Northwestern announced Thursday that it fired baseball coach Jim Foster, who was the subject of an investigation that found he violated university policy for engaging in abusive behavior. Assistant coach and former White Sox Brian Anderson will take over the program.
“Nothing will ever be more important to Northwestern than providing its students a place that allows them to develop in the classroom, in the community, and in competition at the absolute highest level, and building a culture which allows our staff to thrive,” athletic director Derrick Gragg said.
“This has been an ongoing situation and many factors were considered before reaching this resolution. As the Director of Athletics, I take ownership of our head coaching hires and we will share our next steps as they unfold.”
Anderson was a first-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2003. He played five seasons in the major leagues, winning a World Series with the Sox in 2005. He was an All-American at Arizona.
On Monday, The Score afternoon co-host Danny Parkins reported on his show that Foster “was the subject of an HR investigation that found him to have violated university policy by engaging in bullying and abusive behavior.”
Parkins said he spoke Sunday and Monday with nine sources around Northwestern baseball, including former coaches, people close to the program and current and former players. He also said he spoke with Foster for 30 minutes. Deviating from his regular show, Parkins read from prepared copy:
“Jim Foster has created a toxic environment that has run off coaches, broken the spirits of his team to the point where they likely will not be able to field a full roster this year and was the subject of an HR investigation that found him to have violated university policy by engaging in bullying and abusive behavior, making inappropriate comments about a female staffer and speaking negatively about his staff to other staff members. He also is alleged to have made comments that were racially insensitive and discouraged members of the team from seeking medical attention for their injuries.
“The university report did not find enough evidence to corroborate those allegations. However, the university did not speak to any players on the team while investigating those allegations. I did.”
Foster told Parkins that his reporting was a “hit piece,” that he disagreed with the HR report and that he denied dissuading players from seeing the trainer.
“Coaches complain. Maybe they wanted the job,” Foster, who was hired in June 2022, told Parkins. “Maybe the players aren’t good enough and are just making excuses or are disgruntled. Maybe it’s how they’re raised. It could be any of that stuff.”
The team went 10-40 in Foster’s first season, and Parkins said 15 players are in the transfer portal, including one who said Foster is the reason. Foster came to Northwestern from Army, where he was the 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year and led the academy to four conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.
