Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald will be on the sidelines helping a powerhouse high school football program this fall.
Loyola Academy, a top-ranking football program in Wilmette, Ill., less than five miles from Wildcats’ Ryan Stadium, announced Thursday that Fitzgerald will be a parent volunteer for the program. Fitzgerald is no stranger to the school as two of his sons currently attend Loyola Academy with one on the football team. One of his children is also a 2023 alum of the school.
However, prior to earning the new role, the program released a statement saying that Fitzgerald completed training, a background check as well as signed a code of conduct pact to ensure that he meets the program’s coaching and volunteering mandates, according to the The Record North Shore.
The team enters the 2023 season seeking to repeat as state champions in Class 8A, the highest division in the Illinois High School Association. In the last 17 seasons, the Ramblers made seven-state championship appearances, won nine league titles and averaged 10.9 wins each season. Their last three titles have come in ’15, 18 and ’22.
Currently, it is not clear on what Fitzgerald’s specific, day-to-day duties will be with the program’s athletes. Ramblers first-year head coach Beau Desherow, a ’93 alum of the school who was previously an assistant coach with the program for 15 years, declined to make an additional comment on Fitzgerald’s incoming role, per The Record.
The longtime Northwestern coach was fired on July 10 following hazing allegations in the program that were exposed by The Daily Northwestern. While Fitzgerald stated that he was unaware of hazing within the program, multiple lawsuits have been filed against him in relation to the situation.
