Northwestern University is defending or has recently resolved a striking number of lawsuits, and the biggest ones cluster around three flashpoints: the football hazing scandal that led to head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s firing, a $75 million resolution agreement with the federal government over campus antisemitism investigations, and a $4 million class action seeking tuition refunds from the COVID-19 quarters. Alongside these are active ERISA cases brought by employees, several discrimination and retaliation suits, and an antitrust action targeting elite universities’ early decision policies. Here is where the major Northwestern University lawsuits stand.
The Football Hazing Scandal in Brief
The legal cascade began in late 2022, when Northwestern received an anonymous complaint about hazing in the football program. An outside investigation led by former Illinois executive inspector general Maggie Hickey found the claims “largely supported.” Players described a ritual called “running,” in which masked upperclassmen restrained younger players in a dark locker room and subjected them to simulated sexual acts, along with forced nudity and other degrading practices. The investigation found no evidence coaches directly participated but concluded the hazing was “widespread and clearly not a secret within the program.”1Sportico. Northwestern Football Hazing Pat Fitzgerald Timeline
President Michael Schill initially suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks. After the Daily Northwestern published detailed firsthand accounts and a second player corroborated them, Schill said he “may have erred,” and on July 10, 2023, the university fired Fitzgerald, ending his 17-season tenure.2NPR. Northwestern University Football Hazing Pat Fitzgerald Fired
Fitzgerald’s Wrongful Termination Lawsuit and 2025 Settlement
In October 2023, Fitzgerald sued Northwestern and Schill in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking more than $130 million in damages for what he called a wrongful and illegal termination. He consistently denied knowledge of the hazing during his time as coach.3WTTW News. Ex-Northwestern Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald Settles Lawsuit Following His Firing
The parties announced a settlement on August 21, 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed. Fitzgerald said he was “satisfied with the terms” and had accepted the deal partly to relieve his family from the stress of continued litigation.4The Record North Shore. Two Years Later, Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern University Settle Lawsuit Northwestern acknowledged that “the evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing,” while adding that “inappropriate conduct in the football program did occur.”5Northwestern University. Statement on Settlement With Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald later told ESPN’s College GameDay podcast he felt “100% vindicated” and was pursuing head coaching opportunities.6USA Today. Pat Fitzgerald Vindicated Settlement Northwestern Football
Player Hazing Lawsuits
Former players brought their own claims. Attorney Ben Crump and the Chicago firm Levin & Perconti announced in July 2023 that they represented eight former players, with more to come.7ABC News. Northwestern Players Hire Ben Crump, Chicago Firm Over Hazing The players alleged the “running” ritual, forced naked exercises, and racist treatment, including a claim that Black players and coaches were pressured to cut dreadlocks to fit the “Wildcat Way.”8Levin & Perconti. Northwestern University Football Lawsuit
A Cook County judge consolidated the player suits with Fitzgerald’s case for discovery.9CNN. Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern Lawsuit In April 2025, the players and the university reached a provisional settlement through mediation, with the players agreeing to dismiss all claims against both Northwestern and Fitzgerald. Terms were not made public. By May 2025, Northwestern had settled with 34 athletes in all.10Yahoo Sports. Northwestern Players Settle Hazing Lawsuit With School
The $75 Million Federal Antisemitism Settlement
In April 2025, the Trump administration announced it was withholding roughly $790 million in federal funding from Northwestern, citing civil rights concerns about the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian encampments in spring 2024.11NPR. Northwestern Trump Funding Settlement The freeze followed investigations by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services into antisemitism on campus.
On November 28, 2025, Northwestern entered a resolution agreement with the federal government, agreeing to pay $75 million over three years through 2028 in exchange for restoration of the frozen funds.12U.S. Department of Justice. United States Announces Agreement With Northwestern University It was the second-largest such payment among American universities, behind Columbia University’s $200 million settlement from July 2025.13WTTW News. Northwestern Faculty Students Divided Over $75M Settlement With Trump Administration
The agreement carries substantial compliance obligations. Northwestern must maintain merit-based admissions without preferences based on race, color, or national origin, continue mandatory antisemitism training for students, faculty, and staff, and enforce clear rules for campus protests. The president and Board of Trustees chair must each certify full compliance under penalty of perjury every quarter.14Northwestern University. Federal Agreement The deal also required Northwestern to terminate the “Deering Meadow Agreement” it had reached with pro-Palestine student activists, and it bars the Feinberg School of Medicine from performing hormonal interventions or transgender surgeries on individuals under 18.15Northwestern University. Resolution Agreement United States Northwestern
Interim President Henry Bienen called the deal the “best and most certain method to restore our federal funding” and said it was “not an admission of guilt,” adding that the university had refused to cross “red lines” involving federal influence over hiring, admissions, curriculum, or academic study.11NPR. Northwestern Trump Funding Settlement Faculty reaction was divided, with some professors raising academic freedom concerns.13WTTW News. Northwestern Faculty Students Divided Over $75M Settlement With Trump Administration
COVID Tuition Refund Class Action
If you were a full-time Northwestern student in 2020, you may have money coming. Quiroz, et al. v. Northwestern University (Case No. 1:20-cv-04798), filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, sought refunds on behalf of students enrolled during the spring, summer, and fall 2020 quarters, when the university shifted to remote learning during COVID-19.16Northwestern Tuition Refund Settlement (FAQ). Frequently Asked Questions
A federal judge initially dismissed the suit in September 2021,17Law360. Ill. Judge Tosses Northwestern Students’ COVID Tuition Suit but it eventually produced a proposed $4 million settlement. Payments are pro rata by quarter:
- Spring 2020: about $153 per person (75% of the net settlement fund)
- Summer 2020: about $61 per person (7% of the fund)
- Fall 2020: about $35 per person (18% of the fund)
Students enrolled in more than one eligible quarter receive a payment for each; someone enrolled in both spring and fall 2020, for example, would receive about $188.18Northwestern Tuition Refund Settlement. Northwestern Tuition Refund Settlement No claim form is required — payments go out automatically. Class members who want electronic payment or need to update their address can submit a payment election form at the settlement website using the ID and PIN on their notice.19ClassAction.org. $4M Northwestern University Settlement Ends Class Action Seeking Tuition Refunds for COVID-19 Semesters
The deadline to opt out or object is July 13, 2026. The final approval hearing is scheduled for August 7, 2026.16Northwestern Tuition Refund Settlement (FAQ). Frequently Asked Questions
Employee Retirement and Health Plan Suits
Two ERISA cases involve Northwestern employees. In Hughes v. Northwestern University, more than 125 employees sued in August 2016, alleging that the fiduciaries of the university’s two 403(b) retirement plans breached their duties by charging excessive recordkeeping fees, offering expensive retail-class mutual funds when institutional-class alternatives were available, and maintaining a confusing menu of hundreds of investment options. In January 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously vacated a Seventh Circuit ruling that had favored the university, holding that offering some prudent options does not excuse fiduciaries from monitoring and removing imprudent ones.20Congressional Research Service. Hughes v. Northwestern University On remand, a Seventh Circuit panel in March 2023 reinstated two of the seven original claims, focused on excessive recordkeeping fees and investment monitoring failures.21Cohen Milstein. Hughes v. Northwestern Offers Important Takeaways
A newer employee suit, Barbich et al. v. Northwestern University (Case No. 1:25-cv-06849), was filed on June 20, 2025, in the Northern District of Illinois. Two former employees allege that Northwestern’s employee health plan, launched in 2018, offered PPO tiers at different price points but the more expensive “premier” tier was “financially dominated” by the cheaper high-deductible option, meaning employees paid higher premiums without meaningful reductions in out-of-pocket costs. The suit accuses the university of breaching its ERISA fiduciary duties by failing to disclose this. On April 2, 2026, Judge Jeremy C. Daniel denied Northwestern’s motion to dismiss, and the case remains active.22Bloomberg Law. Northwestern University Health Plan Tier Lawsuit Moves Forward
Other Pending and Recent Cases
Jane Wu Estate Suit
In June 2025, the estate of Feinberg School of Medicine professor Jane Wu sued Northwestern in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging discrimination based on her Chinese national origin and sex. The complaint claims the university stripped Wu of research resources, reassigned her grants to white male colleagues, and isolated her during a National Institutes of Health investigation into her ties to China. The estate alleges the university then used her emotional distress as a pretext to evict her from her office and shut down her lab, calling that a “substantial and decisive factor” in her suicide. Northwestern denied the allegations and said it would seek dismissal.23NBC News. Northwestern Jane Wu Lab Suicide Lawsuit24The Daily Northwestern. Estate of Feinberg Professor Sues University for Discrimination, Role in Suicide
Matt Abtahi Retaliation Suit
Former Gender and Sexuality Resource Center director Matt Abtahi sued in Cook County Circuit Court on July 17, 2025, alleging he was fired in retaliation for refusing to discriminate against students on the basis of sex and sexual orientation. According to the complaint, his suspension and termination followed an April 2025 email in which he raised concerns about the removal of LGBTQ+ resources from the center’s website.25The Daily Northwestern. Former GSRC Director Matt Abtahi Sues NU for Discriminatory Retaliatory Behavior Culminating in Termination
Early Decision Antitrust Class Action
Northwestern is one of 32 elite universities named in D’Amico v. Consortium on Financing Higher Education, filed August 8, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleges the schools violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by using binding early decision policies to coordinate and inflate attendance costs. The case is in its early stages.26Forbes. Lawsuit Accuses 32 Elite Colleges of Early Decision Admissions Conspiracy
FASORP Faculty Hiring Suit
Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences, represented by America First Legal, sued the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law over alleged discrimination against white men in faculty hiring. On January 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis rejected those claims.27Westlaw (Thomson Reuters). FASORP v. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Bias Training Class Action (Dismissed)
In October 2025, Northwestern Graduate Workers for Palestine and two graduate students filed a class action in the Northern District of Illinois challenging the university’s mandatory anti-bias training, which used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. The plaintiffs alleged violations of Title VI, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act.28The Daily Northwestern. Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Northwestern Bias Training Judge Georgia Alexakis denied a temporary restraining order, saying she did not view watching the video as forcing students to endorse it.29ABC 7 Chicago. Group Faces Loss of Northwestern Student Status for Refusing Mandatory Anti-Bias Training The parties jointly dismissed the case on December 22, 2025.30Real Clear Education. Grad Workers for Palestine Dismiss Bias Training Lawsuit