Fired Northwestern Coach Fitzgerald To Volunteer At Loyola Academy

WILMETTE, IL — Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired last month in the midst of the hazing scandal involving allegations by former players, will serve as a parent volunteer with Loyola Academy’s football program this fall, Patch has confirmed.

Fitzgerald, who spent 17 years at the helm of the Wildcats program, will work with the Ramblers program as a volunteer, although the extent of his participation has not been defined by school officials. The Record North Shore was the first to report the fact that Fitzgerald will assist with the program, which is being coached by Beau Desherow after the Ramblers captured the Class 8A state title last year under former coach John Holecek.

Fitzgerald, who lives in Northfield, has two students at Loyola Academy, and his son, Jack, who is on the football team at Northwestern, graduated from Loyola last year after starting at tight end for the Ramblers. Like all other volunteers, Fitzgerald underwent background checks, trainings and signed a code of conduct agreement as required by Loyola Academy, the Archdiocese of Chicago, and the State of Illinois.

Fitzgerald's son, Ryan, is slated to be the Ramblers' starting quarterback this fall.

In a statement issued by Loyola Academy, school officials said parent volunteers provide assistance with a variety of gameday duties including management, logistics, and offering "fresh insight." The school said that parent volunteers provide "invaluable service" to the school's athletic teams and school community.

Fitzgerald was fired in July after initially being suspended for two weeks without pay after the six-month investigation showed widespread hazing took place within the athletic department. Since then, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed by former Northwestern athletes — including football players — alleging extreme sexual hazing.

The suits allege that coaches knew about the hazing and sexual assault and did nothing to prevent it and, at times, encouraged the behavior. However, Dan Webb, the attorney representing Fitzgerald – said in the wake of lawsuits that nothing brought forward in the lawsuits contradicts the findings of the six-month investigation that Fitzgerald had knowledge that hazing was taking place.

Longtime Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, wrote in a lengthy social media post last month that had Fitzgerald known about hazing he would have “acted on it” and “would not have tolerated it.” In a statement issued after his firing, Fitzgerald reiterated that he had no knowledge of the hazing allegations and said he had instructed his agent and attorney "to take the necessary steps to protect my rights in accordance with the law."

Hankwitz, who retired at the end of the 2021 season, called some of the claims of hazing and sexual assault “highly suspect.”

Loyola Academy opens the season on Aug. 26 against Catholic Central (Michigan) after finishing the past three seasons with a combined 31-6 record.