Northwestern University Athletic Director Derrick Gragg watches the football team’s practice in Evanston, Ill., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
Associated Press
RUMORS HAVE BEEN CRESCENDOING that Derrick Gragg will soon be departing as athletic director at Northwestern University.
That ain’t necessarily so, according to a NU spokesman.
“There are no plans or discussions about a departure of Derrick Gragg from Northwestern University administration,” Jon Yates — the school’s vice president for global marketing and communications — told the Daily Herald.
“As we face an uncertain and challenging environment in intercollegiate athletics, Dr. Gragg will help us chart future directions.”
MULTIPLE SOURCES TOUCHING some very high places have been indicating that Gragg is leaving.
He took over the position of VP/athletics & recreation on July 1, 2021. In the preceding six months, no fewer than five individuals handled the role. That hot-potato chain began when Jim Phillips announced he was leaving to become commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
(Phillips, according to sources, later made a run at becoming president and CEO of the Chicago Bears.)
Last summer Gragg found himself in a sudden maelstrom. Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was summarily dismissed over allegations of hazing. Baseball coach Jim Foster was fired after university findings of “a toxic and bullying” culture in his program.
As athletic director, Gragg inherited Fitzgerald. But he hired Foster (from Army) in July 2022.
NORTHWESTERN HAS SUBSEQUENTLY been the target of tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits from opposing sides. The largest is Fitzgerald’s $130 million claim, alleging wrongful termination and other university misdeeds. He is asking for $68 million remaining on eight years of his most recent contract plus an additional $62 million in lost future employment.
In April, Cook County Judge Daniel Kubasiak found that Fitzgerald’s action has sufficient merit to proceed. There has been no indication of any forward progress in settlement discussions.
With multiple lawsuits from aggrieved former student-athletes who say they were subject to football-related hazing, attorneys for Northwestern are fine-lining a tenuous middle ground.
If the Fitzgerald case goes to trial, those attorneys will have to prove that egregious hazing occurred and was known about by the head coach.
Against the student-athletes at trial, that NU legal side would have to prove that it didn’t.
GRAGG WAS SAID TO BE eyeballed for recent AD openings at Washington and Missouri. Both positions have been filled. A slot at Memphis remains open.
He is the first person of color to hold the post at Northwestern. His most recent career stops prior to Evanston included: the NCAA’s senior VP for inclusion, education and community engagement (2020-21); athletic director at Tulsa (2013-20); and AD at Eastern Michigan (2006-13)
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WORD ABOUT THE NBA’S record new TV and streaming deals is expected at any hour.
Co-incumbent ESPN/ABC is odds-on to remain partnered. NBC — the home of NBA network coverage during the Michael Jordan wonder years — is making a concerted effort to return and displace Turner as the complementary network.
Amazon Prime appears almost certain to pick up a large piece of the streaming pie.
If Turner is jettisoned, the worst news for sharper fans is that it would probably mean the end of “Inside the NBA,” the iconic studio franchise that debuted during the 1989-90 season.
CHARLES BARKLEY HAS MADE IT CLEAR that he is a free agent if Turner loses NBA game rights. Host Ernie Johnson, who is completing his 35th season on the show, will likely stay at Turner.
Kenny “The Jet” Smith joined the cast in 1998. Barkley set up roost in 2000. Shaquille O’Neal was added in 2011.
The program has won 18 Emmys and is considered by many the most entertaining studio show in the history of TV sports.
THE ONLY NETWORK EFFORT that came close to touching its irreverent tone and off-centricness was Fox/MLB’s 2015-16 grouping of Pete Rose, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Burkhardt.
Rose’s candor was a balls-and-strikes version of Barkley. The quartet did the impossible — they helped energize the historic World Series of Joe Maddon and the Cubs over the Indians.
All came crashing down the following summer when Rose was dismissed after allegations of having sex with an underage teenager in 1973. Those charges swerved into civil court where the matter was settled without trial.
STREET-BEATIN’:
The ongoing tempest over goofy remarks by freshman White Sox TV play-by-play man John Schriffen underscores his greenness in The Captive Sports City. He’s proving to be a fair-to-middlin’ announcer calling the games of a very bad baseball team. If Jerry Reinsdorf could allow the poleaxing of Jim Durham and departure of Jason Benetti, quality is not a priority in any of his hollow broadcast shells. …
If the Blackhawks “win” the NHL Draft Lottery Tuesday night, could the euphoria carry over and prompt a reconciliation with Eddie Olczyk? “Edzo” belongs in Chicago and adds major-league puck spin to any hockey TV booth. Danny Wirtz and Jaime Faulkner may need a third party to nail the right blend of humility, accountability and money to get Olczyk back from the lost fog of Seattle. …
The mythic Frank Calabrese was twinkling from afar Friday when Thorpedo Anna splashed to victory in the $1.5M Kentucky Oaks. “T-Anna” is the daughter of the late Dreaming of Anna, the greatest thoroughbred that Calabrese owned during his remarkable string of 11 straight owners titles at Arlington Park. “The filly is just like her mother,” Calabrese, 94, said. “She’s athletic and a winner.” …
And family-of-man Craig Counsell, about the possibility of violating fraternization protocols with any of his old Brewers chums at Wrigley Field this weekend: “I think that’s generally a rule for a previous generation.”
Jim O’Donnell’s Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.