Former Bucknell Coach Charged in Hazing Death of Player

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced criminal charges Monday against former Bucknell University strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis in connection with the July 2024 hazing death of 18-year-old freshman football player Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr., according to NBC News. Kulbis faces one felony count of aggravated hazing and multiple misdemeanor charges, including involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and two counts of hazing.

The Incident

On July 10, 2024 — Dickey’s first day of practice at Bucknell — Kulbis allegedly ordered the freshman offensive lineman and other first-year players to perform 100 “up-downs” (burpees) and full-body plank drills as punishment for “messing up” drills. According to prosecutors, Kulbis was the only coach in the training room at the Pascucci Team Center in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and no athletic trainer was present.

Dickey, a recruit from Tampa, Florida, who aspired to become a pharmacist, began struggling during the workout and eventually collapsed. Kulbis did not summon help until after Dickey lost consciousness, authorities said. Dickey was transported to a community hospital, diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis — a life-threatening condition where muscle tissue breaks down — and later transferred to Geisinger Medical Center. His health rapidly declined, leading to kidney failure and compartment syndrome. He died two days later on July 12, 2024, after his family asked doctors to stop life-saving efforts.

An autopsy determined that Dickey’s death was caused by the extreme exercises combined with his sickle-cell trait, body weight, and exertional rhabdomyolysis.

Knowledge of Health Condition

Prosecutors allege that Kulbis had been informed about Dickey’s sickle-cell trait and had received training from the university on the condition. Sickle-cell trait, an inherited blood disorder affecting approximately 2.5 million Americans — predominantly Black and Latino populations — usually does not affect daily life but can cause decreased blood flow and muscle breakdown after intense exertion. In rare cases, it can be fatal.

“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,” Attorney General Sunday said in a statement. “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.”

Legal Charges and Context

Kulbis surrendered on Monday and was arraigned in Union County, released on $10,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28, 2026.

The felony aggravated hazing charge carries particular significance: it was enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature in response to the 2017 hazing death of Penn State University student Tim Piazza. The state’s anti-hazing law recognizes hazing as “criminal conduct that, in the best possible scenario, humiliates and dehumanizes an individual — and at its worst, takes lives.”

Barbara Zemlock, Kulbis’s attorney, maintains that the strength and conditioning program was “appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received” and that there are “facts and other circumstances surrounding this matter that, once presented at the appropriate time, will demonstrate that Mr. Kulbis did not commit the crimes charged.”

Broader Implications

The case highlights ongoing concerns about hazing in college sports and the gap between NCAA-mandated sickle-cell trait testing and actual implementation of safety protocols. The NCAA requires all Division I athletes to be tested for sickle-cell trait — a policy implemented after the 2006 death of Rice University football player Dale Lloyd II. Since 2014, at least 10 college athletes have died from complications of sickle-cell trait, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

The NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook recommends that athletic departments “do not use exercise and conditioning activities as punishment.” The lawsuit filed by Dickey’s family alleged that forcing freshmen to perform intense exercises that seniors were not required to do was “an annual rite of passage” at Bucknell, serving “no purpose other than gratuitous cruelty.”

Family’s Pursuit of Justice

Dickey’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in April 2025 against Bucknell University, Kulbis, and multiple school officials, arguing that the death was “completely avoidable.” The lawsuit was withdrawn in September 2025, though the circumstances remain unclear.

“This should never have happened,” Nicole Dickey, CJ’s mother, said previously. “It was 100% preventable. And if we keep silent and we’re not upfront and honest about it, then it can happen again.”

Bucknell University said in a statement that it has cooperated with the attorney general’s office throughout the investigation but declined to comment further due to the active criminal matter and pending civil litigation.

What’s Next

Kulbis’s preliminary hearing on July 28 will determine whether the case proceeds to trial. The charges send a strong message that coaches can face criminal liability for dangerous conditioning practices, and the outcome could set a significant precedent for how hazing and athlete safety cases are prosecuted in Pennsylvania and beyond.