EVANSTON, Ill. — For the second time in a week, a head coach in a Northwestern athletic program has been relieved of his duties amidst controversy
Northwestern University has confirmed that head baseball coach Jim Foster has been fired on Thursday night, with the players being informed of the decision by Northwestern president Michael Schill and athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg.
Former White Sox outfielder and current Northwestern assistant coach Brian Anderson with taking leadership of the program during the transition.
“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,” said Gragg in a statement released by the university. “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.”
This comes after reports from Danny Parkins of 670 The Score and report along with one from the Chicago Tribune detailed problematic behavior with the first-year leader of the program. That led to an investigation by the university’s human resources department which, per the Tribune, showed he engaged in bullying and abusive behavior.
Foster ended up coaching the Wildcats for just one season after arriving from Army, where he was the 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year and led the program to four conference titles. In his first season in Evanston, however, the team finished 10-40 and won just four of 24 games in Big Ten play.
The team also had multiple players transfer out of the program during the short Foster tenure.
This comes just three days after head football coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired after serious hazing allegations surfaced after the completion of a report into that was concluded by former Illinois inspector general Maggie Hickey starting in December 2022.
Initially, Fitzgerald was suspended for two weeks without pay over the summer, but Schill decided to fire the coach 72 hours later.
