Ex-Bucknell Coach Charged in Freshman's 2024 Hazing Death
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- Mark Kulbis surrendered Monday and was arraigned on felony aggravated hazing plus misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and hazing counts, with bail set at $10,000 and a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 28.
- Calvin "CJ" Dickey Jr., an 18-year-old offensive lineman, collapsed during a July 10, 2024 practice and died two days later; an autopsy attributed his death to exertional rhabdomyolysis triggered by intense exercise, his body weight, and sickle cell trait.
- Kulbis ran Dickey and teammates through 100 "up-downs" and repeated full-body plank exercises that other coaches had already flagged as inappropriate and unsafe, according to the criminal complaint.
- Investigators found Kulbis was the sole coach in the training room, had been informed of Dickey's sickle cell trait, and had received NCAA and state anti-hazing training — yet didn't call for help until Dickey lost consciousness.
- Attorney General Dave Sunday called it "an intentional, deliberate hazing perpetrated by a coach who knew C.J.'s health condition made him vulnerable," and noted the felony charge stems from a 2018 Pennsylvania law passed after the 2017 hazing death of Penn State's Tim Piazza.
- Bucknell University faces a separate ongoing wrongful-death lawsuit from Dickey's parents, who allege the school knew about his sickle cell trait and cleared him to participate but failed to protect him; Kulbis left his position in January 2025.
Why it matters: The case activates Pennsylvania's 2018 hazing felony — a law written directly because a Penn State student died under similar circumstances — and centers on whether a coach who ignored documented medical risk can be held criminally liable, not just civilly. Bucknell now faces parallel legal exposure: the criminal case against Kulbis and the parents' pending wrongful-death suit alleging the university cleared a sickle-cell-positive athlete for a workout it knew was dangerous.
