As teams across the country prepare for March Madness, Dartmouth College is on the hunt for a new men’s basketball coach after announcing David McLaughlin’s contract would not be renewed.
The Big Green finished the season with an overall record of 11-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy League. The program was one year removed from its first appearance in the Ivy Madness tournament and its best record in over 25 years. McLaughlin had been the coach since 2016.
“We are grateful to Coach McLaughlin for his dedication to Dartmouth and for the commitment he has shown to our student-athletes and this program during the past decade,” said Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Mike Harrity, in a news release announcing the move.
McLaughlin amassed an overall record of 87-161 and Ivy record of 41-85 during his tenure.
“Following an ongoing review, we determined that a leadership change is necessary as we work to continue elevating all aspects of the men’s basketball program,” Harrity said in the release.
McLaughlin acknowledged that he anticipated being let go as the season wound down.
“When you initially get the news, it’s a surprise, but you know, I think there was a feeling there that change was inevitable,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t say it’s a total shock, but when you do finally get word, it does hit you because you know all the work you put in.”
McLaughlin said there is no doubt that he will continue to coach.
“There’s still a lot of gas in the tank here,” he said. “There’s still a lot of passion here, there’s still a lot I feel like I can give to the game. … I think besides a couple of wins and losses here and there, I felt like our program was running at a really high level, so I still had a lot of juice left for this place as well.”
While McLaughlin acknowledged there were challenges to winning consistently at Dartmouth but refused to blame them for the results on the court.
“Every job has its challenges — if it didn’t, there would be a lot of really good records out there,” he said. “I thought we did a good job of not focusing or commiserating on the challenges, but rather focusing on the positives.”
McLaughlin said he enjoyed being in an institution he was passionate about and helping his players grow as people.
“I’m just proud of the growth we had in the program,” he said. “Would I have loved to have a few more wins here and there? Sure. There’s no other aspect of the program that I would change; I thought we did a really good job of developing young men both on and off the court.”
As Dartmouth looks to find its new head honcho, it’s worth noting that in some circles the job is not held in the highest regard. In January, Field of 68, a media network founded by college basketball reporters Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster, did a series ranking the coaching jobs for each Division I conference. The rankings were based on anonymous polls from coaches in each conference, conducted according to their own criteria.
For the Ivy League, the men’s basketball coach at Dartmouth was dead last.
Dartmouth’s Harrity declined to comment further on McLaughlin’s departure.