#10: Northwestern HC Fitzgerald releases a statement of his own in response to President Schill, which indicates he has hired veteran trial attorney, Dan Webb, "to take the necessary steps to protect my rights in accordance with the law.” Fitzgerald also reiterates the university’s investigation found he did not have knowledge of hazing. (link)
|
#9: Wichita State AD Saal has hired former Arkansas State Assoc. AD for Development & Administration Mason as Deputy AD/Senior Woman Administrator. (link) |
#8: Northwestern Baseball HC Foster has been dismissed after allegations of creating a toxic culture around the program. Wildcats AD Gragg: “Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest level.” (link)
|
#7: Northwestern President Schill & AD Gragg spoke to Football student-athletes in an hour-long meeting. Schill was questioned about his change of course on discipline for former HC Fitzgerald: “Schill’s response, per sources, was that it was a mistake to give Fitzgerald only a two-week suspension and that the decision to fire him came after rethinking things and having additional communication with people such as the former player who served as the whistleblower in this situation.” (link)
|
#6: More on the situation in Morgantown as West Virginia’s response to former Men’s Basketball Head Coach Huggins’ legal representative, Campbell, and his request that his client be reinstated: “What is clear, however, is that on the evening of June 17, 2023, Mr. Huggins met with members of the men’s basketball staff and student-athletes to announce that he would no longer be coaching the team. The same evening at 9:38 p.m., following a series of written and verbal communications with Mr. Gianola, who was acting as his counsel, Mr. Huggins clearly communicated his resignation and retirement to the University in writing via email (not text message as asserted in your letter).” WV Metro News has all the legal documents going back & forth. (link)
|
#5: Georgia Deputy AD El Shahawy announces he will step away from the Bulldogs’ department: “It is often said that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life and that certainly applies to me as I truly relished working in intercollegiate athletics. I loved the daily interactions I was blessed to have with student-athletes, coaches, and staff throughout a majority of my career. In transparency the past 2 1/2 years have been the most challenging of my personal life by far and it certainly has impacted the energy level required to perform at my peak professionally. Quite frankly ‘Burnout’ is a very real thing and I found myself exhibiting all of the symptoms of burnout. The career I loved had all of a sudden become a job and I found myself leading from an empty tank. [...] For the first time since I was a senior in high school I will not be affiliated with a college football program this Fall. It will certainly be a strange feeling. I have to say I am excited for the future and planning to enjoy the break with my loved ones.” (link)
|
#4: Sports Illustrated’s Forde has more color on the gambling saga that led to the exit of them-Alabama Baseball HC Bohannon: “(Bert) Neff was texting with Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon via the encrypted messaging app Signal while at the betting window, attempting to place the wager, the sources say. His texting was indiscreet, to the point that the book’s video surveillance cameras were able to zoom in on the details of Neff and Bohannon’s text exchange, making Bohannon’s name visible later in screenshots.” Forde also indicates the situation has extended to a probe at Xavier, as well as within the Indiana Gaming Commission, as associates of Neff’s were trying to get action on the LSU-Alabama game in the Hoosier State. More, including background on Neff’s brief playing career at Louisville, as one former teammate calls him a “total clown.” (link)
|
#3: Now this is unique: Kansas quarterback Daniels rocked a “sparkling Cuban link chain with his logo and an Apple Watch pendant playing highlights from his 2022 season” to Big 12 media days this week. Daniels: “It’s just for special occasions only.” (link)
|
#2: Wearing a black Nike crewneck with Prime stitched across its left chest and a Swoosh on the right, as well as a team-issued Nike Colorado Buffaloes hat, Colorado Football Head Coach Sanders posed for a photograph on Instagram with a pair of his former Nike signature-edition sneakers on his lap. Sanders has been partnered with Under Armour for years, but the Buffs have been a longtime Nike department. Nike confirmed it has reached an agreement with Sanders in a statement to USA Today: "We welcome Deion Sanders back to the Nike family." (link)
|
#1: The former Northwestern football student-athlete at the center of the hazing allegations tells ESPN: “Fitz absolutely knew about hazing in this program. Fitz absolutely failed by not intervening. Fitz knew, and he should have made it stop; and if he truly did not know, he should not be the head coach. Either way, he should not be the head coach, because he is not monitoring and protecting the safety and well-being of student-athletes.” However, an anonymous current student-athlete offers a different account of the former student-athlete’s motives: “He just kept emphasizing, 'Yeah, it'll be OK. I'm just trying to get Coach Fitz fired.’ I don't think he ever acknowledged what he's saying is not true. It was just like, 'I might embellish or exaggerate to get Coach Fitz fired.' He said his sole goal was to see Coach Fitz rot in jail. The truth is none of that stuff happened in our locker room.” More. (link); Meanwhile Wildcat Report Managing Editor Vaccher tweets: “Just an update: I have now confirmed with multiple former Northwestern football staffers both the ‘running’ of players and the ‘car washes’ described in @thedailynu report.” (link)
|
|
|