Cornell Lacrosse Coach Ben DeLuca Fired


ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Cornell University has fired men’s lacrosse coach Ben DeLuca, two months after the season was canceled because of hazing.

Athletic director Andy Noel says new leadership is required. Assistant coach Matt Kerwick will serve as the interim coach.

The college announced the cancellation in September after an investigation determined upperclassmen had hazed freshman players who were made to drink beer to the point where some vomited.

Last year, a university fraternity was found guilty of hazing in the alcohol poisoning death of a Cornell student. Authorities said a 19-year-old sophomore from Brooklyn died after drinking too much alcohol during a hazing ritual.

In three seasons under DeLuca, a former Cornell player and assistant coach, the team went 37-11 overall and 16-2 in the Ivy League.

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9 Comments

  1. ben foot on November 14, 2013 at 11:17 pm

    this article is completely false. How can lacrosse playground post this with so many glaring errors

  2. Match on November 14, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    Big Red’s comment is actually very correct. Last summer, DeLuca was advised to interview for the Georgetown job. He has been on thin ice for the past two seasons after upsetting several players and their families with his coaching tactics. These go beyond who starts and who doesn’t–we’re talking the way he would present himself at team banquets, to alumni, etc. He was a winning coach, but among players and within the program, he made many mistakes that upset many people. Sounds like the hazing incident pushed him over the edge.

  3. Big Red on November 14, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    First of all, this article says that the teams season was cancelled. This statement is very false. In reality the team was “suspended” for less than a week, and after that they were not allowed to play in one fall event, and that is the extent of the punishment. Keep in mind this was all over an incident that probably happens at every division 1 college campus in the fall.

    Anyone who believes that DeLuca was fired solely because of the hazing scandal this past fall is simply ill-informed about the situation. In fact, I believe the scandal really had nothing to do with it.

    • CU on November 14, 2013 at 10:56 pm

      The alcohol-related hazing death was 3 years ago, not last year. It’s also not a knee-jerk reaction if they did it months after the fact. Sad to see Coach DeLuca go.

  4. Big Red on November 14, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    First of all, this article says that the teams season was cancelled. This statement is very false. In reality the team was “suspended” for less than a week, and after that they were not allowed to play in one fall event, and that is the extent of the punishment. Keep in mind this was all over an incident that probably happens at every division 1 college campus in the fall.

    Anyone who believes that DeLuca was fired solely because of the hazing scandal this past fall is simply ill-informed about the situation. In fact, I believe the scandal really had nothing to do with it.

  5. WaMa86 on November 14, 2013 at 8:47 pm

    Amazing. They fire a guy for college students being dumb college students and promote a guy with a DWI on his record to interim head coach. What kind of leadership does this teach the guys on the team at Cornell?

  6. WaMa86 on November 14, 2013 at 8:47 pm

    Amazing. They fire a guy for college students being dumb college students and promote a guy with a DWI on his record to interim head coach. What kind of leadership does this teach the guys on the team at Cornell?

  7. David on November 14, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    i just dont understand. what did he do???

  8. Cole Trickle on November 14, 2013 at 7:55 pm

    Standard knee jerk reaction from an overly sensitive Ivy League athletic department in response to national and university pressures. Not only does this stand out as a glaring example of sport based bias, but it highlights the double standard and scapegoatism of college athletes and their leadership.

    Yet this remains the pre-text. It is easy to point fingers at universities for succumbing to increased public pressure emboldened by media sensationalized high profile stories. That is the short con. Two forces at play are each trying to re-establish the underpinnings of college athletics. Major market universities participating in mass market sports are insulating their profile programs while the media and a growing progressive force would like to see the separation of church and state (Athletics and Academics). The short con is a distraction. Keep the hysteria high and the people occupied while they are getting spoon fed propaganda for the real issues.

    It will be interesting to see how all this plays out over the next decade. College athletics, or athletics as a part of education, has always been a mainstay in the American approach to the development of well rounded youth. It would be a shame to see us forget that. Equally as shameful is our monetization of it.

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