Dan Kheel writes:
>>Saturday's _Ithaca Journal_ reported that Laing Kennedy, outgoing athletic
>>director at Cornell and former chair of the NC$$ ice hockey tournament com-
>>mittee, recently interviewed for the vacant AD job at Kent State and is one
>>of the four finalists.
>>
>
>        It was my (limited) understanding that Kennedy didn't want to deal
>with the AD job at Cornell anymore. He was sick and tired of the internal
>bickering and headaches that the job of AD would bring. Why would Kent
>State have any less pressure and problems than Cornell?
>
>        To me, this only gives more credability to the rumor that Kennedy
>quit because he did not want to fire our (wonderful :) ) hockey coach.
>While I did not believe this before, I am begining to suspect it may have
>more truth now.
 
While I would believe that Kennedy did/does not want to fire McCutcheon, I
cannot believe that's the reason he himself is leaving, or that it had any-
thing at all to do with his decision.  He's certainly had any number of
headaches in trying to keep the athletic department budget balanced, the
most recent of which (and quite possibly the last straw) was a Title IX suit
when he cut men's and women's fencing and gymnastics.  The suit was settled
out of court and the women's teams were reinstated, but that whole situa-
tion, along with its accompanying brouhaha, may very well have made Kennedy
think enough was enough.
 
Although there were a few coach "resignations" that were handled remarkably
badly during his tenure (former hockey coach Lou Reycroft being a memorable
example), Kennedy has not often been one to shy away from controversy.  If
he felt that the hockey program could only be turned around with a new
coach, he would almost assuredly go and get one.  (While Cornell did not win
the ECAC championship, they did improve over their dismal 1992-93 perfor-
mance and did somewhat better than their projected eleventh- or twelfth-
place finish)  Besides, he has to know by now that making a coaching change
would be a move that would actually INCREASE his popularity with a number of
Cornell fans...
 
>        Speaking of hockey games, I wish Mr. Mintz best of luck when he
>announces that "abusive language ... shall be prohibited from the rink." or
>whatever the exact words are. I'm sure the crowd will obey the announcement
>as well as they obey the announcement not to throw fish on the ice during
>Harvard games.
 
As I recall, similar announcements were made in the mid-'80s during an
athletic-department-mandated crackdown on abusive fans.  Even with Public
Safety officers roaming the stands and dragging people out of the rink, the
warnings were largely ignored.  I suspect the only effect of the announce-
ment will be that Arthur will get booed at the beginning of every home game
:-)
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '94.5
LET'S GO RED!!
"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function."
-- Garrison Keillor