We are familiar with the horrors of hazing practices at the college sports level. There are numerous stories, rising to the criminal seriousness of homicide. We even hear of head coaches and staff turning the other cheek when the abuse that often accompanies these hazing rituals go awry. We don’t hear about coaches being participants and fueling the toxic environment.
Until now.
Former Bucknell Strengh & Conditioning Coach Mark Kulbis Charged In Hazing Death
Former Bucknell strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis has been charged with criminal hazing and manslaughter over the 2024 death of a freshman football player, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office announced Monday.
The case has garnered so much media attention because of how egregiously the strength and conditioning coach allegedly ignored all written procedures. “CBS Mornings” recently covered the tragedy.
Why Is Former Bucknell Football Coach Charged With Manslaughter?
According to the office’s investigation, Kulbis poured it on thick on the first day of freshman practice that July. Kulbis reportedly instructed lineman Calvin “C.J.” Dickey Jr. and other freshman players to do 100 up-downs and plank drills, “as punishment” after they “messed up” during drills, the family’s lawsuit claims.
Dickey, an imposing youngster standing 6 feet 5, 270 pounds while playing high school football in Florida, was “visibly struggling with the exercises,”according to reports, and Kulbis didn’t get him aid or inform anyone at the university of his condition until after the lineman passed out.
Bucknell Football Player C.J. Dickey Had Sickle Cell
According to a press release from the attorney general’s office, Kulbis was aware that Dickey had a sickle cell trait that put the minor at risk when participating in physical activities.
Dickey died two days later. The autopsy confirmed that the cause of Dickey’s death was related to the exercises Kulbis had him doing in conjunction with his sickle cell trait, weight and exertional rhabdomyolysis, the attorney general’s office said.
“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 Dave 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.”
Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder that can make people vulnerable to serious health complications from strenuous exercise. It’s a disease more common in people of African descent, who make up about 90 percent of the cases in the U.S. An estimated 3 percent to 9 percent are Hispanic.
Who Is Coach Kulbis?
Kulbis performed the duties of strength and conditioning coach at a prestigious academic university, from 2019-2025, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before that, he worked at Dartmouth and as a graduate assistant/intern at Ohio State and Austin Peay. Bucknell football competes against tough competition at the NCAA Division I FCS level in the Patriot League.
What Is Kulbis Being Charged With?
According to the court records, Kulbis is facing five serious charges: one felony count of aggravated hazing and misdemeanor complaints of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, hazing with brutality of a physical nature and hazing with a “reasonable likelihood of bodily injury.”
Kulbis’ blossoming career is now on hold and he must prepare to fight a heinous charge after being released Monday on $10,000 bond. The next hearing is scheduled for July 28, according to court records.
Kulbis’ Lawyer Says It’s Not His Fault Calvin Dickey Jr. Died
Kulbis’s attorney, Barbara Zemlock, told the BBC that she agrees Dickey’s death was tragic, but her client “did not contribute to it and is not responsible for it.”
“The strength and conditioning program that was implemented was appropriate and in accordance with the training that Mr. Kulbis received, and with applicable standards,” Zemlock insisted in a statement.
Dickey’s family released their own statement, expressing gratitude “that criminal charges have been filed in connection with CJ’s preventable death”.
“This is a meaningful measure of criminal accountability,” the family said.
Dickey’s parents sued Bucknell, Kulbis and other school officials in April 2025. The litigation remains unresolved.