Do we need a housecleaning in the athletics dept?

[CAS]

Discuss amongst yourselves...

[scoop85]

Consider where we were in 2010 across the board compared with now. Perhaps it is time for a change at the top.

[CAS]

Uncompetitive football, perennial loser in basketball, and deteriorating results in historically successful programs.  Is there any accountability for performance?

[BearLover]

Yes

[CAS]

The ship be sinking?

[Trotsky]

The ship be sinking?

Yup.

[Ken711]

If not housekeeping, than at least an outside evaluation of the athletic department performance similar what Columbia U. undertook.

[dbilmes]

Getting the athletics program back on track probably won't be on the administration's front burner any time soon. Not only is President Garrett getting treated for cancer, but the uproar over the formation of a new business college made the front page of today's New York Times.

[underskill]

I don't see what a new AD would do differently, unless they're prepared to invest a lot of money on big name coaches for football and basketball.

[CAS]

Don't agree we can't do better than 5-25 in football and 26-52 in basketball.  Prior 2 years under Austin in football we were 9-11. Prior 6 years in Ivy basketball under Donahue we were 63-21.

[upprdeck]

How about we get a group of trustees that care about sports first, then worry about an AD and replacing coaches.

[Ken711]

It's not only just coaches. It's also facilities and admissions policy streamlining.  Those are other areas that a comprehensive examination of Cornell athletics could provide.

[underskill]

Don't agree we can't do better than 5-25 in football and 26-52 in basketball.  Prior 2 years under Austin in football we were 9-11. Prior 6 years in Ivy basketball under Donahue we were 63-21.

well, that assumes another Donahue situation is possible.  Certainly in football, it seems like the program is comparatively underfunded. 5-25 vs. 9-11 isn't drastically different if that's all you're shooting for.

[CAS]

Not satisfied with 9-11 in football - want to compete for titles.  But Austin's last 2 years are a far cry from consecutive 1-9 records.  If alums care about fielding competitive teams, it's far more likely the trustees and administration will as well.

[Towerroad]

Not satisfied with 9-11 in football - want to compete for titles.  But Austin's last 2 years are a far cry from consecutive 1-9 records.  If alums care about fielding competitive teams, it's far more likely the trustees and administration will as well.

While I agree that a good housecleaning is in order, we should look at the bright side. For better and worse, mostly better, the athletics dept does not run the university. Cornell is a school where academics are clearly a priority over athletics which is a claim that cannot be made at a lot of schools with big time football and basketball programs. Yes it would be nice if our football team did not suck but at the end of the day when I write my check every year it is not impacted by the results of the athletics programs.