The group of former Northwestern football players have reportedly agreed to settle their lawsuits against the school, which alleged hazing and abusive behavior.
The former players agreed to drop all claims against both Northwestern and ex-head coach Pat Fitzgerald as part of the settlement, Bloomberg reported.
Fitzgerald was suspended by Northwestern in July 2023 after an ex-player of his reported alleged hazing in November 2022. The school conducted its own investigation, and though no evidence was found of Fitzgerald or his staff knowing of such hazing, it found he had opportunities to report hazing conduct.
A statement was released on Tuesday by Fitzgerald's attorneys, Dan Webb and Matthew Carter, which focused on evidence that their client "committed no wrongdoing." Also, Fitzgerald is moving forward with his wrongful termination lawsuit against Northwestern.
"Coach Fitzgerald learned yesterday that Northwestern University and certain former Northwestern football players have finalized a global settlement agreement to dismiss all claims made by the players against Northwestern and Coach Fitzgerald," the attorney's statement read, via The Inside Zone.
"Despite extensive written and testimonial discovery, there remains no evidence to show or suggest that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing at Northwestern. The discovery has thus confirmed what Northwestern said through President Michael Schill both before and after Coach Fitzgerald's termination: that there is no evidence that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing and that, despite a thorough and months-long investigation, Maggie Hickey found no credible evidence to believe Coach Fitzgerald, or any other coaching staff, knew about any alleged hazing.
"While the settlement resolves the claims brought by the players, Coach Fitzgerald's claims against Northwestern remains. He continues to assert that Northwestern illegally terminated his employment, violated an oral contract, and defamed him, causing significant damage to his sterling reputation."
Fitzgerald was initially suspended two weeks in 2023, but he released a statement claiming he had no knowledge of any hazing. Northwestern players even released a statement defending their coach, while Schill admitted he might have been wrong in suspending Fitzgerald.
But more former players came forward with racism allegations, which ultimately led Schill to fire Fitzgerald altogether.
Fitzgerald filed a wrongful termination lawsuit months after his firing, claiming that he and Schill reached an oral agreement that he would face no further punishment from the university after the two-week suspension.
Fitzgerald was seeking $130 million in damages as part of his lawsuit.
His next court date in his trial against Northwestern is currently scheduled for Nov. 3, 2025.
Dean Wells, who played for nearly a decade in the NFL following a standout career at the University of Kentucky, died Thursday following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 54.
Wells spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks after he was selected in the fourth round of the 1993 draft. He signed with the Carolina Panthers in 1999, where he played for another three seasons before officially retiring in 2001.
The Panthers announced Wells’ passing on the team website Friday.
Wells first opened up about his cancer diagnosis in an interview with On3.com in April 2024. He said he had been diagnosed the previous year with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
"There’s mental toughness that comes into it. You have to have a positive attitude that you can beat it. I’ve done everything that I can with that. It’s like the chemo either works or it doesn’t. You just don’t have a lot of control over it. You wish you had more control," he said at the time.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in which "the disease progresses rapidly and creates immature blood cells, rather than mature ones."
Wells finished his pro career with 529 tackles, 2.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and three interceptions. It followed a standout career at Kentucky where Wells still holds the records for most sacks in a game (5) and the single-season sack record (10).
"Condolences to family & friends of Dean Wells, who has passed away," the university said in a statement on social media.
"A 3-year starter, he set a UK single-game record with 5 sacks vs. Indiana and went on to a 9-year NFL career. After NFL retirement, he returned to hometown Louisville and was a staunch supporter of the Wildcats."
Wells is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their two sons.
Kevin Willard left the Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team to take over the Villanova Wildcats, attempting to resurrect the program that saw Jay Wright leave a few years ago.
Willard’s departure came after the Terrapins had a fun run in March Madness, which saw Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater give them a win over Colorado State. Maryland’s run ended in the Sweet 16 with a loss to the No. 1-seeded Florida Gators.
It was the deepest tournament run for Willard’s team since he took over the Terps before the start of the 2022-23 season. He had been with the Seton Hall Pirates before that.
However, as quickly as he arrived, Willard was gone. He was announced as the new head coach at Villanova on Sunday as the Wildcats prepared for the College Basketball Crown. The decision for Willard to leave angered Maryland fans, including ESPN broadcaster Scott Van Pelt.
"Of course Kevin Willard can go to Villanova," Van Pelt started. "Of course, you can go back to your Big East roots. Of course, if it’s better for your family –– we’re savages, but we’re not soulless savages. If it’s better for your family, of course. But maybe you don’t take a giant s--- on the front steps of the house you’ve lived in for the last three years.
"You don’t do damage to the university and program where you’ve been for three years. And you don’t take efforts of the people behind the scenes who poured their hearts and souls into this for free for you to try and fill in the gaps. And tell them, ‘Nah, nah I love this university and I just want it to be great. And I’m anal, and I’m an A-hole and I just want this program to be the best it can be.
"Maybe you don’t tell those people that to their face repeatedly when everyone in the industry is saying to me, ‘Scott, why are you guys wasting your time? This is done. Everybody in the business knows it. He’s gone.’"
Van Pelt, a Maryland grad, appeared to be upset with how Willard started the tournament. The coach took subtle shots at outgoing athletics director Damon Evans and complained of the lack of NIL resources the program had.
The broadcaster suggested Willard’s requests were not made in good faith.
Regardless, Willard is off on a new journey. He was 65-39 in three seasons at Maryland. He spent 12 years at Seton Hall and three years at Iona.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope seemed to instantly regret his recent vow to help fund fan travel to the Wildcats' first-round game in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, but he still made good on the promise.
Kentucky is scheduled to play Troy in Milwaukee in the first round on Friday. During a recent edition of his call-in radio show, Pope volunteered to help cover fuel costs for Kentucky fans who were willing to drive from Lexington, Kentucky, to Wisconsin.
"It’s only a seven-hour drive, so if you’re having trouble with gas money, hit me up. Let’s get all of (Big Blue Nation) BBN out there," Pope said on Monday. "I’m not gonna tell you how to hit me up, because I’m nervous about how many people are about to hit me up. I had this ridiculous notion one night after a game to buy everybody that was left in the arena ice cream. It cost me a little bit more than I anticipated, but it’s all in the family, baby. It’s family. Let’s go."
Pope later shared a message from a Kentucky student named Jack who requested money for gas, and possibly a ticket to the game. The student said he had traveled to Florida for spring break but promised he would be able to arrive in Milwaukee in time for tip off.
"It just went from gas money to a ticket!" Pope responded. "Listen, Jack, here’s the deal. I’m gonna try and hit you back, man. I’m doing my best, okay? I love it. BBN, man, it is the greatest blessing in the world to be able to be a part of BBN. There’s nowhere like it. I love it."
Screenshots later surfaced on social media, showing an email exchange between Pope's executive assistant and the student.
The email featured some parameters, including verification that the traveling party did not include any high school-aged individuals. The message also asked for Venmo information.
"Hi Jack! Coach Pope would love to take care of your gas money! For this to happen, we would need you to send us proof that you have tickets to the game! At that point, we can send you the flat rate gas money," the email read. "Please verify that there is no one in your party that is within the recruitable age (9th-12th grade)."
Another email offered the student a gift card.
"We will have a $100 Visa gift card here at our office for you to pick up. Let me know what day and time you will be able to come get it," the follow-up email read.
Pope coached Kentucky to a 22-11 regular-season record during his first year at the helm.
Riley Gaines, a decorated former NCAA swimmer for the University of Kentucky, praised the Trump administration on Wednesday after it was announced that $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania had been paused over the university’s inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
"The Trump administration has yet again taken swift action to uphold common sense and preserve women's opportunities by pausing $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania," Gaines, the host of OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
"UPenn allowed a male to compete in women’s swimming, stripping female athletes like myself and my teammates of their hard-earned podium spots, trophies, and records all while forcing them to share a locker room with this fully intact man who exposed himself to us."
She continued, "This proactive step sends a clear message: institutions that disregard the integrity of women’s sports and the rights of female athletes will face consequences. More of this."
A senior administration official told FOX Business exclusively on Wednesday that the administration has paused $175 million in federal funding. This did not account for UPenn’s total federal funding, which the university previously reported last year was around $1 billion.
The pause is not a direct result of the investigation into UPenn, which the Department of Education announced a day after the president signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" executive order on Feb. 5.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a university spokesperson said UPenn has not received any "official notification" of the funding pause, and added that the university was and is in "full compliance" with NCAA and Ivy League policies.
"We are aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding to Penn, but have not yet received any official notification or any details. It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams. We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions."
Gaines, a former 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer, found herself at the center of national attention when she tied with UPenn’s Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, in the 2022 NCAA National Championships.
Thomas and Gaines both tied for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle final, but it was Thomas that was given the fifth-place trophy to pose for photos with. Thomas would also go on to win a national championship title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.
UPenn still stands at risk of losing all its federal funding amid an investigation into potential Title IX violations.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement provided by the Education Department last month that three institutions would be investigated for suspected Title IX violations.
In addition to UPenn, San Jose State University, which made headlines in the fall after several schools refused to play the women’s volleyball team because of a trans athlete on the roster, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association are also being investigated for suspected violations.
The name, image, and likeness (NIL) system in college athletics has been welcomed by student-athletes who have been able to cash in on brand partnerships, some of whom are making millions fresh out of high school.
Kansas State's Coleman Hawkins, though, is showing a different side of that system when athletes don't meet expectations despite those millions.
The Wildcats fell to the Baylor Bears, 70-56, in the Big 12 tournament, and the loss ended the team's 2024-25 campaign.
Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang said in his postgame comments that the team was unlikely to accept a bid to a consolation tournament — the NIT or the new College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.
Hawkins, a transfer from the Illinois Fighting Illini, was supposed to lead the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament, something he handled well last season with an Elite Eight appearance. He also declared for the NBA Draft but returned to college and reportedly got paid $2 million to transfer to Kansas State.
But the 23-year-old Hawkins didn't have the same season he had with Illinois last year, averaging 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, while shooting 40.1% from the field and 30.3% from three-point territory. Hawkins averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, while shooting 45.1% from the field last season.
With Kansas State not meeting expectations this season, Hawkins showed a brutal side of being a top-paid player.
"These guys haven't experienced some of the things I've experienced," Hawkins said through tears, referencing the backlash he's gotten from fans this season. "I really wanted to come in and impact the program. I'm sorry for crying, but, s---, this s--- hurts.
"I feel like I let a lot of people down. I feel like I did a poor job of letting people talk about me. It affected my play. It was happening all year. I wish I could just go back and block out everything, not for myself, but for the team, so we could have a more successful year. This is a learned lesson for me, and I wish the best for the future of this program."
Hawkins finished his fifth year of college, meaning his playing days at this level are done. He will now look ahead to potential professional opportunities, which could be declaring for the NBA Draft yet again.
But Hawkins' emotions and, more importantly, the vitriol and backlash he received, is the reality of this pay-to-play system that the NCAA and every college sport are still trying to navigate.
Much like professionals who sign big-money contracts, expectations go through the roof when the dollar amount is made public. Fans expect the players to play up to their contract, and when that doesn't happen, the backlash can be brutal.
Hawkins noted that going through that since the beginning of the season and blocking it out wasn't easy.
An entrepreneur launched a plushie that purrs, targeting millennials and Gen Zers.
Plushie sales are booming among adults who find comfort in the things they enjoyed as kids.
Research shows cat purrs have calming effects, aligning with Purryfuls' stress-relief mission
An entrepreneur set up a company making purring plushies — and is aiming them at stressed-out millennials and Gen Zers.
Katharine Burke was burned out while working in tech. On one particularly bad day, she came home to her cat, Wren, and all she wanted was a cuddle.
Wren, being a cat, operates on her own terms and was not in an affectionate mood at that moment.
"I thought to myself, it'd be nice if I could just find a little purring hot water bottle to take her place when she was uncooperative," Burke told Business Insider. "I went online because I was just going to buy it. I was really surprised when I could not find what I was looking for."
Burke decided to start making plushies herself and set up a company called Purryfuls, and left her job a couple of months later to focus on the project.
They launched at Toy Fair New York last weekend.
One of the Purryfuls plushies, inspired by Wren the Siamese tabby cat.
Purryfuls
Plushies are hot
There has been a boom in plushie sales among adults in recent years.
Plushies are "hot right now," Brian Benway, the senior tech and gaming analyst at Mintel, previously told BI. In Mintel's Traditional Toys and Games report, published in October 2024, Benway said that plushies were particularly in demand, with sales growing significantly.
Some attribute plushie popularity to millennials clinging onto their youth, but others think it's because there is less judgment about alternative interests and hobbies.
Burke said she wasn't aware of this when launching Purryfuls, but it's the age group she's targeting. She isn't surprised that Gen Zers and millennials are turning toward stuffed toys.
"I still remember my teddy bear — that was the first comforting device that I had," she said. "My key mission here was just to make something that would bring a little bit of calm to someone's day."
Burke realized that a lot of the things that stressed her out — fights with insurance companies, DMV bills, unexpected expenses from leaking pipes — would probably be stressing others out too.
"It's meant to be a little moment of calm, a little moment of joy in your day, so that you can take a break," Burke said.
The idea isn't to replace real pets but to be there when you need their comfort, and they have better things to do.
There are several different settings, including a sleep mode, in which the Purryful purrs quietly for 10 minutes to help you drift off.
Purring is healing
Purring is thought to be healing for cats and a sign of happiness.
In Margaret Atwood's "MaddAddam" trilogy, an idealistic, genetically spliced humanoid species has coopted the cat's purr to heal physical wounds. This may not just be science fiction, though, because academic research suggests purring could be good for us, too.
A article published in the Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin journal in 2023 featured a small study of 65 respondents of different ages, all of whom had pet cats for varying amounts of time. The cat owners reported that their cats' purrs had a relaxing and calming effect.
The authors noted the function of a cat's purr is not entirely understood, but previous research found that mechanical vibrations have been shown to promote self-healing in humans.
In another study that looked at the impact of a pet cat on mental wellbeing during the pandemic, owners described their moggy's purrs as grounding and comforting.
Millennials and Zoomers have both been described as "anxious" generations, and Burke wants Purryfuls to be there to help if it can.
"I don't know that I want to say that things are harder for one generation over another — they're probably just different," she said.
"But I do feel that now what we're getting is people saying, no, I'm not going to follow the path you prescribed for me. I am going to make my choices for myself based on what I like, and what feels right to me," Burke added. "That's something I can really relate to — and that's exactly what I did."
The Big 12 tournament kicked off this week in women’s college basketball, and it was the court itself that has been a talking point among fans.
The court's design is far from traditional. The Big 12’s "XII" logo not only appears at center court. It appears all over the court.
The "XII" logo in the court's lanes was designed as a lighter gray superimposed on the rest of the court, which is a slightly darker gray. The gray-on-gray look has drawn mixed reviews from fans online.
"I’m watching the #UCF women’s basketball team compete in the Big 12 tourney. Am I the only one who thinks the court is terrible? It looks like one of those optical illusion paintings they sold at Spencer’s Gifts," the Orlando Sentinel's Matt Murschel wrote on X.
"Trying to decide if this court design at the Big 12 Tournament will grow on me over the next two weeks or it’s just ugly," another user posted.
"The entire court looking like a DNA strand is just overdoing it. There was nothing wrong with the Big 12 Tournament court in previous seasons," the post said.
However, not all the reviews were negative.
"I have bad news for the Big 12 court haters. The court in person is actually fire!"
"The court at the Big 12 tournament is kinda cool…" another post said.
The quarterfinals of the Big 12 women’s tournament continued Friday, where West Virginia began the four-game slate with a 73-69 win over Kansas State.
Northwestern's women's basketball team will have to forfeit two of the games on its schedule after not traveling to Los Angeles during the devastating wildfires in January.
The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that Northwestern's games against UCLA on Jan. 12 and USC on Jan. 15 won't be rescheduled and instead will count as losses for the Wildcats and wins for the Southern California-based programs.
Northwestern athletics director Mark Jackson released a statement supporting his team's decision not to travel during the fires, and accepted the decision by the Big Ten.
"Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern’s Women’s Basketball after the team’s decision not to travel to Los Angeles during the tragic wildfires in Southern California," Jackson wrote, per On3.
"While we acknowledge that bylaws and rules are in place for a reason and we will abide by them, it does not diminish this team’s sound reasoning for not participating during this natural disaster. We will continue to support our Women’s Basketball student-athletes and hope for a strong recovery for the Southern California region."
UCLA and USC, led by phenom JuJu Watkins, were already the two winningest teams in the conference so far this season. USC is in first place in the Big Ten with a 15-1 conference record as UCLA is in second at 14-1.
Meanwhile, Northwestern sits in 15th place with a 2-13 conference record, and is battling Purdue, Rutgers and Penn State for the final spot in the Big 10 tournament.
The fires impacted multiple sporting events in the Los Angeles and Anaheim area during the month of January, including a playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers NBA games.
The city's local sports teams donated more than $8 million to support victims of the wildfires. Those teams included the Anaheim Ducks, Angel City FC, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Sparks.
"Cincinnati basketball mourns the loss of Steve Toyloy, a Bearcat from 2008 to 2010," the men’s basketball team’s post on X read. "Our thoughts are with Steve's family, teammates, and all who knew him."
No cause of death was announced.
Toyloy played with the Bearcats in his junior and senior seasons. He played in 67 games and averaged about 15.8 minutes per game over the course of his career. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in those appearances.
He played under then-head coach Mick Cronin for those two years. The Bearcats were 18-14 in 2008-09 and 19-16 in 2009-10. The team made it as far as the NIT in 2010. They missed the postseason altogether in 2009.
Toyloy never made it to the NBA but was able to continue his professional career internationally.
He played in Turkey, Brazil and Malaysia. He was named the MVP of the Malaysia Pro League in 2019. He was playing basketball as recently as 2023, according to sports writer Jordan Yap.
He was born in Iowa but moved to Arizona with his family when he was young and attended high school in Phoenix. He attended the University of Arizona and was a quarterback for the Wildcats for three seasons before he turned pro.
In 27 collegiate games, Demory had 3,268 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes. Arizona did not have a winning record when he was there.
He joined the Jets in 1973 and started in three of the six games he played in. He had 159 passing yards, two touchdown passes and eight interceptions that season. He was in a quarterback room that included Al Woodall and Joe Namath. New York finished 4-10 that season.
In 1974, the Jets were 7-7 with Namath leading the charge. Demory never saw the field.
Arizona Central noted that before Nick Foles started a game in the NFL, Demory was one of three quarterbacks who played at Arizona and started an NFL game. Eddie Wilson and Fred Enke were the other two.
Demory was later an economics professor at Arizona Western and Central Arizona College from 1999 to 2016 and an adjunct teacher at Mesa Community College from 1998 to 2024.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, 14 grandchildren, two step-children and his brother.
The BYU Cougars topped the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night in a wild game that featured a controversial call, an incident between players and an explicit chant from the crowd in Tucson.
The Wildcats had the ball with under 12 seconds to play. Caleb Love was searching for some heroics and was fouled as he made a shot. But instead of receiving the possibility of completing a three-point play, Love was given only two free throws. He hit them both and put Arizona up 95-94 with a few seconds to play.
BYU moved the ball up the floor quickly. Cougars star Richie Saunders drove the lane and tried to float one toward the basket. He fell trying and a late whistle was heard. Arizona’s Trey Townsend was called for a foul. Saunders made both free throws and BYU won the game.
Players had to be separated as they were in the handshake line after the game. Furthermore, fans of the No. 19-ranked Wildcats were heard changing "f--- the Mormons" as BYU left the floor.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd disagreed with the last-second foul call.
"It’s a bad call. I mean like, whatever. What am I going to say? You hate for a game to be decided by that," Lloyd said, via Sports Illustrated. "(Townsend) played good defense. The guy’s pivoting, pivoting, pivoting, throws his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down. It’s a foul with two seconds to go. I mean listen, it’s the Big 12. That’s what I’m told. And the guy who called it is one of the best refs. So we’ve got to live with it."
Arizona officials also issued an apology for the fans’ chant.
"Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred," athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois said in a statement.
"On behalf of the University of Arizona Athletic Department, we apologize to BYU, their student-athletes, coaches and fans. The chant is not reflective of who we are and should not have happened."
Malena DeMartini doesn't want to say that return-to-office mandates have been good for business because there's nothing good about the prospect of dogs suffering. But as a dog trainer who specializes in separation anxiety, she's recently been inundated with clients. After years of having their owners around all day, many pets aren't accustomed to being alone anymore — some have never spent any time solo at all. So when the boss says it's time to pack it in on remote work, many people are caught flat-footed, and their animals are paying the price.
"I won't sugarcoat it. It's much harder if people haven't prepared in advance," she said. "Keep your little furry friend in mind because it's a drastic transition."
Unfortunately, many pet owners have slept on the preparedness front. Their employers are demanding they come back to the office, and even the most understanding of managers may not be super open to "my dog will be sad" as a valid excuse for a permanent work-from-home exception. This has left people to scramble to figure out what to do with their pets, many of which are not accustomed to spending long stretches of time by themselves. Concerned owners are signing their dogs up for day care, rushing to find walkers and sitters, and buying treat-dispensing video cameras they hope will calm their pets' nerves (and their own). For those who have yet to get an RTO order, DeMartini recommends acting like one is coming anyway. Teach your dog to be by itself now, before you're panicked about whether your little guy will destroy your couch as retribution for your 9-to-5.
The pandemic pet conundrum has become a familiar story: Lonely people stuck at home in 2020 decided it was an opportune time to get a new dog or cat, figuring that they finally had time to dedicate to such an endeavor. In one American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals survey of US residents, one in five respondents said their household got a cat or dog between March 2020 and May 2021.
"We had more people who wanted to foster or adopt than we had pets in the shelters, which was incredible to see," said Tori Fugate, the director of communications for Shelter Animals Count, a national database for animal rescues and shelters.
Dogs don't know how to dog
Adrienne Preuss, the owner of Animal Loving Care, a dog day care and boarding facility in Brooklyn, New York, said that while the pandemic brought about a "huge surge" in people getting pets, a lot of these new owners made "spur-of-the-moment decisions" and weren't prepared for what came next. Her business started offering remote dog training and sending instructional videos to clients who were struggling with their new wards.
"We had a lot of puppies that came in during that time with behavioral issues for a number of reasons. The biggest reason was that people were not leaving them at any period of time, so they were either with the owners constantly at home or with us," she said. "There was no period of time where they were not with humans, and that's not ideal for setting up a dog to feel confident being by themselves."
Then, as the pandemic eased and people returned to their normal lives — going out to dinner, taking vacations, and easing their way back into the office — they were confronted with a crop of pets who had no idea how to make do on their own. As the return-to-office push has continued, more and more pet owners are finding themselves in a pickle. Serveral major companies are trying to strong-arm their workers back into the office: AT&T, Citigroup, and Dell are telling employees to come in full time, and others, including Apple and Starbucks, are requiring part-time in-office work. President Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to get people back into the office, too. In addition to all the other disruptions of the RTO orders, pet owners are concerned their dogs have separation anxiety, and even if he doesn't, Fido may not be jazzed about staying home alone — or able to do so responsibly.
"Dogs don't know how to dog," said Kate Meghji, the chief operating officer of the Humane Rescue Alliance, an animal-service provider based in Washington, DC.
Jacob Hensley, the founder of District Dogs, a dog day care in Washington, DC, said he sees an influx of new clients whenever a big return-to-office mandate hits the area. This year already, he saw a jump in account creations and new reservations as Amazon started requiring people to come in five days a week in January, and he's seeing even more now as federal workers are being told to show up in person. He's also getting clients as people move to the area because of RTO asks.
"Whenever we see a new customer, the majority of the conversations talk about" a return to the office, he said.
In 2023, District Dogs opened a location at Amazon's HQ2 campus in Arlington, Virginia, to help accommodate (and pick up business from) employees going into the office. Hensley is now in discussions with a large employer in the Washington, DC, area to put together some sort of dog day care benefit for employees coming back to the office. "We are living in a fur baby age," he said.
You don't have to do a deep dive into Reddit to find examples of workers fretting about what to do with their beloved pets while they spend the day putting in their time with The Man. "Anyone else concerned about what they'll do with their pets if they're gone 10 or more hours a day commuting with RTO?" one Redditor wrote in January on a forum for federal employees.
So what, exactly, is one to do?
Sending your dog to day care is a decent option for workers, but it has its limitations. For one thing, it's expensive. District Dogs in Alexandria, for example, charges $50 a day, as does Animal Loving Care, though they give discounts for packages. For many people, sending a dog to day care five days a week isn't feasible, not only because of costs but also because the dog may not want to be there. If the pet hasn't been socialized correctly, it might not take well to day care, and even if it has, older dogs tend to age out of day care enjoyment.
DeMartini said we're "only limited by our creativity" with finding people who can watch dogs at little or no cost. She suggested reaching out to retirement communities to see whether they might benefit from a furry friend from time to time or calling up a family member, friend, or neighbor who has more spare time. There are always dog walkers, but again, that can get expensive, and your walker probably isn't going to spend eight hours with your pet. You can also ask about bringing your dog to work, but your manager and your coworkers may not be open to it.
The worst-case scenario is, of course, that someone winds up renouncing their pet because they feel they can't make it work. Shelter Animals Count, which tracks animal rescues and shelters across the US, found that 5.8 million pets were taken in by shelters and rescues in 2024, which is still below the prepandemic level but a jump from the pandemic low of 5.3 million in 2020. When pets do land in a shelter, it's now taking them longer to get adopted than in 2020 when they were getting scooped up, which is leaving shelters overwhelmed.
Fugate said that it's not clear whether RTO has been a major driver of pet returns. It's often economic factors (vet bills and food are expensive) or because of housing problems — many places don't accept pets. Preuss from Animal Loving Care said that she saw an "unprecedented level" of people giving away pets in the wake of the pandemic but that things had normalized since that time.
Even those who keep their dogs now may be hesitant about adopting again if they have a negative experience. Meghji said that people generally seem "pretty committed" to working with their pets and modifying their lifestyles, even amid behavioral challenges, but she worries about "what that means the next time they're thinking about getting a dog."
No matter how unprepared your pandemic pup may be, every animal behavior expert and day care owner I spoke with for this story said it's critical for a pet to be able to be by itself for at least some chunks of time. It might take some practice and effort (or a lot) and some development of a routine, but in the long run, it's good for a dog to be able to self-soothe and have some me time.
If you're worried about your pet being at home alone, it's important to figure out whether they're actually suffering from separation anxiety, which is a clinically diagnosed condition, or the problem is something else. People have a tendency to attribute everything their animal does that they don't like to anxiety, even when that may not be the root cause.
Separation anxiety can manifest in various ways. Some dogs bark or howl endlessly. Some try to escape. Some destroy things. Others will urinate or defecate out of worry. Katherine Houpt, a professor emeritus of animal behavioral medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, said the best thing pet owners can do is to get a camera so they can see how their dog is reacting when they leave. That may also help them figure out whether what's happening is even separation anxiety — your dog might tear up your apartment because it's sad you're gone, or it might do it because it's bored and destruction is fun. Houpt worked with one dog whose owners thought he had separation anxiety, but video revealed he was playing — he took a couch cushion, tore it apart, rolled around in it, and at one point grabbed a toilet bowl brush to seemingly stir the escaped couch feathers.
He's learned that when you leave, the world doesn't come to an end and that you always come home
There are tactics people can deploy to ease their dog's stress if they do indeed have separation anxiety. Talking to a dog via video camera or leaving on videos tailored to dogs doesn't seem to do much, Houpt said. Getting your dog a friend might help, but the animals might fight, or you might just wind up with two anxious pets. It may also help to give the dog a special treat it takes a long time to eat when you leave, though if it really has separation anxiety, it might not eat while you're gone. And there are always medications — fluoxetine (Reconcile) and clomipramine (Clomicalm) are Food and Drug Administration-approved for separation anxiety.
"If the dog is good for six months, I'd treat him for another six months and then try weaning him off, and it may be fine," Houpt said of using the drugs. "He's learned that when you leave, the world doesn't come to an end and that you always come home."
If you suspect your pet has separation anxiety, you may want to get pet insurance and wait on a diagnosis if you can so the insurance will cover it and it won't be determined to be a preexisting condition.
To be sure, there are other steps between quitting your job so your dog isn't alone and medicating your dog so it can make it through the day. A lot of it is a matter of practicing alone time.
"Teaching the dog to stay, as simple as it sounds — it is really curative because many of these dogs have never had to inhibit themselves," Houpt said.
DeMartini recommends exposing dogs to small amounts of alone time so they get used to the idea that people will go away and come back. First, one minute, then three, then five, and so on, until, eventually, you can leave for varying lengths of time, though progress may not be linear.
"While it sounds like, 'Wow, it's going to take five years to get my dog to be left alone,' it's a little bit more like compounding interest," she said. "It's very similar to exposure therapy that we've used with humans."
Preuss from Animal Loving Care also pressed the importance of crate training, even if you think your dog doesn't need it. "Even if your dog is great out of the crate, it's a really essential and useful resource to have," she said. "We have dogs that come in to us who've never seen a crate in their life, so they can't even be separated in the environment to eat."
If and when you do wind up going to work and leaving your dog behind, when you get home, don't make a big deal about it. If you do an exaggerated, enthusiastic greeting and play and get the dog all excited, it'll turn that into the highlight of its day — and make the time when you're gone worse.
Teaching the dog to stay, as simple as it sounds — it is really curative because many of these dogs have never had to inhibit themselves
As an aside here, cats are a bit of a different story. If a cat has separation anxiety, it might go unnoticed, DeMartini said, because their outward behavior, something like hiding away or drooling, isn't really impactful on their owner. Houpt said she'd never seen a clinical case of a cat with separation anxiety, though people say they exist. But she noted they're generally a more solitary species and don't mind being alone a lot of the time. (If you have a cat, you probably know this.) She also recommended making sure the animal doesn't have some sort of underlying medical condition.
"Yes, the cat is pulling its fur out, but it probably has a dermatological problem, not a psychological problem," she said. "But set up your camera and see if the cat is spending four hours glued to the front door. Then maybe you do have a problem."
The push and pull between employers and employees to get work back into the office is not going away. As companies feel they have more leverage, many will do what they can to get workers back in. And workers who have become accustomed to the flexibility of remote and hybrid arrangements will continue to resist. Pets are unwittingly caught up in the battle.
But even if you think your boss will be cool with you working from home forever, it's a good idea to get around to teaching your dog to exist comfortably without you around sooner rather than later. Employers are sure to keep pushing on RTO, and regardless, you probably should be able to go to the grocery store or happy hour without your pup having a meltdown.
Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
The author's cat helped her acclimate to postgrad life.
Courtesy of Maddie Browning
When I graduated from college, my friends moved away, so I had trouble adjusting to the real world.
I adopted a cat, and she has been a source of comfort for me during my postgrad life.
My cat has helped me feel less anxious and less lonely during this uncertain time.
I have never particularly enjoyed change. I love spontaneous adventures, like taking a day trip to a new city or trying new foods, but I don't like when things end. Recently, my college chapter came to a close.
I started school in the fall of 2020 and, not to rehash the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, but it was tough moving to a college 2,000 miles away from home while not being allowed to interact with many people. The friends I made became more like family. As with any college friend group, some grew apart, but most of us held each other close.
Many of them moved to new cities after graduation last May, and I felt a kind of grief in their absence. I no longer had weekly dinners with my best friend where we tried cooking new, innovative recipes or opted for the korean spot near his apartment. I couldn't go to comedy shows to see my favorite people doing stand-up and making the audience laugh with stories I had been a part of. I wasn't able to go over to their apartments at the drop of a hat when things went wrong. I could still call or FaceTime them, but we all had different schedules.
In addition to constantly missing people, the transition from school and internships to my first real journalism job felt overwhelming. I started a fellowship and fought to find freelance opportunities.
It was all hard, but luckily, I had a little friend to keep me company.
My cat helped me stay calm in the confusion of my new life
I adopted Lilac in January 2024, knowing that the next year would be tough. She is a gray and black tabby with a sassy attitude, an incessant need to bite toes, and so much love to give. During my final semester of college, she was an adorable pet to come home to, cuddle, and play with. After graduation, she became a necessary part of my self-care routine.
I have high functioning anxiety, which can make reporting a stressful job, from tight deadlines to interviewing new people all the time. I love that when I'm working from home, I can plop Lilac in my lap and keep typing away. She gives me so much comfort from just sitting in my lap and purring — like a living weighted blanket.
There's scientific evidence to support that feeling. I spoke to Steven Feldman, president of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute, about the connection between people and their pets. He explained that pets can be instrumental in managing mental health conditions.
"They provide a sense of stability," he said. "There's good research to show that when you're interacting with your pet, your oxytocin levels are going up, your endorphins, dopamine, all the good brain chemicals, hormones are going up, and cortisol, which is your stress hormone, is going down."
Lilac's cuddles made me feel at ease. When she sat with me, I could feel myself calm down and focus on what I needed to do. The tasks stopped feeling quite so overwhelming.
My cat also helped me with the isolation of postgrad life
Lilac helped with the loneliness, too. Whenever I came home from a hard day, I could look forward to seeing her sitting in front of the door, screaming at me (She's not one for subtlety.). She needed me, and I needed her. And I felt like she gave me a sense of consistency and control over my life.
"[Having pets] is a way to show yourself that you have that level of commitment and responsibility to take care of another living thing," Feldman added.
Taking care of Lilac made me feel like I could do something right amid all of the change, motivating me to keep working hard and pushing through self-doubt and loneliness.
Of course, Lilac isn't perfect. She's a cat. She still gets the zoomies and runs rampant around the house. She punctured my favorite Ugg slippers and my skin on many occasions. But I'm so grateful to have had her around over the past six months. She calms me down and gives me something to look forward to, whether it's cute cuddles or playful yet menacing attacks.
Last April, John Calipari decided to "step away" from the University of Kentucky after 15 seasons; a day later, he joined the University of Arkansas.
Well, Calipari returned to Kentucky on Saturday night, and despite a championship in 2012 and a .771 winning percentage there, boos still managed to be loud as he returned.
Calipari admitted that it took some getting used to.
"It’s hard to win in here. And I’ve got to be honest with you, I looked up a couple of times and I thought we were losing because I kept looking at Kentucky instead of Arkansas," Calipari said. "I made it clear it was a privilege and an honor to coach here. We had 15 unbelievable years of a great run and support."
With Kentucky, Calipari made the NCAA Tournament all but two seasons. Last year's team was knocked out in the first round as a No. 3 seed against Jack Gohlke and No. 14 Oakland. In 2022, the Wildcats were upset by No. 15 St. Peter's, and they lost in the Round of 32 in 2023.
Calipari went 410-122 (.771) with the Wildcats – this year's Arkansas team is now 13-8 but 2-6 in conference.
The Hall of Fame coach is the winningest active coach in men’s college basketball and has an 867-271 mark during his stops at Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky and now Arkansas. He was 248-26 at Rupp Arena and led the Wildcats to a 93-77 win over Vanderbilt in his last home game at Kentucky last March 6.
It wasn't just a return for Calipari. Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner, and Zvonimir Ivisic combined to score 42 points against their former team in Lexington en route to the win.
With Arkansas leading 46-45 at the half, Thiero and Wagner combined for a 12-2 run and a 58-47 lead to start the second half. Thiero opened with a dunk and ended the run with a three, and the Razorbacks never looked back.
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
With roughly 30 seconds left in the game and the Wildcats up 81-72, Arizona's Caleb Love got tangled up with BJ Freeman. The Sun Devil then headbutted Love.
Love and Freeman were ejected, but as the dust continued to settle between both teams, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley ordered all the players on his bench to go to the locker room.
As the Wildcats dribbled out the final seconds, Hurley ordered his assistant coaches to leave the bench, leaving just him on the bench and five Sun Devils on the court.
Seconds before the usual handshake line, Hurley then waved off Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, and both squads went into their respective locker rooms.
Hurley was asked about the ordeal and said he had no choice but to send his players to the locker room early after his opponents showed "no class."
"If you look right near our bench, it was relentless constant chatter from a couple of the Arizona players that was not being policed properly. Of course, they’re going to be happy with winning, but it was done with no class, in my opinion," Hurley said after the game.
"Words that were said back and forth led to the moment where Freeman lost his cool, because of the constant talk that was allowed to go on. I had to make a tough decision in the best interest of our team to get them into the locker room so there would be no further incident the rest of the game and in the handshake line."
Hurley then finished his press conference with a parting shot, perhaps at Love.
"I do get a vote for the All-Conference, and I can tell you who’s not getting a vote," he said.
Lloyd called the ordeal "disappointing on all sides."
"We want to be a program that when tough things happen, we want to respond with class. I don’t know if we did or didn’t, but just a tough moment in an emotional game. I got a lot of respect for Bobby and Arizona State," Lloyd said.
The Wildcats improved to 15-6 on the season and 9-1 in Big 12 play, while the Sun Devils are 12-9 overall and 3-7 against conference opponents.
Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball star Caleb Love played the hero in the team’s upset over the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones on Monday night.
The Wildcats were down 71-68 with 2.2 seconds left in the game when Love received the inbound pass. He took a couple of dribbles and heaved up a prayer from well beyond half-court and nailed the shot. Love’s Wildcats teammates celebrated as the team forced overtime.
Arizona locked in and defeated Iowa State, 86-75. Love had 22 points in the win.
"Best moment of my life," he said after the game. "Obviously, it wasn't going our way throughout the game, but you've got to trust your work, to stay confident."
Love, a senior transfer from North Carolina, did not have the best of shooting nights in the win but came up clutch when it mattered the most. He was 8-of-22 from the field overall and only 4-of-13 from 3-point range. He had two assists and two steals as well.
"We actually practice half-courters in practice for fun, and he's decent at it, but I'm probably a little better," Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. "He let it go, it was on line — all you can do is get it on line and don't leave it short. When it went in, it was pretty amazing."
Arizona, which came into the game unranked, definitely needed a big-time win for its tournament resume as it improved to 14-6 on the season. The team improved to 4-2 against ranked opponents after losing their first two against Duke and UCLA earlier in the season.
Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey led the team with 18 points. He was 7-of-13 from the field.
