The hazing scandal that has cost Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald his job has lit up social media and made national headlines over the past few days.

Even as new details in the still-developing national story continue to become public, the shockwaves are already being felt throughout college athletics.

Including the ACC.

The Wildcats, or what’s left of them, are scheduled to play at Duke on Sept. 16. But that’s hardly the only connection the conference has to the ugly situation brought to light recently by an investigative report in Northwestern’s student newspaper.

There are at least 2 significantly more substantive issues to be addressed long before the 1st pass is thrown or touchdown scored.

As is usually the case anytime a Power 5 job opens up, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson’s name is being prominently mentioned in the media as a possible replacement for Fitzgerald, who was relieved of his duties Monday after 17 seasons at the Big Ten school.

Of even greater interest is the potential for the scandal’s tentacles to eventually reach out and entangle the ACC’s current commissioner. Jim Phillips was Northwestern’s athletic director and Fitzgerald’s boss at a time in which some of the incidents are alleged to have taken place.

But first things first: Clawson’s role in the drama.

It makes sense for the Wildcats’ current AD Derrick Gragg to reach out to the Deacons’ boss to gauge his interest. 

Clawson is one of the most underrated coaches in the country, if not the most underrated. He’s built a consistent winning program at a small private school that, like Northwestern, views the “student” part of the term “student-athlete” as more than just laughable NCAA jargon.

He also has a reputation for being a fixer of broken programs, something that would be necessary in this case even if the Wildcats weren’t coming off a 1-11 disaster last season.

But for as much as Northwestern’s interest in Clawson makes sense for Northwestern, there’s little to nothing in it for Clawson.

Which is why there’s absolutely no chance he would take the job even if it’s offered.

While there are certain challenges to coaching at Wake Forest, not the least of which is the academics and the small alumni base, he has a good thing going with the Deacons.

He has a strong, positive relationship with athletic director John Currie. The school’s donors like him. His soft-spoken style fits well with the personality of the university. Wake has given him everything he’s asked for in terms of facilities and infrastructure. He makes a competitive living with a salary in the neighborhood of $3.6 million a year.

And the Deacons aren’t getting thrown into the abyss of conference realignment anytime soon as long as the ACC’s Grant of Rights is in place, no matter how often the scenario is regurgitated on social media.

Most important, he wins. Consistently.

At the age of 55, after investing 9 years into Wake’s program, why would he want to give up the fruits of his labor for essentially a lateral move to a fixer-upper opportunity neck deep in scandal?

Especially since he’s already said thanks but no thanks to better jobs than Northwestern.

Which brings us to Phillips.

There is nothing to even suggest that the then-athletic director had any connection to the scandal, other than overseeing the entire athletics department. Or that he had even a hint of knowledge of what was going on behind the closed doors of his football team’s locker room.

But in light of Gragg’s apparent efforts to keep the controversy out of the public eye, it’s incumbent on Phillips to come forward and address the ugly situation. Specifically, he must answer the question of how alleged acts of hazing described by an anonymous player quoted by The Daily Northwestern as “absolutely egregious and vile and inhumane behavior” were able to continue on his watch without being reported or exposed.

He’ll almost certainly be asked about it at the ACC’s Football Kickoff media event in Charlotte later this month.

When Phillips extended Fitzgerald’s contact shortly before leaving for the ACC in 2021, he described the winningest coach in Northwestern history as “a leader uncommonly suited to this university” and praised him for building “a culture of unwavering belief in excellence on and off the field.”

His assessment of Fitzgerald, if the allegations are true, is chilling.

Not because it would be so far off base or because of the darkness of the allegations. But rather, because it shows that things such as the ugliness unfolding at Northwestern can hit so close to home.

They can be hidden in plain sight if they’re packaged in a nice enough wrapper. Or if the people involved project the right public image or win enough.

They can happen anywhere.

Even at your favorite school.