Patrick Fitzgerald enters his third season as the University of Northwestern Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach in 2026. He is the eighth head coach of the Cross Country teams in school history and the 10th head coach of the Track and Field teams.
In his first Cross Country season, Coach Fitzgerald led the Men's team to a 3rd place finish in the UMAC Championships and 10th in the NCCAA National Championships. On the Women's side, he led the team to a 4th-place finish in the UMAC Championships with 6 of 8 runners PR'ing in the race, along with an 8th-place finish at the NCCAA Championships.
On the track, the Lady Eagles finished 2nd in the Indoor UMAC Championship Meet with 6 new Northwestern records being set along the way. In the spring, they finished 4th in the Outdoor UMAC Championships. He also coached Grace Moravchik to an NCCAA Outdoor National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles.
Year two held continued success for Coach Fitzgerald. The Women's Cross Country team won the UMAC Championships for the first time since 2000. They later placed second at the NCCAA National Championship. The Men's team improved to 9th in the NCCAA Championships from last season and finished 3rd in the UMAC a week earlier. In the winter, the Men's and Women's Indoor teams finished 5th and 4th, respectively, at the Indoor UMAC Championships. Later in the Spring at the UMAC Meet, the Women finished 5th, and the Men placed 7th. Several athletes then attended the NCCAA National Championships for the outdoor season, and three Eagles from the women's team secured third-place finishes and All-American status. Throughout the season, the Women's team broke eight total records.
Coach Fitzgerald came to Northwestern having racked up nearly a decade's worth of experience at St. Cloud Cathedral High School in central Minnesota. During his time with the Crusaders, Fitzgerald served as the middle and long distance track coach and spent multiple seasons as the Head Coach of the Boys Cross Country team. While coaching track and cross country in St. Cloud, Fitzgerald was also working as a Physical Education teacher at St. Cloud Math and Science Academy and serving as a caregiver in the area.
