Thanks to great sources who had HoopDirt.com out in front of this one first earlier this afternoon (BREAKING: Cormier out at Dartmouth)…
Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Harry Sheehy announced today that men’s basketball coach Paul Cormier will not return to his position for the 2016-17 season after six years in his second stint with the Big Green. He departs having spent 20 years as a Division I head coach — 13 of those years in Hanover — with a career record of 228-304 and a mark of 142-211 at Dartmouth.
Cormier, whose first stint as the Dartmouth head coach lasted seven seasons (1984-91), came back to Hanover in April of 2010 with the goal of rebuilding the program that had won as many as 10 games just twice over the previous 11 campaigns. Progress came slowly at first, but he led the team to a 12-16 record in 2013-14 for its best showing in 15 years. The next season, he guided the Big Green to 14 wins overall and a fourth-place finish in the Ivy League standings as Dartmouth earned its first postseason appearance in 56 years with a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Two players earned spots on the All-Ivy League Second Team while Miles Wright was chosen as the Rookie of the Year.
Following the graduation of three starters from that team, Dartmouth fell back into sixth place this year while posting an overall record of 10-18. But the Big Green boasted the Ivy League Rookie of the Year for the second straight season in Evan Boudreaux, who set numerous Ivy League and Dartmouth freshman records while also being named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District I Team.
As the Big Green head coach, Cormier mentored seven players who earned a total of 13 selections on the All-Ivy first and second teams, plus four Rookies of the Year, including Dartmouth’s all-time leading scorer, Jim Barton ’89. He is the only coach since 1960 to lead the Big Green to consecutive second-place finishes, missing out on a share of a conference crown by a single point in the final game of the 1986-87 season.
“We are grateful to Paul for his combined 13 years of dedicated service to Dartmouth basketball,” Sheehy said. “He has worked tirelessly to improve our competitiveness, and he leaves the program in better shape than he found it. We wish him all the best.”
Following his first stint with the Big Green, Cormier took over the reins at Fairfield University for seven years (1991-98). By his fifth year with the Stags, he had built the program up to 20 wins and a share of the MAAC regular-season crown. The following season, injuries plagued the team, but they got healthy in time for the conference tournament, sweeping three games to earn the school’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Cormier made his foray into the NBA in 1998, and spent a dozen years scouting and coaching for several organizations, including the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
Prior to his first head-coaching job at Dartmouth, Cormier was an assistant coach at Villanova under Rollie Massimino — his high school coach at Lexington (Mass.) — for four years (1980-84). He was on the bench for the Wildcats’ runs to the Elite Eight in 1981 and ’83 as well as the Sweet Sixteen in 1982. But his lasting legacy at the school comes with his involvement in recruiting the entire squad that went on to win the 1985 NCAA Championship.
Cormier got his start in collegiate coaching as an assistant at Bentley College for two years (1978-80), helping the Falcons attain a national number-one ranking for Division II along the way.
A 1974 graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a degree in health studies, Cormier went on to work as a junior varsity coach at Newmarket (N.H.) High School before taking the head coaching job at Concord (N.H.) High School for three years (1975-78). A standout athlete, Cormier was a four-year letterwinner on both the basketball and baseball teams and was drafted by three different Major League Baseball organizations. He pitched for two years in the Cleveland Indians organization, earning a 5-5 record with a 4.09 ERA in the minors in 22 relief appearances. Cormier returned to UNH to earn his master’s in educational administration and supervision in 1980.
A national search will begin immediately to fill the post.
Photo Courtesy Dartmouth Athletics
