Football is a brutal, brutal game on the field. Any sort of issue off the field makes it even more so. That has come to light more than ever over the past week after a group of student journalists at Northwestern uncovered a major hazing scandal within the school’s football program. Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after initially being suspended for two weeks.
“Bombshell” would be an understatement when describing this situation. Fitzgerald was at the helm for 17 seasons after a decorated playing career in the ’90s. He signed a 10-year contract back in January 2021 and only lasted two seasons after that signing.
The alleged details of the hazing are horrific and inhumane, and may have created a toxic culture in the Wildcats’ locker room. Northwestern had a combined 4-20 record over Fitzgerald’s last two seasons.
Such instances are not uncommon across all collegiate sports. In fact, you don’t have to look too far back for such an instance on the hill. In May 2021, The Daily Orange published an article on SU Softball Head Coach Shannon Doepking’s alleged mistreatment of her players. Over two years later Doepking still holds that role, but her piece didn’t come even close to creating as many headlines as Fitzgerald’s. College Football gets a lot more publicity than College Softball, but both these cases serve as a warning for Dino Babers’ program, every varsity program on the hill, and the entirety of NCAA Athletics.
Syracuse was undisciplined on the field last season, but as far as we’ve seen the program aims to keep the highest level of discipline off it. Look no further than the LeQuint Allen saga. One of Babers’ foundational philosophies over his seven seasons has been “The Ohana”. Several players have bought into that and seen their games excel because of it. Say what you want about Babers from a pure-coaching standpoint, he has built an excellent culture in the 315.
The flip side of that is, if Allen was threatened with a full season, what’s going to happen if player-led hazing was ever found at SU? It would completely shake up both the administration and coaching, deteriorate their on-field performance, and make recruiting big names a nearly impossible task. These are the types of incidents that could potentially destroy a program.
SU Athletics has lacked in other areas previously. Pushing cases like this to the side would be inexcusable. In response to this, John Wildhack needs to make sure mental health resources are easily accessible for all his athletes. Educate players, coaches, and team personnel on the issue and how they can make a positive impact on the community. That’s the first step to be taken toward ensuring something like a hazing scandal never happens in Central New York.
What’s been alleged in Evanston over the past few days is a harsh reminder that college football has changed. Programs need to be aware of everything going on from a culture standpoint. In a world where mental health is of growing importance, let’s hope that this situation serves as a lesson to everyone.
