Before we get into the comparisons and contrasts between Penn State at Northwestern, as well as Joe Paterno and Pat Fitzgerald, let’s get this out of this way first- pretty much every major power conference college football program has had a scandal or two.
You can look at just the Big Ten East division alone. Michigan State is suffering through a scandal that involves a person who was brought in to try and prevent the last scandal MSU had from repeating itself.
SATURDAY, September 30, 11 a.m. CT
#6 Penn State vs. Northwestern | Ryan Field, Evanston, Illinois
Ohio State was on probation after Jim Tressel and tattoogate. Then you have the mess of OSU under Urban Meyer- most specifically Zach Smith. But we could go on and on.
Any program that was once led by Meyer has experienced scandal after scandal after…you get the idea.
Second thing we need to get out of the way here- this article is not a moral equivalency exam. We’re not going to get into which infractions, broken rules, crimes etc. committed at one school are worse than what went on at another university.
You already know what came to light this summer in regards to Northwestern. You’re already aware of what atrocities were revealed at Penn State in 2011-12.
No need to re-hash it, but it certainly feels like these two specific scandals received much more media attention than your typical college football scandal.
Coverage went from the sports news pages to the headline news pages. Even if you’re not into sports, you probably know that child molestation went on in State College and that hazing occurred in Evanston.
That’s because both were egregiously shocking, and totally unexpected. With both situations, the head coach involved was utterly synonymous with not just his program, or his athletic department, but his school.
You had two “coach for life” figures, with perfectly clean and totally polished images.
And it ended in complete disgrace for both.
Pat Fitzgerald was being compared to Joe Paterno long before the dark side, of either figure, emerged. That’s because Fitzgerald is the biggest individual brand name in the history of Northwestern athletics, at least for now.
The same can be said for Paterno at Penn State. That obviously could change some day, but this is where we are now. At one point in time it seemed utterly unfathomable that someone other than Pat Fitzgerald would be coaching NU.
Ditto for Paterno at PSU. There are also plenty of similarities into the story arcs of both men’s undoing, but again, if you’ve clicked here, you already know the details of that. And we’re not glossing over anything. Jerry Sandusky is a monster.
Pat Fitzgerald ‘s staff condoned some disgusting things.
We’ve already covered all that, in bulk, on this site when the news first came to light.
This is why Saturday’s game feels a bit like it’s the “Scandal Bowl,” because it involves two schools where the central figure was so utterly entrenched into the culture and fabric of the program. You could never say that about Urban Meyer or Mel Tucker.
Definitely not with Tim Beckman at Illinois.
Of course, the main difference is where we are now in terms of the story arc. Penn State is already on to the guy after the guy after Paterno. All the remnants of that era are long gone. PSU will have its second to last tune-up before their real season begins on Oct. 21 at Ohio State.
This game, as well as Nov. 11 versus Michigan will determine if they’ll get to Indianapolis or not, and have a shot at a College Football Playoff berth.
As for Northwestern, only Fitz himself is gone. The whole rest of the staff, who were all at least aware of, and at worst a part of, the hazing that went on there still remain.
Their complete rebuild is yet to come, and before we even get to that, a total teardown looms. The good news for them is that they’ve already surpassed last year’s win total; in just four games.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.