Johns Hopkins 2021

[faircornell]

Hats off to Coach Pietramala for a great run at his Alma Mater. Best wishes to him and the Hopkins lacrosse program going forward.

[The Orfling]

Why not make a run at Shay . I could see him considering after a look forward given the latest . He's familiar with the academic and player profile, a healthy Epstein returns with some good incoming recruiting classes (thanks to Petro) and he might bring Moriill and perhaps another good Bulldog along to boot. JHU offers upside from a low point vs perhaps some stagnation in the near future at Yale. Good coaches are not only good at coaching but good at picking their spots.

Hands off Andy Shay! Joking aside, one thing that could . . . maybe if you're looking for signs . . . lead Shay to be interested is that the Athletic Director he won his national championship under, Tom Beckett, retired. So he's dealing with a new athletic administration these last couple of years, and that always means an adjustment.

With so many talented Hop alums out there, though, wouldn't JHU look there first? I don't know enough about the Jays to know if alums will not go for the job out of loyalty to Petro, or whether it will be felt that it's fair game for any alum to step up.

[runrussellrun]

Rabil's Instagram post:

Gutted by the news that Coach Petro will no longer be at Hopkins. I remember when we first met, his handwritten recruiting letters, impossible attention to detail, a relentless work ethic matched with levity and charm, and as witnessed on weekly national TV, his tough love coaching style. He welcomed me and so many of us into a generation of legends who played on Homewood Field. And our relationship only continues to grow as evident by our PLL inaugural season's game weekend at Homewood, with the big guy watching from his office — just like he used to when a few of us would take extra shots after practice during our 4 years undergrad. Feels impossible to think of a world at Hop without DP at the helm. The greatest and only to ever be national champ and player of the year, AND national champ and coach of the year. In those handwritten letters you told me we’d compete for a chip together. We won 2. Best times ahead, 43.

Rabil also shared an email Petro sent him after he committed to Hopkins. It's very nice:

https://twitter.com/PaulRabil/status/12 ... 2205958144

This is a good move for Coach. He will get to see his sons play in high school and be more present. That is time you can’t get back. The twins will be out of the house soon.... Petro should enjoy it.

A friend reminded me of an interesting sequence , that occurred during the first Man up in the Hopkins- UNC game. (starts at 6:11 )

Notice anything missing ?

(perhaps your favorite zebra messed up the cnote, so the Hopkins coaches were "confused" )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwi8fW_ToMM

[youthathletics]

This is timely: viewtopic.php?f=290&t=1883&p=123176&hil ... ll#p123176

[DocBarrister]

@CoachPetro43 gave me an opportunity to transfer to @jhumenslacrosse & changed my life forever. He challenged me to work hard & become a better teammate. There's no doubt he made me a better player, but more importantly he helped prepare me for life's challenges. Thank you Coach!

@Bocko7

DocBarrister

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

.....A lot of coaches talk about being dedicated to players, but that’s usually just lip service. Pietramala was real. He’d get in a players’ face one minute and then hug him the next.

He treated his players like they were one of his own sons. His dedication to his school, his players and his sport was genuine.

Preston says it well in the Sun. Through and through, I would never doubt his dedication to his players. He is as loyal as they come.

[44WeWantMore]

Hats off to Coach Pietramala for a great run at his Alma Mater. Best wishes to him and the Hopkins lacrosse program going forward.

Well said, and glad to see no hard feelings about his return to Baltimore.

[harflax]

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ana ... story.html

Interesting commentary

[johnnyonthegunpowder]

I would absolutely love to see DP regularly calling games for ESPN.

[faircornell]

Hats off to Coach Pietramala for a great run at his Alma Mater. Best wishes to him and the Hopkins lacrosse program going forward.

Well said, and glad to see no hard feelings about his return to Baltimore.

He did a great job re-calibrating the Cornell program, and setting the stage for a great resurgence under Jeff Tambroni. His going "home" to Hopkins seemed like a natural progression.

[kramerica.inc]

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ana ... story.html

Interesting commentary

So who pulled the trigger, and why now? Everyone, even Preston, is still speculating how this came about:

Pietramala might have survived another year or two if his old support system was in place, but they retired. First it was Jerry Schnydman as executive assistant to the president in 2012, and then athletic director Tom Calder in 2016. He no longer had a buffer or security blanket.

[QuakerSouth]

This might be the opportune time for the Administration to study whether to bring all 24 of the University's sports programs under NCAA Division III banner.

Wow....that would really be a shock to the sport.

That will NEVER happen. NEVER.

If push came to shove, Hopkins would upgrade all sports to Division I and play in the FCS in football. In fact, I think Hopkins should move in that direction. The school is certainly large enough.

DocBarrister

Some in the lacrosse world would love to see Hop move to DIII. There are many haters as well as homers. Personally, I do get a bit miffed from time to time when I see Hop snag that last At Large, but I really like and respect Hop and what they represent over time: tradition and excellence. These past years weren't as lean as everyone thinks. Hop was a factor. Even last year. Ask Maryland. I actually picked them for the Final Four in the thread earlier in the season (with Penn, MD and Duke). I thought Petro could ignite a young, healthy team and make a run.

The haters would love it at first, but they would grow to dislike it. DI lacrosse would not be the same without Hop. If Hop were not in DI, it would be felt by every true lacrosse fan on this board. Its like Notre Dame moving to DIII in football. Or UNC moving to DIII in buckets. It's unnatural.

Lets looks at a few things. This info is out there. Its been said that Daniels does not care about lacrosse and is not really a sports guy. Its also been said that he is VERY focused on the US News numbers, and building the endowment. Next, the lacrosse culture does not exactly have the best reputation these days. And that has nothing to do with Hopkins. And a lot of it is not even true. Some of the bad things have even been proven false. That being said, its out there, and no president wants that potential headache, even if its not his school that is in the middle of accusations or stories. It's the association.

Next, money. Running a DIII athletic dept costs X. Having a DI lacrosse program doesn't just add incremental costs; its like having another entire athletic dept. And its because of that one DI sport. Compliance alone is a bear. Its very expensive, and its very easy to point to the one sport as the reason/problem/cost.

Next, don't underestimate the impact of this virus on athletic budgets. Times are going to get tough out there, and higher education will be hit harder than most because costs have gotten out of control; costs to students, and costs to run the places. If a school president is truly trying to build an academic powerhouse, and needs to cut costs, what is one of the first things that can be cut to save a lot of money? Athletic depts. Maybe you don't cut the whole dept, but its real easy to get your lacrosse program "in line" with the rest of your program, and look like you didn't really cut anything. Just a "change of philosophy, but we love our lacrosse team."

Does this virus situation create the opportunity for the administration to make its move? Does it provide the cover they need to make a change?

All that being said, the Hopkins faithful should be prepared for this. And I mean prepare to stop it before the admin gets the ball rolling and gets internal traction. Is this one of the reasons why Hop and Petro couldn't see eye to eye? If the admin wants to do this, its gonna be like the Colts redux; under the cover of night. One day there will be an announcement that they've left the Big 10, and that they are dropping to DIII. It can happen very quickly. And it will be too late.

Here's a quote taken from an IL article.

When IL reached out to Baker for comment, an athletics department spokesperson said, “At this point, Jen is focusing on the team and our search for a new coach. She will be available when we make that announcement.”

A major change just took place in the athletic dept and "she will be available when we make that announcement?" So, coach is gone. No communication/search for a new coach. Announcement. What?

Follow the money (always), and ask what Daniels wants.

[a fan]

Nice post.

I'd add that as of today, the odds of having a 2021 lacrosse season are not exactly looking favorable...


Things are changing almost hourly, though. Hope for the best.



https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/us/unive ... index.html

[primitiveskills]

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ana ... story.html

Interesting commentary

Preston has no idea what's going on.

[Mr3Putt]

This might be the opportune time for the Administration to study whether to bring all 24 of the University's sports programs under NCAA Division III banner.

Wow....that would really be a shock to the sport.

That will NEVER happen. NEVER.

If push came to shove, Hopkins would upgrade all sports to Division I and play in the FCS in football. In fact, I think Hopkins should move in that direction. The school is certainly large enough.

DocBarrister

Some in the lacrosse world would love to see Hop move to DIII. There are many haters as well as homers. Personally, I do get a bit miffed from time to time when I see Hop snag that last At Large, but I really like and respect Hop and what they represent over time: tradition and excellence. These past years weren't as lean as everyone thinks. Hop was a factor. Even last year. Ask Maryland. I actually picked them for the Final Four in the thread earlier in the season (with Penn, MD and Duke). I thought Petro could ignite a young, healthy team and make a run.

The haters would love it at first, but they would grow to dislike it. DI lacrosse would not be the same without Hop. If Hop were not in DI, it would be felt by every true lacrosse fan on this board. Its like Notre Dame moving to DIII in football. Or UNC moving to DIII in buckets. It's unnatural.

Lets looks at a few things. This info is out there. Its been said that Daniels does not care about lacrosse and is not really a sports guy. Its also been said that he is VERY focused on the US News numbers, and building the endowment. Next, the lacrosse culture does not exactly have the best reputation these days. And that has nothing to do with Hopkins. And a lot of it is not even true. Some of the bad things have even been proven false. That being said, its out there, and no president wants that potential headache, even if its not his school that is in the middle of accusations or stories. It's the association.

Next, money. Running a DIII athletic dept costs X. Having a DI lacrosse program doesn't just add incremental costs; its like having another entire athletic dept. And its because of that one DI sport. Compliance alone is a bear. Its very expensive, and its very easy to point to the one sport as the reason/problem/cost.

Next, don't underestimate the impact of this virus on athletic budgets. Times are going to get tough out there, and higher education will be hit harder than most because costs have gotten out of control; costs to students, and costs to run the places. If a school president is truly trying to build an academic powerhouse, and needs to cut costs, what is one of the first things that can be cut to save a lot of money? Athletic depts. Maybe you don't cut the whole dept, but its real easy to get your lacrosse program "in line" with the rest of your program, and look like you didn't really cut anything. Just a "change of philosophy, but we love our lacrosse team."

Does this virus situation create the opportunity for the administration to make its move? Does it provide the cover they need to make a change?

All that being said, the Hopkins faithful should be prepared for this. And I mean prepare to stop it before the admin gets the ball rolling and gets internal traction. Is this one of the reasons why Hop and Petro couldn't see eye to eye? If the admin wants to do this, its gonna be like the Colts redux; under the cover of night. One day there will be an announcement that they've left the Big 10, and that they are dropping to DIII. It can happen very quickly. And it will be too late.

Here's a quote taken from an IL article.

When IL reached out to Baker for comment, an athletics department spokesperson said, “At this point, Jen is focusing on the team and our search for a new coach. She will be available when we make that announcement.”

A major change just took place in the athletic dept and "she will be available when we make that announcement?" So, coach is gone. No communication/search for a new coach. Announcement. What?

Follow the money (always), and ask what Daniels wants.

This is just a ridiculous post at this time !

[GSP]

it is a very natural topic for the Administration to review. A D1 exception within an otherwise 100% DIII athletic department is extremely unusual, particularly in a University with Johns Hopkins academic reputation. It would be unsurprising for an administration with almost no meaningful emotional connection to the glory years of Hopkins' domination of the sport to view a D1 lacrosse program as a "tail wagging the dog" type situation.

The replacement of the coach with the concomitant expectation of a period of losing seasons caused by transfers and de-commits along with the great expense and reporting requirements of maintaining a single sport D1 program provides a perfect opportunity to re-brand Hopkins lacrosse. It would be similar to the University of Chicago pulling out of the D1 Big 10 to signal the University's choice to emphasize academics over big time athletics.

It appears to me that the intentional failure to renew the Coach's contract last year, along with last year's on field mess and this season's - 2 (barely) and 4 record, AND the Coronavirus tragedy has provided the Administration with the perfect opportunity to make the move to DIII; affording them the ability to compete in a more realistic environment both athletically and academically. It will prove difficult to get used to Hopkins in DIII, but in the end it will be best for all concerned.

[jrn19]

it is a very natural topic for the Administration to review. A D1 exception within an otherwise 100% DIII athletic department is extremely unusual, particularly in a University with Johns Hopkins academic reputation. It would be unsurprising for an administration with almost no meaningful emotional connection to the glory years of Hopkins domination of the sport to view a D1 lacrosse program as a "tail wagging the dog" situation.

The replacement of the coach with the concomitant expectation of a period of losing seasons caused by transfers and de-commits provides a perfect opportunity to re-brand Hopkins lacrosse. It would be similar to the University of Chicago pulling out of the D1 Big 10 to signal the University's choice to emphasize academics over big time athletics.

It appears to me that the intentional failure to renew the Coach's contract last year along with last year's mess and this season's - 2 (barely) and 4 record, AND the Coronavirus tragedy has provided the Administration with the perfect opportunity to make the move to DIII; affording them the ability to compete in a more realistic environment both athletically and academically. It will prove difficult to get used to Hopkins in DIII, but in the end it will be best for all concerned.

The team was literally in the Top 5 two years ago and in the Final Four 5 years ago. There is literally no historical precedent in the modern history of college athletics for a school in football, men's or women's basketball, baseball, softball, or MLAX or WLAX who was in the Top 5 of their sport to then 5 years later literally drop down to Division III. The closest comparable you have is Washington and Lee back in the 70s who made some Final Fours and then dropped down to DII...twelve years later. There's literally absolutely no evidence to suggest the Hopkins administration wants to go DIII, in fact making a coaching change because they weren't winning enough says you have high standards in D1. I know this board can be prone to overreactions and crazy takes, but the idea that Johns Hopkins, the school with the most passionate alumni and fanbase in the entire sport, where lacrosse is the biggest sport, dropping down two levels is so preposterous it doesn't even merit a response.

[GSP]

...and yet you responded.

Explain the timing of the announcement then. Why do it right this moment? Why introduce this added uncertainty into a period of almost HISTORIC uncertainty? Why would you announce the ending of DP's tenure during a period when you cannot interview his replacement. What will that do to recruiting? How will the uncertainty effect current team members? Would this not be a high class way to allow your incoming freshman to get back into the recruiting pool so that they have a fair opportunity to compete for spots against the growing list in the transfer portal?

Why would you time this now if there was not another shoe about to drop?

BTW, in lacrosse DIII is not "down two levels as you claim. Its D1, then DIII, then DII.

[DocBarrister]

Petro in action against North Carolina in 1989.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Vyt_HxE5w

DocBarrister

[jrn19]

...and yet you responded.

Explain the timing of the announcement then. Why do it right this moment? Why introduce this added uncertainty into a period of almost HISTORIC uncertainty? Why would you announce the ending of DP's tenure during a period when you cannot interview his replacement. What will that do to recruiting? How will the uncertainty effect current team members? Would this not be a high class way to allow your incoming freshman to get back into the recruiting pool so that they have a fair opportunity to compete for spots against the growing list in the transfer portal?

Why would you time this now if there was not another shoe about to drop?

Because they chose a bad time to do it? "The athletic department had bad timing on getting rid of the coach they were going to fire in May if not for this pandemic" makes more sense than some braindead "the biggest program in the sport is actually going to drop down to D3" logic. You literally have absolute zero logic or ground to stand on here.