Mark Kulbis, former strength and conditioning coach for Bucknell University football, has been charged for the death of a freshman student during an alleged team hazing incident.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office confirmed in a press release on Monday that Kulbis had been charged with felony aggravated hazing, along with misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and hazing.
In July 2024, then-18-year-old Calvin “CJ” Dickey Jr., who had been recruited to play offensive and defensive line, died just two days after Kulbis had ordered him to perform “an extensive series of calisthenics on his first day of football practice,” per PEOPLE, which prosecutors said put the freshman at serious risk of death due to a sickle cell trait. The inherited condition can lead to complications and death in certain conditions, such as dehydration and low-oxygen environments, generally resulting from extreme exercise.
Prosecutors also allege Kulbis subjected Dickey to hazing despite knowing about his medical condition and after receiving university training on sickle cell trait, state laws and NCAA hazing standards.
Before the team’s first practice on July 10, 2024, Kulbis allegedly required Dickey and other players to complete 100 “up-downs” and several full-body plank drills, which prosecutors described as extraneous calisthenics.
They allege Kulbis did so despite training and guidance from other coaches that the exercises were unsafe and not appropriate for training.
Dickey became visibly distressed during the workout, and Kulbis, the only coach overseeing the exercise, did not call for medical aid until he passed out, dying two days later in the hospital. An autopsy determined he died from a combination of the intense exercises, his sickle cell trait, his body weight, and exertional rhabdomyolysis.
“This is an extraordinary tragedy, worsened by the fact that C.J.’s death was preventable,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in the release.
Kulbis reportedly turned himself in to the authorities on Monday, and it is not known if he has retained an attorney or if he will enter a plea. Bail for his release has been set to $10,000.