Northwestern Hires Former Assistant U.S. Attorney To Investigate Alleged Football Team Hazing Incidents

Northwestern University is launching an investigation into its football program after allegations of hazing.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported that the university had hired former assistant U.S. attorney Maggie Hickey to lead the investigation into the claims.

"While we do not yet know whether the allegations are true, hazing is prohibited by university policy, and we take these claims seriously," the school said in a statement to ESPN. "The health, safety and well-being of our students is the first priority. The inquiry is in its very early stages and will be rigorously fair to everyone in this process.

"It will focus on gathering facts and will not jump to conclusions. Northwestern strongly supports members of our community who come forward with concerns and encourages anyone to report those concerns to the university."

ESPN reported that this investigation will include interviews with players, coaches and staff.

There hasn't been any word on what the allegations are or whether it was a player that made them.

Northwestern first learned of the allegations following the 2022 football season. A source told ESPN that Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg addressed players and staff Wednesday.

These allegations of off-field misconduct come following one of the program's worst seasons in decades. The Wildcats' 1-11 record was their worst since going 0-11 in 1989. The team is led by head coach Pat Fitzgerald who is 110-101 over 17 seasons.

The Wildcasts took home a pair of Big Ten West championships in 2018 and 2020.

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