Hazing is Big Ten’s top topic as football coaches face tough questions

INDIANAPOLIS — David Braun sat behind a table on a short podium on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf as roughly 50 media members gathered in front of him.

Three weeks ago, he was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern, hired in January after a successful run at North Dakota State. On Wednesday afternoon at Big Ten media days, Braun faced questions stemming from hazing allegations in the Wildcats program that prompted the firing of coach Pat Fitzgerald and the promotion of Braun to interim head coach.

"I have been out of my comfort zone at times, many times, and that's where a lot of growth has come," Braun said. "I've never been this far outside my comfort zone before."

Wednesday's questions to coaches and players often focused on the topics in college football under the most scrutiny — hazing, especially. Tony Petitti, in just his 87th day on his new job as Big Ten commissioner, addressed concerns about Northwestern and the 13 other schools in his conference.

Petitti said the conference would let the Northwestern investigations play out before the league would act. He also said that the league could look at schools' practices, "to make sure that's what happening on campus meets the standards we expect, to provide a safe and healthy environment for student-athletes."

These are topics that will come up again on Thursday when Minnesota's representatives at Media Days face their own questions about player treatment. The media outlet Front Office Sports published a report Wednesday critical of coach P.J. Fleck's program. Unnamed former players spoke of Fleck creating a "cult"-like environment within the program with non-compliers subjected to punishment workouts and inequitable drug testing procedures.

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle praised Fleck's program in a rebuttal statement Wednesday, saying in part, "I always encourage all of our student-athletes, including every member of our football team, to reach out to me directly if they encounter any issues. To date, I have not heard from a single football student-athlete about the allegations raised."

Gophers senior safety Tyler Nubin, one of three players who will represent the Gophers on Thursday, tweeted that the report was a "hit piece." He added, "I've never seen anything except great people and great coaches who care about the PLAYERS."

Each school's representatives surely will field questions regarding the hazing discussion overtaking football talk during this two-day event. Braun did not address the specific allegations against Northwestern, which include abusive behavior and longstanding hazing practices. "I won't speak to the current allegations," he said. "I fully trust that the university is going through a process and will make decisions based on the facts."

The six other head coaches in Wednesday's sessions were asked about the Northwestern situation, but most chose not to directly comment. "Listen, Fitz and I are very close," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. "Whatever happened there, I don't know anything about and don't have the ability to comment on."

Braun served as the Northwestern contingent on Wednesday because a day earlier the three players who were slated to attend — linebacker Bryce Gallagher, defensive back Rod Heard II and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz — chose to stay back in Evanston in order to not shift the focus from football and the upcoming season.

The 2023 season for Northwestern was going to be challenging enough, with the Wildcats trying to rebound from back-to-back 1-8 records in Big Ten play. Now Braun is trying to pick up the pieces while Northwestern faces lawsuits from the hazing allegations and transfers of players.

"I want to make sure that as many people in our facility that can stay in a normal routine that we established in spring, we can keep them moving forward in that direction," Braun said.

NIL, expansion

Tough topics in college sports extend beyond hazing. Petitti made it clear that he doesn't like the free-for-all that's developed with NIL (name, image and likeness) abuses coupled with the transfer portal.

"What it is, is a great mechanism for student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness through real marketing opportunities. We as a conference not only support but celebrate a student-athlete's ability to generate unlimited benefits from true NIL," he said.

"However," Petitti added, "it is important to say that much of what is happening now under the guise of NIL is not true NIL but rather a move to a pay-for-play system that is driving recruitment and the transfer portal. This system operates away from and without institutional control, nor does it comply with Title IX."

Petitti applauded the proposed national legislation to address NIL concerns.

"Members of the Congress and their staffs are engaged, and there's real momentum for bipartisan legislation that benefits student-athletes, protects the academic athletic model and recognizes that a national competitive landscape needs national rules that can be enforced,'' he said.

As for the potential of conference expansion, Petitti wants to make sure the additions of USC and UCLA go smoothly next year.

"All the direction I'm getting from leadership, our presidents and chancellors, athletic directors, is to focus on UCLA and USC," he said.

Wednesday, while acknowledging the issues of sports that need to be addressed, Petitti also expressed the hope that goes along with a new season.

"I'm excited about our future,'' he said. "… I believe that we are really just getting started."