Northwestern University Names Mike Polisky As Athletic Director

EVANSTON, IL — Mike Polisky has been appointed athletic director of Northwestern University, school officials announced Monday, days after attorneys for the university and Polisky filed a motion seeking to dismiss a federal lawsuit from a former cheerleader.

Northwestern President Morton Schapiro announced Polisky, the deputy athletic director for external affairs since 2010, as his pick to succeed former Athletic Director Jim Phillips, who was hired in December as Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner.

“After our search committee conducted a thorough nationwide search and identified a number of strong candidates, I appointed Mike Polisky to build on our unprecedented successes and to lead Northwestern Athletics and Recreation into a new era,” Schapiro said, announcing the hiring.

The university president, who is departing his position in September 2022, said he hoped Polisky would build on recent successes as he leads the athletic department into the future.

“With his long experience at Northwestern, and his integrity and wisdom, I’m confident we will continue to be a model for excellence on the playing field and in the classroom,” Schapiro continued.

Polisky said he was grateful for the trust placed in him and added that he and his family were thankful to be members of the Northwestern community.

“Over the last 11 years, I’ve had the honor of working for the best and brightest student-athletes in college athletics, alongside the most impressive group of coaches and staff in the industry, at one of the most remarkable institutions of higher education in the world,” Polisky said in a statement announcing his hiring.

University officials credited Polisky for developing the athletic department's first-ever "comprehensive marketing campaign," branding the school as "Chicago's Big Ten Team."

Since then the football program has more than doubled its season ticket base, setting revenue records in five of the past nine years. Meanwhile, basketball season tickets have nearly doubled since 2009, hitting revenue records in each of the past 10 seasons, according to the university.

“The progress I’ve been part of here has been possible for the same reason the future of Athletics and Recreation is so bright: the people,” Polisky added.

Days before Phillips departed his post to take over at the ACC in February, former Northwestern cheerleader Hayden Richardson filed a federal lawsuit accusing the university and several of its employees of sexually exploiting the cheerleading team in violation of sex trafficking laws.

The suit named Polisky as a defendant, as well as the former head coach of the cheerleading team, an associate athletic director and a deputy Title IX coordinator.

According to her complaint, when Richardson, a senior from Nebraska, complained to athletic department staff about repeated instances of sexual assault and harassment at football games and other university-sponsored events, she was made to gather her own evidence to prove her case.

When Richardson and a teammate met with Polisky and the associate athletic director, he "accused her of fabricating the evidence," the complaint alleges. Polisky did not permit Richardson to meet with Phillips about her allegations, according to the suit.

In February, more than 80 women on the Northwestern faculty submitted an open letter to the Daily Northwestern in response to the allegations.

"Which NU employees heard allegations about [former cheerleading Head Coach] Pamela Bonnevier’s behavior, and how did they respond? What will be the consequences for those who allowed this to happen, or who failed to follow their legal obligation to report . . . or who tried to keep the matter of Bonnevier’s firing a secret?" the faculty members asked school officials. "Who allowed the perpetuation of this broader climate of racism, sexism and entrenched fear of retaliation against those who dared to speak out?"

Patch asked a university spokesperson if the allegations against Polisky or his status as a defendant in the case was a factor in his selection.

"We conducted a comprehensive, competitive, national search to be sure that we found the best person for Northwestern. We chose the candidate who we believe will be able to build on our Athletic department’s record of excellence in the classroom, in the community and in competition," said Jon Yates, assistant vice president of communications, in an email.

"The University has reviewed the complaint and denies that Northwestern violated any law, including Title IX. We are vigorously fighting the claims and have filed a motion to dismiss most of the complaint, including the individual defendants. Because the litigation is pending, we cannot discuss it further."

On Friday, attorneys for Northwestern and the administrators jointly filed a memo in support of their motion to dismiss six counts of Richardson's eight-count complaint.

The attorneys argued that the complaint failed to allege the existence of a "venture," and the "allegations actually establish that the Individual Defendants were unaware of the alleged commercial sex acts when they took place."

Seeking to dismiss the lawsuit's allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress, the attorneys for the university and its employees said its claims were insufficient.

"At best, such allegations support the conclusion that the individual defendants may have caused [Richardson] some disappointment, frustration, or worry," they said. The former cheerleader's allegations that the university administrators' "'inadequate response' to her complaints caused her severe emotional distress is not plausible," according to the university attorneys.

The search committee recommended Polisky and three women, including another longtime deputy to Phillips, Northwestern Interim Athletic Director Janna Blais, as well as Anucha Browne, a Hall of Fame Northwestern basketball player and former NBA executive, and Duke University Deputy Athletic Director Nina Brown, according to the Chicago Tribune, which first reported Polisky's appointment.

Some people involved in the search expressed concerns over the ethical implications of hiring Polisky while the lawsuit remains pending, while others emphasized his role in growing the athletic department to its current competitive and financial position, sources told the Tribune. A Northwestern spokesperson declined to disclose the list of finalists.

Craig Johnson, a university vice president, chaired the search committee, which submitted the group of finalists. The decision was ultimately Schapiro's.

“Mike’s deep understanding of Northwestern’s culture of hard work and excellence on behalf of our student-athletes stood out among a field of very talented candidates,” Johnson said in a statement announcing Polisky's hiring. “We look forward to his leadership and the new heights he will take us to as a university.”