North by Northwestern talked to NU football head coach Pat Fitzgerald about recruiting for next season and his vision for renewing student pride in athletics.
On this year’s recruitment:
“We feel good about recruitment, we found 19 men who fit Northwestern very well, they’re great character men, it’s a group of 19 guys who can win. We liked a lot of the stuff they did in high school, they have the confidence to come in and compete.”
On getting students to care about NU sports again:
“I ask our guys all the time ‘What does Wildcat pride mean to you? How do you define it?’ I can get students to come out, I can see them in the dorms [because] we want to add a more personal touch to the football family, [make the fans] a 12th man so to speak. When we have a raucous crowd at Ryan Field, it’s our real home field advantage. We want to foster an environment where students want to come out and be involved.”