As Penn searches to replace women's basketball coach Pat Knapp, I have some advice for potential applicants: Make sure you know what you're getting into.
To be clear, I don't say that because of the makeup of the team, even though on paper the current roster does not have great prospects.
The Quakers will graduate more than 61 percent of its scoring after a fourth-place Ivy finish, and the team's leading returning scorer, junior Caitlin Slover, averaged only 5.4 points per game.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth, Harvard and Columbia return the Ivy League Player of the Year, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and the nation's leading rebounder, respectively.
However, the talent deficit is not insurmountable, and there's reason to be optimistic about the potential of some of the team's younger players. Penn's short-term competitiveness is only a secondary issue.
But based on Knapp's demise, the split motives of Ivy League sports - academics versus athletics - will prove the toughest challenge for a new coach.
Knapp coached for 18 years at Georgetown before taking over at Penn, so he certainly didn't lack experience. I wonder, however, whether he fully understood the unique challenges he would face at a non-scholarship program.
(He could not be reached for comment.)
Off the court, Knapp seemed to care deeply about his players and struck me as an all-around stand-up individual.
And no one who watched him barking on all-fours on the sidelines could question his intensity or desire. He certainly received endorsements from the players I talked to.
"I think he would have continued to improve the team over the next couple of years," senior Carrie Biemer said. "I think it's a shame that they let him go."
On the other hand, the team's recent rash of defections didn't exactly speak well to Knapp's leadership.
"There's going to be differences . with a head coach who's very passionate and who's loud at times and 15 different girls," Biemer said. "But I don't think . the coach was the reason."
Slover indicated that the biggest factor for the players is juggling academics and varsity athletics. And no scholarships means there's no outside obligation to stay on the team.
Regardless, the numbers don't lie - however you spin them. Ultimately, Knapp did not get results where it counted.
His final record stood at 48-90, his winning percentage in the Ancient Eight was an even .400 and he never guided a team to higher than a fourth-place finish in the Ivy standings.
Someone needed to be held accountable, and as athletic director Steve Bilsky wrote in an e-mail, "We felt we needed to do better and this was the right time for a change."
The players and Bilsky want an enthusiastic motivator and teacher. Based on those comments, I think Penn should - and will - hire a young up-and-comer who can get a spark out of the players.
But in the Ivy League especially, winning isn't even half the battle.
Bilsky stated that "recruiting is extremely important, particularly recognizing the academic requirements of Penn and financial aid constraints."
The bottom line is that academics will always usurp athletics in the Ivy League, and there are plenty of legitimate arguments why that's the case.
But it sounds hypocritical, or at least dissonant, when Bilsky wants to have it both ways - on one hand trumpeting Penn's academic focus, while on the other presumably letting a coach go solely based on his on-court performance.
The new coach must step into the midst of this long-standing tug-of-war between academic preeminence and athletic supremacy and somehow win on both fronts.
Knapp pulled too hard on one side and fell short in the standings. Here's hoping the new coach is up to the challenge.
Ari Seifter is a sophomore Computer and Information Science major from Ellicott City, Md., and is Associate Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is seifter@dailypennsylvanian.com.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
