Tamboni to Penn State

[laxman]

Inside lax just broke the story. How hurtful? Why?

[scoop85]

I saw this post and assumed it was in jest.  Sorry to say it appears to be true.  It's stunning and disappointing, but no one should be "hurt" by his decision.  PSU must have made an incredibly lucrative offer to Tambroni, and he had to look out for what's best for his family.  I'm sure he agonized over the decision, as all indications are that he had a great love for Cornell and the Ithaca community.  

Let's just hope that whether it's Ben DeLuca or someone else taking over, he is able to maintain the program among the elite.  The good news is the next coach will have great talent to work with.

[ugarte]

Yep, reported by the Cornell Sun, too.

Disappointing, but only for the team. I can't begrudge a guy a chance to take a bucket of money when someone throws it at him.

[Josh '99]

::wow::  :-/  

Stunned.

[RichH]

::wow::  :-/  

Stunned.

I'm slaughtered by this news.

[RatushnyFan]

Is Penn State any good at LAX?  I only follow college LAX come tourney time, I don't really recall much about them.  I wonder what their budget is versus Cornell's LAX budget.  I'm sure he has his reasons but at first blush does this seem like a step forward or backward?

[RichH]

Is Penn State any good at LAX?  I only follow college LAX come tourney time, I don't really recall much about them.  I wonder what their budget is versus Cornell's LAX budget.  I'm sure he has his reasons but at first blush does this seem like a step forward or backward?

From the IL article:

The Nittany Lions made the NCAA Tournament twice under Thiel but never advanced past the first round, falling to Towson 11-6 in 2003 and fell to Maryland 14-10 in 2005. The squad finished 2-11 in 2010.

There are some EXCELLENT comments at that article already, btw. The one by "Dan Freshman" especially sums up my feelings perfectly.

This is more stunning than Tierney to Denver.  Pietramala leaving was hurtful too, but that was understandable.  It just doesn't make sense at first gloss.  One IL commenter mentioned that Tambroni's wife was an All-American at Penn St. and wonders if part of the deal is to get her a coaching job at her Alma Mater, while elevating DeLuca.  PSU got rejected by Lars Tiffany at Brown last week, so they make a run at the biggest Ivy name next?

Who knows, maybe Tambroni was becoming frustrated on the recruiting trail always running into scholarship and admission roadblocks to really scoring the top-line talent he finds.  But this just smells of a money throwing event by another BCS school with near-limitless resources.  If "big-time" college money has now hit college lax enough to draw a coach like that away from a situation he had set up in Ithaca, then I'm throwing my hands up now.  

Goddammit.

[RatushnyFan]

The Colonial Conference?  #40 on LaxPower rankings?  Ouch.

[ithacat]

Who knows, maybe Tambroni was becoming frustrated on the recruiting trail always running into scholarship and admission roadblocks to really scoring the top-line talent he finds.  But this just smells of a money throwing event by another BCS school with near-limitless resources.  If "big-time" college money has now hit college lax enough to draw a coach like that away from a situation he had set up in Ithaca, then I'm throwing my hands up now.  

Goddammit.

If frustrated, then why pull out of the Maryland job? I'm totally shocked. I thought his next job would be Syracuse.

[Al DeFlorio]

Especially puzzling, and disappointing, after this in last Tuesday's Ithaca Journal:

"It's a great tradition down there, a great package with the compensation and coaching an extremely talented group of kids," he [Tambroni] said. "When it came to Maryland versus Cornell, and this is no disrespect to Maryland, I think I'm in a good place here. There's lots to be said for employee satisfaction.

"Our administration does a great job of taking care of our program. For me personally and my family, I think Maryland versus Cornell was made a little bit easier on our enjoyment of Ithaca and the people at Cornell."

So much for "employee satisfaction."

[Jordan 04]

I guess there's awfully big piles of money down in State College.

Tough loss. Best of luck to him.

[dag14]

I find that I am having a hard time being truly upset by this.  Jeff Tambroni is a great human being and an amazing coach.  He would have continued to grow a successful program at Cornell, but he also now has the opportunity to build a great program at Penn State and presumably he was given an offer he couldn't refuse.  I wish Jeff and his family all the best in their new adventure.

Is Cornell lacrosse going to suffer as a result of Tambroni's decision to leave?  Maybe.  Is the program doomed to fail?  No way!  There has been no official announcement at this point, but I would be truly shocked if Andy Noel named someone other than Ben DeLuca as the new head coach.  DeLuca has been a key player in the current success of this program and he has the credentials to be a head coach. Just as Tambroni stepped in to take over from Dave Petramala, DeLuca will seamlessly take over from Tambroni.  He is an outstanding recruiter, a tremendous coach and a person who has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to succeed as a Cornell lacrosse player.  Knowing the relationships between the key players in this drama, I can only believe that this is a win-win for everyone associated with Cornell lacrosse.  Jeff Tambroni gets a new challenge.  Ben DeLuca gets a shot at a head coaching position -- at his alma mater.  And Cornell Athletics doesn't have to stress over the hiring process.

[Redscore]

I'm sick.  I've learned that you can never underestimate the ability of people to disappoint you, but I guess Coach Tambroni owes none of us anything, in fact we owe him, but still....
It's interesting that he said the Maryland program did not match the Cornell program in his mind, but can he truly say the Penn State program does?
Follow the money.  It's really a shame that a school like Cornell can't pay more than Penn State.  Who's endowment is bigger?
At the end of the day, is it really the university and the athletic department that we should be pissed at?
Just searching for answers.
Truly happy that DeLuca is here but I hope we don't blow it with him as well.

[ben03]

seriously Coach T?!? PSU ... really???

my first reaction is that i'm more than shocked b/c of his professed "love" of CU (and GB) and all that is Cornell lax.

second, his publicly professed "love" of CU (and GB) and all that is Cornell lax.

third ... the one thing anyone who knows this guy is that despite what he tells the world, his ego is HUGE! i'm shocked but not surprised that he would jump ship ... but to PSU?!?!? really ... i mean c'mon they're terrible. they've never been more than a one-hit-wonder in college lax.

best of luck, i guess ... here's to hoping we can find a solid replacement. would have been a great pick up Tillman but it looks like we were a day late and a dollar short on that one.

LGR!!!

[David Harding]

The Ithaca Journal has more player interviews, including confirmation of Tambroni's wife's interest in resuming coaching field hockey.

"Don't really have a reaction right now," said Pannell, who was named 2010 USILA Attackman of the Year as a sophomore. "Kind of in shock a little bit. Kind of upset, but coach Tambroni, he has his reasons for doing it. I'm behind him and support his decision."