Brian Earl’s departure from Cornell leaves the men’s basketball program in uncertainty

Brian Earl moved on from Cornell after going 96-103 (46-52 Ivy) in eight years as coach of the Big Red. (Cornell Athletics)

Brian Earl is no longer the coach of Cornell men’s basketball.

Just days after guiding the Big Red to their first NIT bid, Earl resigned to take the head coaching job at William & Mary. It seemingly came out of left field after Cornell finished 22-8 in its third consecutive winning season under him. After all, Earl’s never coached or played outside the Ivy League.

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LISTEN – Brian Earl leaves Cornell men’s basketball to coach William & Mary

Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark reports on Brian Earl departing Cornell men’s basketball after eight years as the program’s head coach to take the same job at William & Mary and reflects on what Earl has meant to Cornell, Princeton (as a former player and assistant coach) and the Ivy League:

Cornell men’s basketball season ends in 88-83 loss at Ohio State in NIT

Two days removed from earning its first-ever bid to the National Invitational Tournament, Cornell men’s basketball had Ohio State on the ropes. Each team took swings with double-figure leads, but with a minute remaining, the Big Red led by two.

Fifth-year forward Jamison Battle knocked down a three with 43 seconds remaining, putting the Buckeyes up 82-81. Then came the first of two crucial mistakes for Cornell.

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Reporter’s Notebook: Ivy Madness day four

The final remnants of the 2024 Ivy Tournament being packed away for another year (Photo: Rob Browne)

The final day of the 2024 Ivy League Tournament was an incredibly chaotic one, which started hours before the noon tipoff of the thrilling men’s championship and ended with a near-midnight zoom celebratory conference call with Columbia women’s basketball coach Megan Griffith.

For the second day in a row, the tournament provided its fair share of emotional highs and lows. There may still be people who haven’t taken to the thought of Ivy Madness, after eight years and six events, but it is an amazing weekend to celebrate the talented players and coaches and showcase this shouldn’t-be-under-the-radar conference to the nation.

I’m still in a bit of a stupor from the last few days, but I’ll try my best to recount scenes from a lengthy final day:

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Princeton and Cornell men’s basketball earn bids to the National Invitational Tournament

The Princeton and Cornell men had disappointing exits from the Ivy Madness semifinals, but their seasons aren’t over. The Tigers and the Big Red have both earned bids to the National Invitational Tournament.

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No. 2 Yale men’s basketball defeats No. 3 Cornell, 69-57, to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

Cornell men’s basketball was 14-0 when giving up 76 or fewer points this season.

Make that 14-1, as Yale defeated the Big Red, 69-57, at Levien Gym to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final against Brown at noon Sunday.

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It’s a wide-open field in the Ivy Madness men’s semifinals

The men’s competition in the Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Columbia University and for the first time since the advent of Ivy Madness there is no clear favorite.  While the Princeton Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the regular season champion, each of the four teams competing on Saturday at Levien Gym legitimately has a chance to advance to the championship game on Sunday.

Let’s take a closer look at the two semifinal matchups in the men’s competition:

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Ivy League Tournament: Men’s press conference highlights

NEW YORK – The second day of the Ivy League Tournament brought the four men’s teams to Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University.

Below are highlights of the press conferences and links to the videos:

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Reporter’s Notebook: Ivy Madness day one

A great eight greets fans at the 120th Street entrance (photo: Rob Browne)

NEW YORK – Welcome to Ivy Madness VI!

For the first time, the Ivy League Tournament visits New York City, home to the largest collection of Ancient Eight alumni and Levien Gymnasium. The 2,700-seat arena, situated on the heart of the Columbia campus, is the fourth smallest venue in the conference and fans are right on top of the action.

When packed, which it often has been for the 2023 and 2024 regular season championship women’s team, it can get incredibly loud and cause problems for opposing players. Fortunately for league, fans and ESPN, Levien will be packed. As of Thursday evening, the Saturday women’s final is sold out, as well as the Saturday men’s semifinals and Sunday men’s final.

There are a small number of tickets remaining for the second women’s semifinal, featuring No. 2 Columbia and No. 3 Harvard, as well as a larger number of tickets for the opening game, which pits No. 1 Princeton against long-time rival No. 4 Penn.

Over the next several days, Ivy Hoops Online will be in Morningside Heights (and watching the world-wide leader) to bring you all the action. With lots of great coverage from George Clark, Steve Silverman, Palestra Pete and Richard Kent, I’ll be around to fill in the spaces and scarf down as many snacks as possible.

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Cornell women’s basketball moving on from Dayna Smith

Dayna Smith is pictured during a video interview she gave to Ivy Hoops Online in 2022.

Two days after Cornell women’s basketball ended its season in a blowout loss to Columbia, Cornell athletic director Nicki Moore announced that Dayna Smith would no longer be the program’s head coach.

“Dayna Smith has led the Big Red women’s basketball program for more than two decades with integrity and drive, dedicating herself to developing successful student-athletes on and off the court,” Moore said in a statement released by Cornell Athletics on Monday morning. “She is a well-respected coach, a well-liked colleague and a true ambassador for the game of basketball. I thank her for her service to Cornell athletics, and wish her the very best. Coach Smith will always be an important part of this program’s history.”

Smith, the dean of Ivy women’s basketball coaches following the 2022 retirement of Harvard’s Kathy Delaney-Smith, finishes her 22-year career on East Hill with 32 All-Ivy players, an overall record of 224-345 record and an Ancient Eight championship in 2007-08.

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