Cornell 2020

[Trumansburger]

My hope is that we get someone who can leverage off the current momentum of the program, and not drag us back into a thorny "transitional" morass. Cornell has done well under Coach Milliman with a young, energetic staff. I hope that people vetting candidates keep that in mind.

I hope neither of that "young, energetic staff" follows him to the dark side.

When a new coach arrives won't he decide who his assistant coaches will be?

[Chousnake]

I am so fed up with this. Every time this team puts it together with recruiting plus play on the field and contends for a national title, the coach leaves. When is the Noel going to treat this program like one of the best in the nation and when will Cornell pay enough to retain a lax coach???? Back to square 1 when the team was where it was 8-9 years ago. This is so incredibly disheartening......

[laxpert]

Getting away from the Academic Index and having 12.5 schollies is a bigger factor in Ivy League coaches leaving than outright compensation. Andy Noel has a contract that runs through 2022 but he's has to around 70 so it's possible he steps down before his contract ends. He could just appoint Stevens on a interim basis.

[Ezra White]

Getting away from the Academic Index and having 12.5 schollies is a bigger factor in Ivy League coaches leaving than outright compensation. Andy Noel has a contract that runs through 2022 but he's has to around 70 so it's possible he steps down before his contract ends. He could just appoint Stevens on a interim basis.

OMG, not again!

It's freakin April. Nobody's playing between now and Memorial Day this year. There's no excuse for not hiring a new HEAD coach, esp. to keep current underclass players & recruits on board, given everything that's happening in the world.

OTOH, the thought of Noel retiring early is tempting.

[DMac]

I am so fed up with this. Every time this team puts it together with recruiting plus play on the field and contends for a national title, the coach leaves. When is the Noel going to treat this program like one of the best in the nation and when will Cornell pay enough to retain a lax coach???? Back to square 1 when the team was where it was 8-9 years ago. This is so incredibly disheartening......

This pretty much nails it, never would I have believed that Cornell would be the revolving door for lacrosse coaches that it is. You have a legitimate contender for a team, your wife is the HC at a gorgeous little college (how much pressure can there be for the HC at Wells?), yet you decide to pack it up and go to Hopkins of all places. Wow. 99% of the reason a recruit is looking to go to Cornell better be for the education....just sayin'. Milliman was an interim coach alright, guess the honchos at Cornell didn't fully understand what that meant.
(anyone know where the expression head honcho comes from...without looking?)

[DALaxDad]

As an Ivy lax fan, I am sorry to see the Big Red having to hop on the coaching carousel. Good luck.

[Trumansburger]

Cornell Lacrosse has 2021 roster up but with no Freshmen listed. Perhaps waiting for fall to see who shows up? Seems odd. Coaching staff minus Milliman.

https://cornellbigred.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/roster

[CU77]

And no statement yet (that I can find) from Cornell about Milliman leaving and/or what the plan going forward is …

EDIT: now there is, copying from the Cornell-coach thread:

That was quick, per Spectrum News in Central NY

#Breaking former #BigRed All-American and current assistant, Connor Buczek
@cbucz33, will be named Cornell men’s lacrosse coach for the 2021 season. Assistant Jordan Stevens will remain on staff as associate HC.

Cornell will conduct a national search following their hiring freeze but according to a source, Buczek WILL be a candidate for the full time gig during the search. The coaching search won’t begin until 2021

https://twitter.com/TheRealJKJ/status/1 ... 9398579200

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

cant help but to think now that if COVID doesnt happen, maybe milliman hits it big and sees a future in ithaca, maybe pietramala bounces back and they keep him, maybe milliman bombs and JHU isnt interested. i dunno, it's over.

with that said, i like the buczek hire. what a player to watch.

[Chousnake]

Buczek's hiring made me think of the poster who was a Syracuse fan and a close friend of the Buczek family and who unfortunately passed away a few years ago from cancer. I can't remember his forum name (which bothers me), but he was a key member of this board and a frequent contributor to the Cornell threads. I do believe he would be very proud today. And may have had insight that would be interesting. Stay safe and healthy all.

[10stone5]

JeffCincy ?

[Chousnake]

JeffCincy ?

That's him. Thanks. He was a big Buczek fan and a family friend I believe. I enjoyed his posts. He immediately came to my mind yesterday.

[CU88]

JeffCincy ?

That's him. Thanks. He was a big Buczek fan and a family friend I believe. I enjoyed his posts. He immediately came to my mind yesterday.

+1 Yes, he would be very proud!

[Typical Lax Dad]

JeffCincy ?

That's him. Thanks. He was a big Buczek fan and a family friend I believe. I enjoyed his posts. He immediately came to my mind yesterday.

+1 Yes, he would be very proud!

+1. The Queen City’s finest. Buczek came out to LI to play some club ball against better competition. LI Express told him there was a spot on the B team. Buczek quickly found his way to the A team. ( that’s the legend, anyway)

[VeryRustyRed]

DMac - I guess the "bottom line" is that the Cornell Lax HC position has become a revolving door. 'The term definitely has a negative connotation. However, going back as far as Coach T, except for one (VERY) bad hire, IMO, no one is deserving of any blame or is at fault.

-Coach T put in his system and built a great program; but he lasted through 2010 opting to move to a school with significantly greater resources (love their indoor facility) at a much higher salary...that happens to be his wife's alma mater. A decade on East Hill is definitely a good run.
-Coach D - on paper, a good hire. Played for Petro and Tambroni, coached under Tambroni, would have been a lifer. There's no way I'm going to reopen Pandora's Box, but let's just say that off-the-field-stuff was the catalyst for his demise.
-Kerwick - a f------ disaster. And more of a disaster is that he was permitted to remain in place for as long as was the case.
-Milliman - I'll be the first to admit that he exceeded my expectations in terms of on-the-field results, recruiting, and of great import - communications. As a central NY native, one would have thought his tenure would have been far longer. My first thought when I read of his candidacy was that he was trying to leverage his comp at Cornell. Regardless, the stars seem to have been aligned for him (i.e., former Cornell Asst. AD at Hopkins, somewhat of an anti-Hopkins alum animus, timing, virtual interviews, etc.) to get the job. Also, Quint may have been right on the money when he referred to Milliman as an "outsider." I'm sure given artificially capped compensation at Cornell, Hopkins was able to financially incent him (big time) to make the move.

So..like it or not, for one reason or another, the position has been a "revolving door." But with the exception of Andy Shay, any home-run hitting Ivy lax coach in recent past has moved on to greener pastures. Tillman, Tambroni, and Tiffany. Perhaps if the 2020 season had been completed, I could have referred to Milliman as a home-run hitting Ivy coach as well.

[Trumansburger]

Refresh my memory. Did Matt Kerwick recruit Jeff Teat from The Hill Academy?

[CU77]

Cornell recruited JT when Kerwick was head coach and Milliman was associate head coach. JT played one year with Kerwick as HC.

[10stone5]

JeffCincy ?

That's him. Thanks. He was a big Buczek fan and a family friend I believe. I enjoyed his posts. He immediately came to my mind yesterday.

Yup.
A nice guy that JeffCincy.

[DMac]

I hear ya, VRR, and I'm not trying to point a finger at or blame anyone, it just strikes me as odd that a school like Cornell has had such a hard time holding on to coaches. It really isn't a good look at all. If it were a JUCO program it would be one thing but Cornell is quite another. I hope CB is given a permanent position as HC and Cornell can move forward with some stability from there. I don't think 28 is too young at all, a lot of 28 year olds in the military have got some huge responsibilities and a whole lot of people who are counting on them/looking to them for direction and leadership. CB's got a lot of lacrosse experience and by all accopunts is a pretty smart boy, no reason he can't handle it (if that's what his long term plans are). Now, if the school would get behind him and the program with more support it would help too. Cornell should have called the Mennonites as I suggested years back to build an indoor facility for the Big Red long ago for example. Done deal, CB's the coach, onward and upward.

[CU77]

Nothing will get better at Cornell under the current AD. Living embodiment of the Peter Principle.

But things could get even worse when he finally retires, depending on the priorities of his replacement.