What began as a freshman’s dream of playing college football ended in a tragedy that prosecutors say could have been prevented. The case is now raising fresh questions about hazing, athlete safety, and the responsibility coaches bear when lives are placed in their hands.
A former football coach at Bucknell University has been charged in connection with the death of an 18-year-old player who collapsed during a conditioning session, nearly two years after the incident that shocked the college sports community.
Mark Kulbis, the university’s former strength and conditioning coach, is facing felony aggravated hazing, involuntary manslaughter, and other misdemeanor charges over the death of freshman football player Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr.
According to prosecutors, Dickey died after being subjected to an intense first-day conditioning workout in July 2024, despite Kulbis allegedly being aware that the teenager had a sickle cell trait, a medical condition that can significantly increase the risk of severe complications during extreme physical exertion.
Investigators say the workout included 100 “up-downs,” a physically demanding football drill, alongside prolonged full-body planks. Dickey reportedly struggled throughout the session before collapsing. He died in hospital two days later.
An autopsy concluded that his death resulted from extreme physical exertion combined with his Sickle Cell trait and exertional rhabdomyolysis, a dangerous condition caused by severe muscle breakdown following intense exercise.
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Pennsylvania prosecutors argue the incident was not a tragic accident but a case of deliberate hazing that ignored established safety protocols.
“The facts show this defendant received information about CJ’s health condition, along with training about NCAA anti-hazing standards, and disregarded that information,” the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said. Officials described Dickey’s death as entirely preventable.
Kulbis has denied responsibility through his attorney, Barbara Zemlock, who described Dickey’s death as heartbreaking but insisted her client acted within accepted coaching standards.
“The strength and conditioning program that was implemented was appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received, and with applicable standards,” she said in a statement.
The tragedy has also sparked a civil legal battle. Dickey’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bucknell University and several members of its coaching staff in 2025, claiming first-year players were subjected to a dangerous hazing ritual disguised as conditioning.
“CJ’s death was completely avoidable,” the family’s attorneys wrote, arguing that established medical guidelines for athletes with the sickle cell trait could have saved his life.
The criminal case also brings renewed attention to Pennsylvania’s strengthened anti-hazing laws, introduced after the 2017 death of Penn State student Tim Piazza during a fraternity hazing incident.
As legal proceedings continue, the case is expected to become another defining moment in the ongoing debate over athlete welfare, coaching accountability, and the culture of extreme initiation practices in American college sports.
