EVANSTON, Ill. — Mark Jackson had never visited Northwestern. When he first set foot on campus, he had already agreed to leave Villanova and take over as the school's new athletic director.
“My wife said, 'Aren't you going to visit the campus?'” Jackson said Tuesday, less than a week after he left Villanova to take the job sight unseen. “I said, 'I don't need to, I've talked to enough people who say this place is just amazing.'”
Jackson, 51, had been athletic director at Villanova since 2015, overseeing a department that won 34 Big East championships in multiple sports and two NCAA men's basketball tournament titles.
The Boston-area product was an administrator at the University of Southern California during its football team's dominant run under coach Pete Carroll and at Syracuse before taking over at Villanova. He also worked in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots, and has been with some of the most successful coaches, from Bill Belichick to Carroll to Jay Wright.
Jackson wasn't necessarily thinking about leaving Villanova, but Northwestern clearly has a lot going for it besides its Big Ten membership and excellent academic reputation.
The school, located north of Chicago, has invested heavily in its athletic facilities in recent years, building the spectacular $270 million Walter Athletics Center and the Ryan Fieldhouse indoor training center on the shores of Lake Michigan. The basketball arena has undergone a major renovation. The biggest project of all is currently underway: a new Ryan Field is being built on the site of the old football stadium.
The football team will play most of its home games for the next two years in a temporary lakefront stadium that opened Saturday to rave reviews, with views of the water and Chicago skyline. The Wildcats debuted their temporary stadium by beating Miami (Ohio) 13-6.
The program was one of the nation's biggest surprises last year, winning eight games and qualifying for a tournament in coach David Braun's first season. The men's basketball team made its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
There are lingering scars, too. In addition to helping Northwestern navigate a new landscape that includes NIL collectives and the possibility that schools may be able to directly compensate athletes while trying to regulate sponsor payments, Jackson may also have to help the school heal.
“As I mentioned to my staff this morning, doing the right thing is not always easy, but it is always the right thing to do,” Jackson said. “We will commit to doing it. Will we be perfect? Probably not. But we will proactively educate about the risks that exist in everything, whether it's academic integrity, gambling, or what consent means on a college campus.”
Jackson takes over after former athletic director Derrick Gragg was moved to an advisory role at the university following a hazing and abuse scandal that engulfed the department.
The university initially suspended longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald after allegations of harassment and abuse within the team. An investigation by attorney Maggie Hickey of the law firm ArentFox Schiff found “insufficient” evidence that the coaching staff was aware of ongoing harassment but concluded there were “significant opportunities” to find out.
Under mounting public pressure, school president Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald. Gragg was on vacation at the time of the controversy and never addressed the team in person. Fitzgerald is suing the school for wrongful termination.
The Chicago Tribune later reported that a Northwestern investigation confirmed allegations of bullying by baseball coach Jim Foster, who was hired by Gragg. Foster was not fired until the investigation became public.
An independent investigation led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch recommended that Northwestern improve its hazing prevention training. The school has taken steps to help prevent hazing and report misconduct.
Jackson cited the “uncompromising philosophy” of “treating each other right” and promised to examine how Northwestern oversees each team.
“When you're a head coach and you're overseeing 110 football players versus a lacrosse team that might have 26 women, the challenges are different,” Jackson said. “I think every program requires nuance. We want someone who is immersed in that program to work with the head coach, whether it's fundraising, compliance, ticket sales or academics.
“I want our administrators to be on top of everything and connected to each and every program.”
