LaxPundit07 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 18, 2024 6:55 pm
Dave Cottle was brought in for an “interview” in May of 2010. Bryan Matthews had treated JB Clarke so poorly during his tenure, that he knew he needed a nationally respected coach to sniff around the job and get the word out about putting someone in that chair. (Matthew’s infamously told JB he wouldn’t stand on the tracks for him….because JB didn’t vote for Matthews son as “all conference” that year at Dickinson. When JB explained his votes, Matthews proclaimed “F*** your bull**** virtue.” In year 12, JB had his first losing season, and Matthews fired him immediately. ONE LOSING season in TWELVE YEARS. This was the beginning of the disfunction at WAC. Shirk was a finalist for the job along with Kevin Warne (now head coach at Georgetown, assistant at Harvard at the time), Stan Ross (former Butler coach and Navy assistant), and one other respected name who escapes me at the moment. Warne was the selection, but Tillman got the Maryland job simultaneously and Warne chose to leave Harvard with him and go to Maryland. As Jeff gets the job, the wheels are already in motion from the administration to push for more equity in the department, stop emphasizing lax as the marquis program, etc. WAC would go on to have SIX presidents in the next ELEVEN years. At that point, the train was already so far down the tracks, there was no stopping it. Dysfunction in the athletic department and dysfunction at the highest levels of college were rampant and lead to the demise of program. Fun fact: JB left and has won not one, not two, not three, but four National championships between Limestone and Tampa.
The list of contributors to the demise is long. Matthews, Baird Tipton, the board, etc. And I apologize for being so blunt with recent alums, but the main issue with this program is lack of talent. And the college’s efforts to stop that talent from arriving. Remember the VAST majority of alums over the age of 30 played in conference championships, final fours, and national championships. WAC’s website does a really great job of archiving info. Go to the All American list on their site. And look at the STEEP decline of AA’s post 2010. It is staggering.
A lot more to discuss regarding the current situation, but some of the history in the above is incorrect. Cottle was brought to campus and didn't have any interest in actually coaching in Ctown pretty quickly, but helped in the search and put together an incredible list of finalists. As you note correctly, it was a three horse race with Shirk eventually getting the job.
On the JB point - there is much to that story you are leaving out that I am sure you are well aware of. It is not right to suggest Matthews was the sole problem in that relationship. If you were around JB and the program at the time, know you it was a two-way street with JB having a lot of blame for the issues himself. Some of it was his coaching methods were becoming too old school (sprints in the basketball gym in full sweats with the heat cranked), but most of the problems were due to personal issues. I do not want to publicly share that information - JB has been a class act since and has been great everywhere he has gone afterwards. But it is not fair to Matthews to put the full blame on him as anyone who was around at the end of JB's tenure knows.
On the broader point about college mismanagement, I wholly agree. But that is due mostly to the incredible number of college presidents since Mitchell left in 2014, which I know for a fact destabilized the athletic department (in concunction with Matthews retirement). The end all be all goal has been to increase enrollment at all costs, which has led to some really poor decisions and awful hiring at the executive level. Instead of increasing the profile of students, WAC became a begger for anyone to come, lowering quality and not offsetting costs. The future of small colleges isn't growth, as the demographics across higher education are becoming a problem across all higher education, but instead should be a focus on quality. The liberal arts schools that will survive and thrive into the 2030s, 2040s, and on are the ones that provide great educational value, the highest quality education, and great post-graduate opportunities, regardless of location. These schools are not as reliant on increasing enrollment even with the demongraphic "cliff" as it has been called because they have a strong base of applicants. For example, there is still an incredible demand for NESCAC opportunities, even when some of those schools are truly in the middle of nowhere like Bowdoin or MIddlebury. Those schools offer prestige, a fine education, and opportunities post-graduation. And many of those schools have fantastic athletic departments - Tufts of today, Middlebury/Wesleyan of the 2000s, etc. Most Centennial schools are also situated like that - Haverford and Swat for example. However, the closer WAC gets to something like McDaniel versus something like Dickinson or Gburg, the worse its going to be for WAC in the near future and long-term future. Increasing enrollment at all cost doesn't move WAC closer to a Dickinson or Gburg - only an increase in value and prestige can do that.
Ultimately, WAC really needs to be trying to position itself as providing more value and quality to survive - not flooding the school with an additional 500-1000 students. This also goes hand in hand with the athletic department. We all know D3 schools use athletics to drive enrollment, particularly male enrollment. The lacrosse team at WAC has historically provided students for the college not just from Maryland and NY, but across the U.S. and often from some of the best public and private schools in the country. I think some of this has been lost in the last few years.
I will share more thoughts on the current sitaution and team with Coach Nostrant, but I have been not impressed. He had taken over a program during a harsh time, but every college has faced the same COVID-related issues. Some new coaches in our conference have thrived in the same circumstances - looking at Gettysburg as the best example. Just because the past few years have been difficult across the board is no longer a great excuse, particularly when Toner at Gettyburg hasn't lost a step since his HOF predecessor retired.
I do think its fair to start the comparison between Nostrant's start with Shirk's start. Year one is a wash for both, can't judge either by any coach in their first year I think. In Shirk's second year, the team went 11-6, made it to the finals of the Centennial tournament, and made it to the NCAA's (with an admittedly bad loss to Goucher). Also in year three, WAC beat Salisbury and WAC again was in the CC tournament, and won NCAA games. In fact, I think WAC played that year's national champion Stevenson to its closest game in the NCAA's that year. By year four - Shirk and the team went undefeated in the Centennial regular and post season and made it to the final four. I just think its a shame Shirk and those boys didnt get their national title in 2014 - they certainly were a hell of a team to watch. We can always discuss what happened after 2014, but his first four years speak for themselves.
In comparison, year two for Coach Nostrant didn't see the team get over .500. They beat up a bunch of terrible teams early in the season, then only won 2 Centennial games and no post-season. Year three is off to a terrible start, but it is still early in the season. But I have seen nothing so far to indicate this team will reach .500 this year, let alone start getting back to the post-season. Just in comparison, the difference is striking. Certainly has time to turn it around this year, but we as alum should be honest that his tenure is not off to the start Shirk had. The answer is not an NIL collective - but really a conversation about the future of WAC, the lacrosse program, and whether we have the right coach. I know some of the other candidates from the search a few years ago and some of them are having incredible success elsewhere. Not saying they would be in a different boat from the current situation, but there are some hungry coaches out there that really wanted this job as well.
No matter what - let's go WAC. This might not be the team to turn it around, but I wish all the boys on the shore the best. Out work and out hustle everyone and good things will happen.
