Fired coach files suit for $130M
Former Northwestern University football coach Pat Fitzgerald is suing the school for $130 million, saying his alma mater wrongfully fired him in the wake of a hazing and abuse scandal that has engulfed the athletic department.
The announcement by Chicago-based attorney Dan K. Webb on Thursday comes nearly three months after Fitzgerald was suspended and then fired after 17 years as head coach of the Wildcats.
Webb said that Fitzgerald would also be seeking additional money for “infliction of emotional distress,” future lost income and punitive damages. The $130 million includes $68 million remaining in owed salary plus $62 million in future lost income, Webb added. The suit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against the university and its President Michael Schill, he said.
The 48-year-old Fitzgerald was fired July 10, three days after the school announced a two-week suspension without pay following an investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of law firm ArentFox Schiff.
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