Mike Polisky, who lasted nine times as Northwestern’s athletic director before resigning amid school demonstrations and national indignation, received a$ 1.2 million bright balloon, according to the university’s tax information.
In its latest IRS profit, which the college filed last year, Northwestern disclosed giving Polisky a$ 750, 000 remuneration in 2022. The preceding year, tax records show, he received$ 476, 190 in parting give.
A Northwestern spokesman declined to comment, and neither Polisky nor his counsel responded to Sportico’s messages.
Polisky, who had served as NU’s assistant athletic director for a century, announced his resignation on May 12, 2021, less than two months after being promoted to change the departing Jim Phillips, who left to be ACC director.

Four months prior, original Northwestern cheer Hayden Richardson named Polisky as a co-defendant in a sex trafficking lawsuit against the school, alleging that she was required to attend numerous NU football events where she was sexually assaulted.
According to her coat, Richardson reported the incidents to her praise instructor and various athletic officials, including Polisky—then the Wildcats ‘ deputy AD—in the hopes of spurring a proper Title IX investigation. Otherwise, she told the judge, Poliksy and another formal first accused her of “fabricating the evidence”, and stymied her work.
Upon announcing his departure, Polisky said in a assertion:” My love and respect for Northwestern and for our student-athletes, instructors and staff, is greater than my own desire to lead the office”. Polisky expressed regret for not being “more empathic in the moment” the day before during a private conference with Northwestern sports, according to a quietly obtained audio obtained by WBEZ Chicago.
In court records, Polisky has denied any wrongdoing. After leaving Northwestern, he was hired as executive vice president of Chicago-based Intersport. In April 2022, he took over as president of Intersport’s Association of Pickleball Players, which runs a recognized expert journey and visitors several amateur activities.
Meanwhile, Richardson’s lawsuit carries forth, having since been joined by a throng of other NU-related litigation. According to a joint status report on Richardson’s that was submitted to the court this week, Polisky had provided personal text messages during the course of discovery. All parties, according to the filing, are in the process of scheduling mediation for September.
Ultimately, Polisky’s resignation did little to ameliorate the concerns in Northwestern’s athletic department, which has convulsed with costly controversies ever since.
Last month, Northwestern announced that Polisky’s successor, Derrick Gragg, was being reassigned from his AD role to an athletic advisory position, following a star-crossed three years of managing scandals involving NU’s football and baseball teams.

In response to allegations of an endemic hazing culture in his program, Northwestern fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald in July, leading to the filing of a$ 130 million wrongful termination lawsuit. As of May, 25 former Wildcat football players had sued the school for hazing or other mistreatment, according to ESPN’s count. Last week, Northwestern’s former offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, who was terminated last year, filed a defamation suit against the school, Gragg and university president Michael Schill.