Big Ten Roundup (Oct. 6): Purdue Schedules Arizona for 2024-25, Pat Fitzgerald Seeking $130 Million in Lawsuit
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Coach Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers have never been ones to run from a challenge on the basketball court. That ethos will remain the same in the 2024-25 season, as Purdue has scheduled a game against the Arizona Wildcats.
The Arizona-Purdue matchup will be a neutral site game held in Las Vegas, according to college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein.
In football news, former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is reportedly seeking $130 million in economic damages in his lawsuit against the University, according to his attorney Dan Webb. Fitzgerald had more than $42 million remaining on his contract when he was fired in July amidst the Northwestern hazing scandal.
Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:
Purdue vs Arizona in 2024-25
Painter and coach Tommy Lloyd's teams are already set to meet each other on Dec. 16 during this upcoming season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
While 2024-25's matchup will also be a neutral site, its Purdue and Painter's de facto return game of the series, as they'll make the cross country trek to Vegas after Arizona makes it to Indiana this year.
The matchups between Purdue and Arizona during the next two seasons should be monumental clashes in the college basketball world. The two schools are a combined 119-25 during their last two seasons, and both have earned No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament during that time as well.
It is notable, though, that both the Boilermakers and the Wildcats suffered the most embarrassing first round defeats of 2023's March Madness. Painter and his team lost to a No. 16 seed in Fairleigh Dickinson, while Lloyd and Arizona fell to Princeton, which was a No. 15 seed.
Rothstein's original report did not say when during the 2024-25 season Purdue and Arizona will meet in Las Vegas. However, with this season's matchup occurring before the calendar turns to the new year, it might be safe to assume that the two will play their second game during either November or December of 2024.
Fitzgerald, Legal Team Want $130 Million in Lawsuit
For anyone who has been living on a rock all summer, here's the brief summary of what's happening in Evanston.
Legendary Northwestern football player and 17-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired during the summer. He was originally only suspended for two weeks after the NU football program was investigated for allegations of hazing. However, The Daily Northwestern published a story in which alleged specific details of the hazing were revealed, which were grotesque and disturbing to say the least. Fitzgerald was fired soon after the story was published, and the fallout not just for the football team, but for the entire Northwestern athletics program, has spiraled from there.
Now, Fitzgerald and his legal team are seeking more than $130 million in a wrongful termination suit filed against the school. They claim that Northwestern breached its contract with Fitzgerald, and defamed his character.
“Mr. Fitzgerald has been subjected to unfair, arbitrary, and disgraceful conduct by both the university and its president,” Webb said in a statement. “Despite no new evidence of hazing, and despite a thorough factual investigation by Northwestern finding that Mr. Fitzgerald had no knowledge of any hazing conduct, the defendants unlawfully terminated his employment and destroyed his good name and reputation."
In response, Northwestern's spokesman Jon Yates said the following in a statement:
"As head coach of the football program for 17 years, Patrick Fitzgerald was responsible for the conduct of the program," Yates said. "He had the responsibility to know that the hazing was occurring and to stop it. He failed to do so."
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