It’s been a long month.
But since this is STILL March, as Jon Rothstein has noted – one without a NCAA Tournament – now’s as good a time as ever for Ivy Hoops Online’s contributors to reflect back on our favorite moments for Ivies in the Big Dance.
Jack Montague
Reports: Jack Montague and Yale reach settlement
The New Haven Register reported Monday that the lawsuit brought by former Yale captain Jack Montague against his former school was dismissed in federal court on Monday.
Attorneys for both parties jointly filed a stipulation to voluntarily dismiss the case with prejudice, according to the Register.
“The parties have resolved the case to their mutual satisfaction,” said Max Stern, an attorney with Boston-based Todd & Weld that represented Montague, in a statement to the Register.
Yale extends James Jones’s contract through 2025-26
Following a season in which he led Yale back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and became a finalist for the St. John’s coaching job, James Jones was rewarded this week with a contract extension that will keep him in New Haven until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
Settlement talks reportedly forthcoming between Jack Montague and Yale
Lawyers representing former Yale men’s basketball captain Jack Montague are preparing for discussions of a possible settlement of his lawsuit against the university, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
The meeting with attorneys is scheduled Tuesday before Judge William Garfinkel in federal court in Bridgeport, per the AP.
Examining the response of Yale Athletics to incidents involving Jack Montague
On Feb. 10, 2016, Yale’s University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct (UWC) found then-men’s basketball captain Jack Montague to be in violation of the school’s sexual misconduct policy and recommended expulsion. Two weeks later, Provost Benjamin Polak refused to hear Montague’s appeal request, and the senior guard was officially expelled from the university. In June 2016, he sued his former school in order to return and complete his studies.
Yale filed a motion of summary judgment in May 2018 to have Montague’s case dismissed, but Judge Alfred Covello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ruled last month that the suit can go forward.
While the expulsion and subsequent lawsuit have attracted national attention to the university at large over the last three years, the response of Yale Athletics to Montague’s history of reportable incidents has largely evaded scrutiny.
Former Yale team captain Jack Montague is allowed to continue suit against university
After being found guilty of violating Yale University’s sexual misconduct policy in the winter of 2016 and expelled a few months prior to his graduation, former basketball captain Jack Montague sued the school in June of 2016. The suit, which requested a return to the school and monetary damages, claimed the University’s treatment of Montague was “wrong, unfairly determined, arbitrary and excessive by any rational measure,” while accusing the school of breach of contract, Title IX violations, breach of confidentiality and defamation.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello ruled Monday that Montague’s suit can go forward.
Mason’s graduate transfer: an important decision in more ways than one
Last week, Andrew Slater of 247 Sports reported that Yale rising senior Makai Mason will attend Baylor University in the fall of 2018 as a graduate transfer. The 2015-16 first-team All-Ivy guard missed all of last season due to a foot injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage against Boston University. Mason, who was recently named the Yale captain for the upcoming season, averaged 16.0 points, 3.8 assists, and 32.7 minutes of playing time per game in his sophomore campaign.
Mason declared for the 2016 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name a few days after the combine. Since he did not choose an agent, he returned to Yale and retained his last two years of eligibility. After his first-semester injury, Mason decided to continue his studies at Yale instead of taking a leave of absence, as opposed to Alex Rosenberg at Columbia or Siyani Chambers at Harvard. By staying in school, Mason will earn his degree in the spring of 2018 and retain one year of athletic eligibility. Since the Ivy League does not allow graduate students to participate, he is free to play his last season at any institution the following season. That freedom has been exercised over the last few years by Cornell’s Shonn Miller (Connecticut), Penn’s Tony Hicks (Louisville), Harvard’s Patrick Steeves (George Washington), Dartmouth’s Alex Mitola (George Washington) and Brown’s Rafael Maia (Pittsburgh). Recently, two graduating All-Ivy Princeton players, Hans Brase (Iowa State) and Henry Caruso (Santa Clara), have added their names to this ever-growing list.
Ivy news roundup – March 31, 2017
A number of Ivy Leaguers earned postseason award recognition. Penn’s Michelle Nwokedi was named to the ECAC first team, while Cornell’s Nia Marshall and Harvard’s Katie Benzan were named to the second team. Princeton’s Steven Cook was named to the NABC District 13 first team, while fellow Tigers Spencer Weisz and Devin Cannady, as well as Harvard’s Bryce Aiken, Brown’s Steven Spieth and Dartmouth’s Evan Boudreaux were selected for the second team. Aiken was also chosen for the ECAC second team. Cook was also named to the Allstate NABC Good Works team and CoSida Academic All-America. Weisz, the men’s Ivy League Player of the Year, was chosen an Honorable Mention All-America. Tigers’ coach Mitch Henderson was selected as the NABC District 13 Coach of the Year, as well as chosen as one of 20 finalists for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
Yale Season Preview – A repeat to remember?
What happened last year (23-7, 13-1): Nothing to see here, just the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 54 years and a thrilling NCAA first-round win over Baylor. Now graduated forward Justin Sears picked up a second straight Ivy Player of the Year award and now-junior guard Makai Mason established himself as a potential Ivy Player of the Year in future seasons with his clutch play all year, including a 31-point performance against Baylor.
For a deeper look back at Yale’s banner year, read our Ian Halpern’s comprehensive chronicle from April of the Bulldogs’ rise to championship history.
Can Yale’s Blue Madness become March Madness again?
Last year, the Elis won their first outright Ivy title since 1962 and their first NCAA Tournament game ever. They narrowly lost to Duke in the round of 32 in Providence. This year’s version will present more of a challenge to heralded head coach, James Jones, who enters his 18th year as Elis coach and the dean of all Ivy coaches. Jones won the coveted mid-major Coach of the Year honor last year, along with a host of other honors.