Dear USD Community,

At the beginning of this busy semester, I alerted the community to allegations of hazing and misconduct on the USD Football team that occurred in August 2023. In the message I sent to students, I emphasized the importance of hope, truth and compassion in guiding us through opportunities and challenges. In that spirit, I write today to provide an update and next steps in the healing and rebuilding process.

As you may recall, upon learning of the allegations, the University immediately initiated an inquiry. We also retained a highly respected national law firm to conduct an independent review. It is important to note that the University does not have subpoena power, nor the ability to require anyone to cooperate. Nonetheless, interviews were requested with all players, coaches and related athletic personnel, and over 80,000 pieces of data, including texts, emails and electronic messages, were reviewed.

On August 1, the first day of fall camp, Coach Moore stated unequivocally to the players that hazing would not be tolerated. That same afternoon, the anti-hazing message was reinforced to the team by Athletic Department staff.

We have learned that despite these clear directions, two events, organized by players, subsequently took place on the USD campus in August that may constitute hazing based on the University’s code of student conduct.

Some members of the team described the activities as “voluntary”; however, it is evident that others felt pressured into participating under the premise that this was a way to be accepted by returning members.

Coach Moore has stated clearly that he did not know about the alleged activities prior to being informed by a student-athlete on August 18. No indication to the contrary has been found. As I reported before, once Coach Moore learned of the allegations, he immediately reported them to the Athletic Director, who in turn reported them to me.

The University has taken several actions in the aftermath of these events. All football activities were quickly suspended while the allegations were initially investigated by USD Public Safety, which then notified the San Diego Police Department. At this time, we are unaware of any charges being filed by the SDPD regarding this matter. The University will continue to cooperate fully with any current or future law enforcement inquiries associated with these events.

Following a preliminary internal inquiry, before the end of August athletic sanctions were levied and certain members of the team were suspended from football activities, with the suspensions ranging from one game to permanent. At the same time, the University removed two coaches from participating in team related activities during the investigation. Subsequently, there have been several football roster and staff changes.

The University will soon commence code of student conduct proceedings stemming from the alleged events. Those students determined to have violated the University’s code will face sanctions, and in some cases the student’s behavior may warrant suspension or expulsion from the University. To protect the privacy of our students, USD does not publicly release the names of those who have been the subject of disciplinary action.

While disciplinary action is important, it is also our responsibility as an educational institution to help our students learn and grow. Immediately upon learning of the allegations, we deployed our CARE Advocates and staff from Student Wellness to work with the football team, and the University has provided Coach Moore and the players with a diversity of resources to develop a healthier culture. We continue to encourage any USD students who feel they have been impacted by these events to contact the USD Counseling Center to seek support.

The University is also committed to learning from this experience and to do all that it can to prevent such activities from happening in the future. USD has joined a national consortium of schools working to prevent hazing, alongside such institutions as Princeton and SMU.  In addition, the athletic department brought to campus Tony Porter, an educator and activist who is internationally known for his work developing young men, and his team to conduct a workshop.

USD is also fortunate to be the host site for the Center for Restorative Justice, one of four universities in the country to have such a program. Restorative Justice practices allow organizations to respond to difficult situations by helping to clearly identify harm, needs, solutions and accountability through an inclusive and collaborative process. The football program has already started to lay the foundation for this important work and the University plans to engage all members of the team and other members of the University community impacted by these events.

We will continue to support Coach Moore as he leads a reset and rebuilding of the football program in a manner that reflects the fundamental values, standards, and expectations of the USD community.

He has already initiated this reset through several actions. When the season ended, each position coach individually met with the student-athletes with whom they work about behavioral expectations going forward. Coach Moore met individually with every player to explain the required accountability to themselves and their teammates. He emphasized that team members represent their families, the USD football team, the Athletic Department, and the University. Meeting the highest standards of honor and respect is expected and required. 

The efforts and attitude of each player will be observed, and they will be provided with feedback as the players participate in classes, community service, and training workouts prior to the start of spring practice. The football locker room is closed to the players until they earn the privilege of using it by demonstrating progress in overall behavior, work in the classroom, training effort, and respect for one another and the University. The staff will conduct weekly check-ins on class work and seek mid-semester feedback from faculty on players’ academic progress.

Like many of you, I believe the behavior reported is deeply concerning and feel it is antithetical to who we are as a university.  I sincerely apologize for the impact this has had on our community. At USD, we believe that Catholic Social Teachings propel us to confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. This painful episode does not live up to the standards we expect of ourselves, or that the world expects of USD. USD is committed to promoting an environment and culture that respects the dignity of every human being and we will work together to turn the current challenge into an opportunity to demonstrate and reinforce our values.

Peace,

James T. Harris III, DEd
President