims published by The Daily Northwestern student newspaper detail how brutal the rituals supposedly were.
Northwestern has some of the best seasons in program history under Fitzgerald, and despite last season's record there was reason for optimism in 2023 as the school pushed for state-of-the-art renovations of Ryan Field. Now, the allegations hover above the team.
Here's what you need to know about Northwestern's hazing scandal and what allegedly went on within the program. (Warning: Sexual content is contained in the allegations.)
Northwestern football hazing allegations, explained
The Daily Northwestern reported Saturday that hazing rituals within the Northwestern football team involved "coerced sexual acts" in addition to physical punishment.
An anonymous player told the newspaper that the primary form of hazing was called "running," an act in which the player would be "restrained" by several upperclassmen. They would then start "dry-humping” him in a dark locker room.
The Daily Northwestern reported that a second anonymous player confirmed the allegations.
"It’s just absolutely egregious and vile and inhumane behavior," the first player told The Daily Northwestern, adding that Northwestern football has an "abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now."
The player claimed that upperclassmen would single out an individual for "running" with a hand signal and alleged that Fitzgerald sometimes made the signal himself during practices. Northwestern previously said its investigation could not conclude that Fitzgerald had any knowledge of hazing within the program.
The Daily Northwestern further reported that freshmen were allegedly "forced to strip naked and perform various acts," including a ritual called "the carwash" that the player described as "extremely painful." During "the carwash," players would be forced to brush past other naked players before getting sprayed with a hose.
Both players claimed witnessing another ritual in which a freshman quarterback was forced to take a snap from a center while the two were both naked.
The first player said he reported what he knew to the university in November 2022.
A statement attributed to the "entire Northwestern football team" released Saturday night called the allegations "exaggerated and twisted," going so far as to say the claims are "fabrications."
Statement from Northwestern’s entire team pushing back against the allegations of hazing, which they call “exaggerated and twisted.” They also say coach Pat Fitzgerald had no knowledge or involvement in the allegations. pic.twitter.com/lMOAgCe0EB
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 9, 2023
The statement adds that Fitzgerald was not involved in any alleged incidents and claims the coach wasn't aware of any allegations until the investigation brought it to his attention.
On Sunday, Rittenberg reported the player who came forth with the allegations spoke to Northwestern president Michael Schill, who was "extremely receptive." The player also reportedly sent ESPN a picture of a whiteboard, which highlighted what appeared to be some hazing ritual ideas.
How long is Pat Fitzgerald suspended?
Northwestern announced Friday that Fitzgerald was suspended without pay for two weeks, effective immediately. The timing of the ban means Fitzgerald is not slated to miss any regular-season games and is in line to return before the end of July, in time for the start of fall practice.
The university confirmed a player's allegation of hazing but concluded that Fitzgerald didn't know about the activity.
"The investigation did not uncover evidence pointing to specific misconduct by any individual football player or coach, participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players," Northwestern said in announcing the suspension.
Fitzgerald said in a statement he was "very disappointed" to learn of the hazing allegations and claimed he wasn't aware of the incidents.
In a statement late Saturday night, Northwestern president Michael Schill signaled a possible change in Fitzgerald's suspension.
"Upon reflection, I believe I may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald," Schill said.
Northwestern hazing allegations response
In addition to suspending Fitzgerald, Northwestern on Friday banned off-campus practices in Kenosha, Wis., and assigned an individual who doesn't report to Fitzgerald to monitor the team's locker room going forward.
University president Michael Schill said hazing in any form is "unacceptable."
"Our athletics programs are held to the highest standards, and in this case, we failed to meet them. I expect that today's actions will prevent this from ever happening again," he said in announcing Fitzgerald's suspension.
The investigation concluded that hazing did occur but could not conclude that Fitzgerald was aware.
Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates told The Daily Northwestern on Saturday the school wants to "support and protect" all students who came forward with allegations, but declined to comment specifically on what was included in the newspaper's report.
“Out of respect for the privacy of our student-athletes, we will not comment about the findings beyond what we stated in the release and executive summary of the investigation," Yates said.
Yates told The Daily Northwestern the university took "decisive action" Friday, but the anonymous player told the newspaper the measures were a "slap on the wrist" and criticized the school for not disclosing what exactly was discovered in the investigation.