Pat Fitzgerald is a Northwestern lifer — or at least he was until recently — which is why it was so surprising for fans to see him at another Big Ten school’s games, wearing that school’s colors. But that’s what happened on Saturday.
Fitzgerald was photographed on the field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday night ahead of the Iowa-Michigan State game. The former Northwestern linebacker and head coach was wearing a black polo shirt and had a yellow credential hanging from his neck. The black and yellow combination matched the colors of the home team.
I never thought I’d see Pat Fitzgerald wearing black and gold. pic.twitter.com/aQZ1Yw4cKb
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) September 30, 2023
Fitzgerald had his son, a high school quarterback prospect, with him at the game checking out the Hawkeyes and Spartans.
Fitz brought some players with him. One of them is his son, Ryan, who is the quarterback at Loyola. He’s a highly sought prospect. pic.twitter.com/uEOUUr1rGV
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) September 30, 2023
Seeing Fitzgerald on the sidelines wearing anything other than Northwestern purple is jarring.
Fitzgerald was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during his playing days at Northwestern in the mid-’90s. He joined the program in a coaching capacity in 2001 and became head coach in 2006. He led the Wildcats to two division titles and he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year once during his tenure, which lasted until he was fired amid a hazing scandal this offseason.
Fitzgerald is reportedly close to filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Northwestern.
