Have seen a couple comments like this. What is the full story of what happened in the 1960s? Have been a casual fan for years but never heard it.
There is no one still around who can tell it first hand. I did not show up myself until Ned Harkness was in year two at Cornell. Most of what I
MAY know was handed down by older fans who lived through it. So, 100% accuracy cannot be guaranteed except to say that administrative genocide #1 was a lot more subtle and in the bushes than the more recent administrative genocide # 2.
Supposedly, over five decades ago one Mr. Harkness began rubbing the administration raw with all his success, local attention and notearity that went with it. In addition, he was also never short of an ego or the corresponding bravado. When they had enough of this guy who was gathering far more attention than any of them, the administration began tightening the screws so that he would eventually leave on his own rather than them firing him. Needless to say, the latter would have caused quite an uproar at the time.
So instead they made getting potential recruits accepted and admitted harder than it was previously. Nonetheless, Harkness remained successful but not quite at the pace as previously. But, alas, he was still here!!! So, next came stripping him of his arena manager duties and that resulted in a corresponding reduction in compensation. With that he left just as the sneaky administration desired all along.
Please note that for the first couple decades of its' existence, the Fieldhouse was not just some aging college hockey arena. Quite the contrary, it was a major entertainment venue dubbed "The Madison Square Garden of Upstate New York". Without covering the ice surface, it was around 5,200 for concerts. Around 7,000 with the rink covered. Those shows were quite the events. Just the ones I was at personally included Frankie Avalon and Connie Francis, Peter & Gordon along with Manfred Mann, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Beach Boys, the annual stop of Dick Clark's Winter Caravan and the Ice Capades (for a whole week!!!). Other shows included Joplin, Morrison and the Doors, Grace Slick and Airplane (before they went to Starfleet Academy and became a starship), a scheduled appearance by Hendricks which had to be cancelled due to the assassination of RFK Sr. and the annual convention of the Jehovah Witnesses. While Harkness was already gone for some of the above, you get the idea. Getting stripped of the arena manager job cost Ned a pretty penny and it was time to leave.
Anyway, they moved on to a replacement for the 63-64 season and with whatever was left playerwise somehow took RPI to the final four (it wasn't Frozen yet). In addition, the guy had what was reputed to be a talented and deep recruiting class coming in September of 64 (who would have had to play on the freshman team back then) which included 5 guys everyone else supposedly wanted. The administration, apparently still in a geocidal mood, academically rejected all five!!!. The replacement coach immediately and abruptly just up and quit!!!
Then for 64-65 it was on to another guy from a Canadian college. When employment date arrived he was nowhere to be be found. Nor the day after that nor the next one either. All attempts to contact the guy failed until they finally gave up nearing graduation day 1964. The guy just plain and simple dropped off the face of the earth and no one ever heard anything about him again to this very day.
In attendance on the graduation day 1964 ceremony was one Adjunct Professor of Architecture who also happened to be an All American Hockey player around a decade earlier. Supposedly, an extremely panicked President ran up to him and said something like the following: Garry you just have to coach the hockey team, we just haven't got anybody else!!! Garry did just that but by now it was far too little far too late. The next three seasons were 10 wins, then 3 and then 8 with a number of those wins coming against D2/D3 opposition. Those 5 rejected guys mentioned above would have been on the varsity by the 3 and the 8!!!
Eventually, Mr. Kearns did a stellar repair job and went back to his regular job(s) after 5 years of coaching. There were ups and downs after that, but, overall things were pretty good.
Little long but you did ask for it as best as I recall or know it. Should any of the above need correction, it would have to be by some individual who would unfortunately have to be even older that I am.
