Football

Following two decisive, mid-season losses to Michigan and Iowa, the Northwestern football players called a team meeting. The meeting — conducted before practice without the coaches’ knowledge — was led by the team’s Leadership Council.

“We were saying, ‘let’s not push the panic button, let’s relax, let’s get back to the habits created during winter workouts and spring ball and summer,’” senior superback Dan Vitale said.

The Wildcats haven’t lost a game since.

The 2015 Leadership Council has proven to be an instrumental force for the Wildcats this season as they moved beyond those two crushing losses to win close games against Nebraska and Penn State, gaining bowl eligibility along the way.

The council — composed of a redshirt freshman, four sophomores, three juniors and six seniors — meets weekly with coach Pat Fitzgerald to voice concerns and act as a liaison between the athletes and the coaching staff.

Vitale said the council talks to Fitzgerald about everything from broken locker room showers to the week’s game plan.

“If we don’t like something in the game plan, he’ll listen to us, and we’ll totally throw it out if we feel that it’s not right for the group,” Vitale said. “It’s nice to have that relationship with your coach where he’s listening to what the leaders want on the team, so it’s been a big help.”

During the offseason, each member of the council leads a team of eight or nine players, which competes with other teams in the weight room as well as in community involvement and service.

Selection to the council is a two-part process, with each member of the team wishing to be on the council completing a written application, which is evaluated by the coaches. Then applicants are voted onto the council by members of their class.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Alviti, a two-year member of the Leadership Council, said it’s this voting system that gives the council legitimacy and impact.

“Guys know who is on the Leadership Council because they elected us, so we have a huge voice on the team,” Alviti said. “They kind of look up to us and look to us for guidance, and we all know that if we stick together and take it to where we want to go, that everyone else is going to follow us.”

Besides leading the team in the offseason and meeting with Fitzgerald during the season, members of the Leadership Council are expected to make sure all members of the team are performing to the Cats’ standards, both on and off the field.

To do this, senior defensive lineman Deonte Gibson said members of the council must also hold themselves to high standards at all times.

“(Members) have to be a model of what you would want to be as a player. I can’t say something and not do it,” Gibson said. “(Members make) sure guys are held accountable. There’s a lot that goes into preparing for a game and preparing for a practice that a lot of people don’t understand, and some guys struggle with a consistent effort to be great everyday. You have to be on them, and that’s one of the responsibilities.”

The 2015 council, which Vitale describes as “a lot more vocal” than previous years, has been particularly influential this season, Gibson said. And after the team meeting ignited a 2-0 turnaround to improve the Cats’ record to 7-2, the results of that approach are obvious.

Stephanie Kelly contributed reporting.

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Twitter: @clairechansen