Two Similar - Then Suddenly Different - Approaches (Yale and William & Mary)
As a fan of both schools, I have noticed how similar Yale's and W&M's basketball teams have been -- until recently. I thought a comparison would be interesting.
As many of you know, I took a 4 year detour to Yale before finding my tribe at William & Mary Law School. I don't know which basketball team was worse in my college years -- Yale's Dick Kuchen was W&M's Chuck Swenson.
But then both school's had a basketball renaissance in the 2000s. Both schools fight for similar, brainy recruits. Both teams were led by energetic, classy, and successful coaches (James Jones and Tony Shaver).
In 2015, Yale lost a heartbreaker to its hated rival, Harvard, in the first ever Ivy League tournament championship game. Despite the fact that Yale was 22-10 overall (11-3 in the Ivy League), it did not receive a single postseason invite (the NIT said it had already made its decisions or something).
Even worse, that year marked the 4th consecutive year that Harvard went to the NCAA tournament (while Yale still hadn't been since 1962). Many alums (myself included) thought it might be time for a new coach to get us over the hump. After 16 years at the helm, Jones just couldn't seem to get the job done (even though he was the most successful coach Yale had had in decades -- some NIT wins, CIT runner up, two Rhodes Scholars).
But the AD stuck with him, and the next year they did get over the hump -- beating Baylor in the tournament and coming oh so close to beating Duke in the next round. They went to the tournament again this past year (beating Harvard in the championship game).
Recently, Yale hired a young, energetic, female AD to take over from an older, tall, male AD who did much to improve Yale's facilities and overall athletic success. She ruffled some feathers (most recently by firing a beloved, 87 year old fencing coach).
Coach Jones' name later came up as a possible successor for Shaver. He would have been an outstanding choice. But, the Yale AD locked him up this Spring with a contract extension through 2026.
Now, I know these two situations are not exactly comparing apples to apples. But, after closely watching both schools, I can't help but say that sticking with the successful, classy guy paid off for Yale.
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