Fitzgerald Names Fields Director of Player Engagement
8/9/2021 10:02:00 AM | Football
EVANSTON, Ill. – Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald has named Demetrius Fields Northwestern football's director of player engagement.
"We are so fortunate to welcome Demetrius and his family back home to Northwestern," said Fitzgerald. "This role is essential to our program's progression as we continue to add resources for our student-athletes on and off the field. His perspective and guidance will be invaluable for our young men now and in the future."
In this newly created role, Fields will work to improve the player experience for all student-athletes within the Wildcat football family–including working with first-year onboarding, overseeing academic progress of current student-athletes, coordinating big brother and alumni mentoring programs, organizing community engagement initiatives and serving as the program's liaison with Northwestern's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) taskforce.
"I am extremely appreciative of this opportunity to be able to support Northwestern student-athletes, knowing firsthand the type of experience I was able to have here," said Fields. "Thank you to Coach Fitz, Jacob Schmidt, and the rest of the Wildcat Family for welcoming me back in such an important role. I am looking forward to working diligently to build on the current foundation while working to enhance the holistic development and programmatic support of all football student-athletes now and in the future."
A former wide receiver at Northwestern from 2008-12, Fields returns to Evanston after having spent the last seven years working in academic advising. Most recently, Fields worked as an academic advisor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to his time in Arlington, he spent four years as a College Advisor and Marketing Manager for the Academic Success Program in Dallas.
At Northwestern, Fields appeared in 39 games while making 36 starts at receiver. During his career, he hauled in 90 receptions for 978 yards and six touchdowns–including two game-winning touchdown receptions as a sophomore vs Iowa (2010) and at Syracuse as a senior (2012). While Fields was in Evanston, the Wildcats appeared in five-straight bowl games and ultimately capped off his career with a 34-20 win over Mississippi State in the 2013 Gator Bowl for Northwestern's first bowl victory in 64 years.
Off the field, Fields was a member of NU's 12-player leadership council and received the Carnig Minasian Citizenship Award in 2012, presented to a Wildcat player who has been an outstanding citizen on campus, in the community, in practice and on the field.
A Dallas native, Fields graduated from Northwestern in 2012 with a degree in sociology and recently earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.
"We are so fortunate to welcome Demetrius and his family back home to Northwestern," said Fitzgerald. "This role is essential to our program's progression as we continue to add resources for our student-athletes on and off the field. His perspective and guidance will be invaluable for our young men now and in the future."
In this newly created role, Fields will work to improve the player experience for all student-athletes within the Wildcat football family–including working with first-year onboarding, overseeing academic progress of current student-athletes, coordinating big brother and alumni mentoring programs, organizing community engagement initiatives and serving as the program's liaison with Northwestern's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) taskforce.
"I am extremely appreciative of this opportunity to be able to support Northwestern student-athletes, knowing firsthand the type of experience I was able to have here," said Fields. "Thank you to Coach Fitz, Jacob Schmidt, and the rest of the Wildcat Family for welcoming me back in such an important role. I am looking forward to working diligently to build on the current foundation while working to enhance the holistic development and programmatic support of all football student-athletes now and in the future."
A former wide receiver at Northwestern from 2008-12, Fields returns to Evanston after having spent the last seven years working in academic advising. Most recently, Fields worked as an academic advisor at the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to his time in Arlington, he spent four years as a College Advisor and Marketing Manager for the Academic Success Program in Dallas.
At Northwestern, Fields appeared in 39 games while making 36 starts at receiver. During his career, he hauled in 90 receptions for 978 yards and six touchdowns–including two game-winning touchdown receptions as a sophomore vs Iowa (2010) and at Syracuse as a senior (2012). While Fields was in Evanston, the Wildcats appeared in five-straight bowl games and ultimately capped off his career with a 34-20 win over Mississippi State in the 2013 Gator Bowl for Northwestern's first bowl victory in 64 years.
Off the field, Fields was a member of NU's 12-player leadership council and received the Carnig Minasian Citizenship Award in 2012, presented to a Wildcat player who has been an outstanding citizen on campus, in the community, in practice and on the field.
A Dallas native, Fields graduated from Northwestern in 2012 with a degree in sociology and recently earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.
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