Dartmouth basketball coach deserves credit
We write to express our disappointment that David McLaughlin was not renewed as head coach of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team. We volunteered as team faculty advisors during Dave’s 10 years of service to the college. In our role as resources for and mentors to the team members, we wanted to make sure that the players could obtain the educational experience and personal growth that every Dartmouth student is entitled to as well as the opportunity to play Division I basketball. We found that Dave and his coaching staff were perfectly attuned to these goals. We would often attend practices and ask why a certain player was absent and would be told he was attending a class or taking a test. During Dave’s tenure, at least seven of his players were named to the Academic All-Ivy team, and one, James Foye, was named an Academic All American, the team’s first since 1997. The basketball alumni program was strengthened during this period with numerous public events that helped current players put their careers in perspective.
The last 10 years at Dartmouth were among the most trying for men’s basketball. The collapse of the NCAA’s rules on athletes’ compensation and transfers, the suspension of the 2020-21 Ivy League season due to Covid-19, and the attempted unionization of players might have undermined the morale of any program. Throughout these unprecedented conditions, we saw Dave and his coaching staff remain committed to Dartmouth and Ivy League ideals of developing student-athletes. Athletic accomplishment was not neglected: In the 2024-25 season, Dave’s team was the first in Dartmouth history to make it into the Ivy League tournament, and the league named Dartmouth’s the coaching staff of the year. Our hope is that the men’s basketball program at Dartmouth will continue in the best tradition of amateur athletics embodied by David McLaughlin’s coaching and leadership.
Bill Fischel and Anne E. Gelb, Hanover
Fischel is a Dartmouth College professor of economics and team advisor, and Gelb is a Dartmouth College emeritus professor of mathematic and current team advisor.