Cornell University Athletics

Just as the name of Cornell University is synonymous with excellence in academics, the Big Red athletic program is steeped in tradition and success. And even more important, it has been a bellwether of example by making its athletic and physical education program an integral part of the educational process without allowing its academic standards to drop one bit.

Cornell was founded in 1865, and sports started at the University with the very beginning. It has been said that Cornell has had a baseball team since the first nine men registered. The first administrative organizations took the form of clubs -- the Tom Hughes Boat Club, the Cornell Baseball Club, etc. -- each club independent of all others and financing itself by dues, contributions and benefit entertainments.

The Cornell University Athletic Association was formed in the late 1870s with the idea of guiding and correlating the activities of the various clubs. Possessing neither authority nor property, it was powerless to mod events in any substantial way and the different clubs continued to work out their own destinies. In this era the student body attempted to be brought into the government of sport through the medium of each class electing what was known as an athletic director who represented that class in the Athletic Association.

It was not until the late 1880s, when the gift to the Athletic Association of Percy Field (the original football field, now the site of Ithaca High School) made a business-like organization necessary, that the Cornell University Athletic Association was incorporated on June 17, 1889, and a definite administration set up.

Between 1889 and 1900, athletics at Ithaca developed rapidly and Cornell assumed a recognized place in intercollegiate sport. Important football games became fixtures, the Poughkeepsie regatta was originated, and Cornell took its place in the IC4As. Percy Field and the varsity boathouse were acquired and intercollegiate competition began in cricket, lacrosse, and different sports other than the original four of football, baseball, crew and track.

Nevertheless, administration remained simple, with each club financing and operating its own affairs under the guidance of the Athletic Council. This guidance became increasingly necessary as intercollegiate relations became more important and it became essential to maintain a consistent policy with other colleges in all sports.

With the turn of the century, the increasing scope of athletics, larger football receipts and the growing staff of coaches and employees, it became apparent that the Athletic Association could not operate advantageously without full-time supervision and direction. The office of Graduate Manager was established, permanent offices were secured downtown, and the separate financing of various sports abolished.

A name closely associated with the successful establishment of the Athletic Association was that of John L. Senior '01. Upon becoming the first full-time graduate manager in 1901, he set about centralizing the authority, management and supervision of all sports. John Senior brought sound business methods to the job and introduced the season ticket book idea, which prevailed for many years.

Lower Alumni Field was put into operation as early as 1907, and Schoellkopf Field (the current football stadium) and Schoellkopf Hall were occupied in the fall of 1915.

The period between 1912 and 1917 was one of great athletic success and expansion but the entry of the United States into the war brought about an almost complete cessation of the Athletic Association's activities between the spring of 1917 and that of 1919.

The revival of athletics in the fall of 1919, both at Cornell and at other colleges, was accompanied by a degree of enthusiasm, prosperity, and resulting expansion that astonished everyone. Here at Cornell the phenomenon was accompanied by vastly increased revenues and attendance at games. In three years, the Athletic Association's budgets increased three-fold. Freshman teams were instituted in minor sports and the staff of permanent coaches was increased.

After the interruption of activities occasioned by World War I, Romeyn Berry '04 became graduate manager and under him the Athletic Association assumed the proportions of the large business enterprise it is today. It was during his 17-year regime, too, that Cornell achieved its rightful place in intercollegiate diplomatic circles and extended its activities to international competitions in cross country, track, and rowing with the British universities, Oxford and Cambridge.

In 1935, James Lynah '05 succeeded to the job of graduate manager under a new title, director of physical education and athletics, and the Athletic Division became a department of the University instead of a separate business enterprise. Lynah's business acumen served nicely to meet the financial emergencies of the times, and through his inspired direction, the Athletic Association came out of the doldrums to a state of sound health and acceptable credit rating. Like most schools, Cornell was hard hit by the depression, but it maintained a well-balanced athletic program through the '30s and '40s.

While AD at Cornell (1935-44), Lynah led the drive that resulted in the formation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (which later became the ECAC). Lynah was also a strong proponent for a firmer Ivy League and his work to that end had begun on his arrival in 1935. Its culmination came the fall after his Feb. 24, 1956 death with the formal implementation of the Ivy League for football.

Lynah foresaw the need for expansion of the physical plant for sports use at Cornell and it was at his behest that the wheels turned for a new athletic building (Teagle Hall) and a new indoor ice skating rink which was constructed after his death in '56 and named the Lynah Skating Rink in 1957 in his memory and for the Moakley House on the Cornell Golf Course.

Robert J. Kane '34, who served as assistant director under Lynah from 1939-40 and acting director from 1941-44, succeeded as director in 1945. During his regime, intercollegiate competition was scheduled for 22 men's varsity teams, the most of any college in the country, and the university's physical plant for athletics was one of the nation's most extensive. Eighteen sports were programmed for women.

The major post-war decision affecting Cornell in athletics came in 1954 when it joined with its seven traditional opponents to formalize the Ivy League. The philosophy behind the formation of the league recognized the value of athletics within a strong academic environment. However, it was emphasized that academic standards would never be diluted in order to develop a stronger athletic program. The Ivy presidents had actually decided to take full responsibility for their intercollegiate athletic programs in 1952. Committees were formed and after two years the agreement was reached.

During Kane's tenure, new athletic facilities, costing $9.5 million, were built: Teagle Gymnasium for men, Helen Newman Gymnasium for women, Lynah Ice Rink, Collyer Boathouse, Grumman Squash Courts, the University 18-hole golf course and Moakley Clubhouse, Paul Schoellkopf House for Visiting Teams, a Poly-Turf football field, and a Poly-Surf track. Also a million dollar endowment fund was created for the support of intercollegiate sports.

Kane, who directed the Cornell athletic program for nearly 37 years, retired in 1976. Richard D. (Dick) Schultz, currently the executive director of the NCAA, succeeded Kane as Cornell's AD in July 1976. During his five-year tenure, the athletic department underwent a number of transformations, ranging from the highly visible as in the hiring of a new football coach (Bob Blackman) to behind-the-scenes work like reorganizing the position of sports information director. Schultz had taken the initiative in leading the department out of a stormy period characterized by budget cutting, establishing strong ties with the administration and setting the department on a course which had financial self-sufficiency as its ultimate goal.

From 1981-83, Mike Slive, now the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, served as athletic director, and in August of 1983, Laing Kennedy '63 was named director. Under his leadership, the department saw the upgrading of the physical plant -- a new press box on Schoellkopf Field, refurbishing of Schoellkopf Stadium, a new football surface (All-Pro Turf) installed, construction of the multipurpose Alberding Field House (now Bartels Hall), and the Oxley Equestrian Center.

Andy Noel took over as AD after the retirement of Charles Moore '51, who led the department from 1994-99. Since Noel took over, the Big Red has had unprecedented success on and off the field of competition. During his tenure, Noel has overseen a department that has won 101 Ivy and 14 team and 17 individual national titles. He has successfully upgraded a number of department facilities (including renovating Schoellkopf Hall and building the Friedman Wrestling Center). He also oversaw a campaign that raised $66 million in support of capital projects and endowment, securing the financial future of the department. During the campaign, 21 coaching and staff positions were endowed, bringing the total of endowed positions within the department to 30, the most of any school in the country.

Dr. Nicki Moore took over in January 2023 as the first female Director of Athletics and Physical Education and currently leads one of the largest and broadest departments in the country. 

Cornell University Historical Sports Notes/Athletic Administrator

During their very earliest formative days, the individual sports at Cornell raised their own funds. Their administrative organizations took the form of clubs (such as the Tom Hughes Boat Club, the Cornell Baseball Club and the Cornell Lacrosse Club), each independent of the others. Financing came from participants' dues, contributions from faculty, students and alumni, and from benefit entertainments.

A Cornell University Athletic Council was formed in 1883 as a channel for fundraising. There was little connection with the academic side of the university, and there were no university funds devoted to sports. On June 5, 1889, the council changed its name to the Cornell University Athletic Association (CUAA) and was incorporated under New York State law. The first president CUAA elected was William H. Sage, a trustee and sports benefactor, and Robert H. Treman, Class of 1878, was elected as graduate treasurer. There were no paid office employees, and still no sports subsidy from the university.

John L. Senior, LLB '01 became Cornell's first full-time sports administrator as the first graduate manager of athletics (which title later became director of athletics).

Following is a list of those who have served as graduate manager of athletics/director of athletics at Cornell:

The Cornell Colors

The Cornell colors were actually established on the University's Inauguration Day on Oct. 7, 1868. The account from Morris Bishop's A History of Cornell follows:

At sunrise on Inauguration Day, said the New York Times envoy, "from all the hills poured forth delightful music, and every few minutes the thunder of artillery from the eastern hills responded to the booming of cannon from a lofty eminence on the west side of town." Students and citizens thronged to Library Hall, which was tastefully decorated with marble vases of flowers and a large cross covered with moss, entwined with myrtle. One the side wall, the motto of the new university was blazoned in evergreen letters, and behind the speakers the illustrious names of CORNELL and WHITE appeared in large white letters against artistically draped red flannel, on which stars cut out of silver paper were pinned at pleasing intervals. Thus, entirely unintentionally, the Cornell colors were established for all time, on the first Cornell banner.

Although the Cornell football team was defeated 12-6 in the 1898 Thanksgiving Day game by the University of Pennsylvania, the Big Red made quite an impression that day.

The team's colors impressed Herberton L. Williams, comptroller and general manager of Campbell Soup Co., who attended that game in Philadelphia.

The story is that Williams was impressed by the brilliance of Cornell's red and white uniforms and later insisted that the company adopt those colors for the labels on its cans. The company's original colors were black and orange. The new colors began appearing in 1899.

That decision has been a lasting one. There has been little change in the design of the basic labels and no change in their color since then.

The Cornell Mascot

Cornell has never had an official mascot, but early in the school's athletic history a bear took over as its most recognizable symbol.

The first live Cornell bear mascot appeared in 1915 during Cornell's undefeated and national championship football season. Since that time, there were three others.

The last edition - Touchdown IV - was never allowed on Schoellkopf Field despite strong publicity campaigns by the Cornell Daily Sun and undergraduate groups.

The bear was invited to Cleveland by the Cornell alumni in the city, and was then shipped in a dog cage, to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State-Cornell game. At this point, the Animal Protective League stepped in and decreed that the bear was to be let loose in the wilds of Western Pennsylvania.

The current mascot is a Cornell undergraduate who performs at various varsity athletic events, including at all football and men's ice hockey games.