Several individual defendants, including former athletic director and current ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and university president Michael Schill named in harassment lawsuits filed by former Northwestern athletes, have been removed from the lawsuits, according to court documents reviewed by ESPN.

Both Phillips and Schill were named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed by former athletes; former athletic director Derrick Gragg now serves as the school’s vice president of athletic strategy; former university president Morton Schapiro; and the school’s board of trustees.

The university and former football coach Pat Fitzgerald remain defendants.

In August, Phillips, Schill, Schapiro, Gragg and trustees were voluntarily discharged from 15 lawsuits filed by former football players under the name John Doe. In September, Phillips, former strength and conditioning coach Jay Hooten, current strength and conditioning coach Alex Spanos, and the board of trustees were voluntarily discharged from lawsuits filed by John Does. A separate class action lawsuit dismissed former university president Henry Bienen, former athletic director Mark Murphy and the board of trustees as individual defendants.

Additionally, a lawsuit filed by former Northwestern football player Ramon Diaz, who alleged racial mistreatment and other beatings, was voluntarily dismissed in June.

Fitzgerald, who was fired in July 2023, is suing the university for wrongful termination, demanding $130 million in damages. He denied any knowledge of allegations of hazing activities within the programme.

In April, a judge announced that the hazing cases and Fitzgerald’s claim would be heard together. The trial date of Fitzgerald’s case is set for April 2025.

Defendant’s termination stems from lawsuits filed by Salvi, Schostok, two Chicago-based firms. & Pritchard PC & Romanucci and Blandin. Attorneys representing individual defendants had moved to dismiss, based in part on the lack of any specific allegations against their clients.

Salvi’s spokesman Schostok & Pritchard PC declined to comment on the reason for the defendant’s dismissal. romanucci & Blandin did not respond to ESPN following repeated requests for comment.

Another round of lawsuits filed against Chicago-based Levin’s former Northwestern football players The firm & Perconti mostly named only Northwestern as a defendant, but three lawsuits also named Fitzgerald. All of these cases are ongoing.

Northwestern did not comment on the dismissals of individual defendants.

Phillips did not comment, but said in his 2023 statement that “hazing is completely unacceptable” and that “any allegations that I condoned or tolerated inappropriate behavior towards student-athletes are absolutely false. I will vigorously defend myself against any suggestion to the contrary.”

Schill admitted that the hazing occurred at Northwestern, which commissioned former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a review of how the athletics department detects and reports potential hazing or other misconduct. Lynch and his investigators released a report in June recommending that Northwestern improve anti-hazing training.