Following news that evidence was found to support claims of hazing in the Northwestern Wildcats Football program, the university announced that head football coach Pat Fitzgerald would be placed on a two week suspension.

Fitzgerald, who has been at the helm of the Wildcats' program since 2006, started his unpaid suspension on Friday (July 7). With Northwestern not set to begin preseason practices until early August, the suspension means that Fitzgerald can't coach while he's on vacation, during the "dead period." e.g. It's like suspending a kid from school, but only on Saturday and Sunday. As a more hardcore Jeff Foxworthy might say, "If you think that's a punishment, you might be a ****ing idiot. It's for show."

Allegations of hazing at Northwestern came to light in November of 2022, prompting the school to launch an independent investigation the following January.

It was concluded in the investigation's summary that, “the complainant’s claims were largely supported by evidence gathered during the investigation, including separate and consistent first-person accounts.”

“I was very disappointed when I heard about the allegations of hazing on our football teams,” said Fitzgerald in a statement released alongside Northwestern's release. “We hold out student-athletes and our program to the highest standards; we will continue to work to exceed those standards moving forward.”

Fitzgerald still claims that he was, “unaware of the alleged incidents.”

Despite this, the report states, “there had been significant opportunities [for coaches] to discover and report the hazing conduct.”

Northwestern will kickoff the 2023 college football season against Big Ten foe Rutgers on September 3rd in New Jersey, with that game airing nationally on CBS.