Northwestern University released the final report from an independent review of its Athletics Department’s reporting process, accountability measures and culture Thursday morning, which identified a number of ways the university can strengthen and clarify the investigation of hazing allegations and other misconduct complaints.
The university announced the review, headed by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in August 2023 as one of several measures taken in response to reported allegations of severe hazing on the football team, which led to the firing of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The team of attorneys interviewed more than 120 people within and outside of the Athletics Department, and reviewed data and documentation from existing university policies and processes, such as exit interviews with graduating student-athletes.
“Throughout our review process, Northwestern University was cooperative and transparent, which allowed us to gain a comprehensive understanding of its operations and culture,” Lynch wrote in the university’s news release. “We are hopeful that our recommendations will help the University reinforce its commitment to fostering accountability and ensuring the well-being of its student-athletes.”
The report’s executive summary explicitly states that the review was never intended to include “an investigation of past events,” such as the allegations of hazing in the football program which have yielded numerous lawsuits against the university from former players. In a statement emailed to the RoundTable, Margaret Battersby Black, one of the attorneys representing former players, said that investigative work “is what we now have before us” in the lawsuits.
“While we are glad for future student athletes that our clients’ suffering has caused Northwestern to reevaluate the entire student athlete landscape at the University, it is sadly for our clients, too little too late,” Battersby Black wrote. “We intend to leave no stone unturned in our investigation and in seeking justice for our clients.”
12 recommendations
The report states early on that the review’s findings were “largely positive,” and that most of the student-athletes interviewed “spoke highly of their college athletic experience.” Nevertheless, it ends with 12 recommendations for NU in areas with “potential opportunities for improvement,” six of which specifically relate to reporting and accountability systems within the Athletics Department.
Among these, the review team recommends creating standard expectations and directions on handling misconduct reports for “sports administrators,” who are department-level staff assigned as liaisons for one to three of Northwestern’s 19 varsity sports teams.
While there are clear mandates to report serious allegations to the university’s Office of Civil Rights or the Dean of Students Office, sports administrators “exercise considerable discretion” in how they handle other complaints, as “there is no policy requiring documentation of those issues or how they were addressed.”
“Differences in how these staff members exercise their broad discretion has contributed to some stakeholders – both within and outside of the Athletics Department – questioning whether the Athletics Department is appropriately escalating potential misconduct in all instances,” the report states.
Other recommendations concern the relationship between the “somewhat insular” Athletics Department and the Northwestern faculty, which the report states is marked by a “growing tension” with some faculty members over communication and transparency between the two sides of the school.
The review team found this is at least partly due to an unwritten by “strictly adhered to” prohibition on any direct contact between athletics staff and faculty, even beyond the specific restrictions set in written policies from the university or the NCAA. They recommend developing “formal guidance” on what contact is actually prohibited in preventing “undue influence on student-athletes’ academic results.”
“However, the University should consider expressly permitting, and indeed encouraging, more casual communication and connection between coaches and faculty on appropriate topics,” the report states.
NU ‘eager’ for implementation
In its news release, the university announced it has already established four “implementation workgroups” to address the review team’s recommendations. Athletics Director Derrick Gragg is quoted as calling it Northwestern’s “top priority” to provide student-athletes “the best possible experience” in both sides of their Northwestern careers.
“We cannot do this without being open to continuous learning and improvement,” Gragg wrote. “The Department of Athletics and Recreation takes the findings of the review seriously and is eager to apply these lessons towards enhancing our programs and support systems.”
The review team’s full report can be read below.
Review of NU Athletics recommends setting explicit directions for hazing investigations is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.