Northwestern fired baseball coach Jim Foster Thursday after an internal probe revealed that he reportedly engaged in “bullying and abusive behavior.”
The decision arrives three days after Northwestern fired longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal.
The university announced Foster’s dismissal in a statement from athletic director Derrick Gragg.
“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,” the statement reads. “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.”
Foster’s ouster arrives after a Chicago Tribune report that current and former players, alumni and people close to the baseball program accused him of problematic behavior dating back to last fall, when the first-year coach joined the program. The complaints prompted an internal investigation that revealed “sufficient evidence” that Foster “engaged in bullying and abusive behavior,” according to a university document obtained by the Tribune.
Per the document, Foster “made an inappropriate comment regarding a female staff member, and spoke negatively about his staff to other staff members.” The document didn’t go into further details about the complaints against Foster, the Tribune reports. Sources close to the program told the Tribune that Foster would direct expletive-laced tirades at his staff and pressured players to return early from injury or risk losing their spots in the lineup.
Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Dusty Napoleon, pitching coach Jon Strauss and operations director Chris Beacom all left the team during the season prior to the revelation of the allegations against Foster. Northwestern finished 10-40 this season, and 16 teams entered the transfer portal at the end of the season, according to the Tribune.
The Tribune published the report on Monday. Three days later, Foster was fired.
Foster joined Northwestern in 2022 after six seasons as the head coach at Army. Assistant Coach Brian Anderson will take the program over “during this time of transition,” according to the university.