Ex-Bucknell strength coach charged with hazing, more after football player's death
Former Bucknell strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis was charged with felony aggravated hazing, among other things, after the death of a freshman football player at the university.
Kulbis was charged with felony aggravated hazing on Monday, along with misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and hazing, according to a statement from Pennsylvania attorney general Dave Sunday. Kulbis was arrested on Monday morning. He is due in court next on July 28.
The charges came after an incident in July 2024. Calvin "CJ" Dickey Jr. collapsed at a team workout at Bucknell that Kulbis was overseeing and died two days later. He was 18. His family told ESPN shortly after his death that he collapsed from sickle cell-related rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo. That medical condition, according to the Mayo Clinic, can be prevented or reduced by stopping or resting during a high-intensity workout, staying hydrated and avoid getting overheated.
Kulbis, officials said, subjected Dickey and other players to 100 "up-downs" and several full-body plank drills despite warnings "from other coaches that such exercises were not appropriate or safe for use as part of training." Dickey was "visibly struggling," officials said, and Kulbis "did not summon help until Dickey passed out."
"The facts show this was an intentional, deliberate hazing perpetrated by a coach who knew C.J.'s health condition made him vulnerable to extreme workouts," Sunday said. "The facts show this defendant received information about C.J.'s health condition, along with training about NCAA anti-hazing standards, and disregarded that information. This is an extraordinary tragedy, worsened by the fact that C.J.'s death was preventable."
Kulbis left Bucknell about six months after the incident.
Dickey's parents also filed a lawsuit against Bucknell in 2025, alleging that the university knew of his sickle cell trait diagnosis and failed to protect him. According to ESPN, the lawsuit accused Bucknell of both negligence and wrongful death.
"The Dickey family is grateful that criminal charges have been filed in connection with CJ's preventable death," an attorney for the family said in a statement to ESPN. "This is a meaningful measure of criminal accountability, as the civil case against Bucknell continues."
