Northwestern Fires Baseball Coach After Accusations of Abusive Behavior

The move comes after an investigation into bullying and abusive behavior by the coach.

Two days after Northwestern fired head football coach Pat Fitzgerald following an investigation into a hazing scandal, the school has now moved on from another one of its coaches amid allegations of abuse.

The Wildcats fired baseball coach Jim Foster, the school announced on Thursday. The move comes after the Chicago Tribune reported that the university had conducted an investigation into the program which found that Foster engaged in “bullying and abusive behavior” during his lone season at the helm of the program.

“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, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive,” athletic director Derrick Gragg wrote in a statement. “This has been an ongoing situation and many factors were considered before reaching this resolution. As the Director of Athletics, I take ownership of our head coaching hires and we will share our next steps as they unfold.”

The Tribune reported that Foster made an inappropriate comment in regard to a female staffer, and launched into multiple expletive-filled tirades toward his staff members. Current and former players—as well as people close to the program—also told the Tribune that Foster discouraged players from seeing the team’s trainer or rushed them back from injury.

Northwestern went 10–40 in Foster’s only season with the team, after which 16 players entered the transfer portal, per the Tribune.