The real reason Rob Koll left Cornell?

[Caveira]

19 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

Thank you. I admit I had completely forgotten about the covid sit-out year in 2021 for a very talented Cornell team. That make a lot of sense.

Decimated the midlands too.  When nw cancelled.   Possibly one reason the “Xmas” tourney is dead.   Although some of that is on a certain east coast school too.  

[RetiredFromWrestling]

I don’t think it is complicated. Koll spent 30 years at Cornell and built it as far as he could take it. He wasn’t going to catch Penn State, so he wanted a challenge and thought he could help Stanford. Covid probably did reduce his loyalty toward Cornell, they did not let them compete in 2021. 
He goes to Stanford and it doesn’t work out. He has a unique opportunity to go to his Alma Mater and he takes it. It seems like he made good decisions. The wrestling community is lucky to have him. 

[Dark Energy]

He also had a major backer in the AD who was retiring.  Was able to slot in Mike Grey as he left.  All in all I think Koll departed on his terms and made it all work.  

[bnwtwg]

3 hours ago, WrestlingRash said:

are you insane? or just dumb?  

In seven of the most affluent Silicon Valley cities — Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Portola Valley, Woodside and Atherton — combined, Kamala Harris won 76.2% of the vote, compared with 20.1% for Trump

Now do the most affluential SV personalities. You know, the Thiels, Musks, Zucks, Balmers, Benioffs of the world. Gates is the outlier.

[BruceyB]

36 minutes ago, Dark Energy said:

He also had a major backer in the AD who was retiring.  Was able to slot in Mike Grey as he left.  All in all I think Koll departed on his terms and made it all work.  

Interesting. I didn't know about the AD situation. I know UNC is one of the top public universities in the country. I'll be curious if he can reroute some of that NJ pipeline he had at Cornell down south to UNC. Admittedly, I don't know much about the separation of academic advantages between the two.. but Koll's rolodex alone has to be a massive recruiting tool for those seeking a profession outside of wrestling after their collegiate career.

[BruceyB]

4 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

Now do the most affluential SV personalities. You know, the Thiels, Musks, Zucks, Balmers, Benioffs of the world. Gates is the outlier.

Respectfully.. not on this thread please.

[Adaysend]

I’m just a girl who knows a girl, but for what it’s worth…I was made aware not too long ago that Koll ran into some trouble by not handling the books as thoroughly as he should of, and landed himself at the center of an internal investigation. That’s why he left pretty abruptly and took the next spot he could find, which was Stanford during that whole mess. For those saying it was the new AD at C, there wasn’t any overlap between Moore and Koll. She didn’t start until 2023 and Koll was long gone. But yes, the former AD was getting close to retirement during Koll’s last season there. I think Koll had every intention of finishing off his (almost 30 year) career at C before all of that. As always, take it with a grain of salt, but if you’re like me, I always try to keep my ears to the ground. Curious if anyone has heard anything similar? 

[BigRedFan]

7 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Now do the most affluential SV personalities. You know, the Thiels, Musks, Zucks, Balmers, Benioffs of the world. Gates is the outlier.

He's the outlier because he's from the Seattle area...

[BigRedFan]

7 hours ago, BruceyB said:

Interesting. I didn't know about the AD situation. I know UNC is one of the top public universities in the country. I'll be curious if he can reroute some of that NJ pipeline he had at Cornell down south to UNC. Admittedly, I don't know much about the separation of academic advantages between the two.. but Koll's rolodex alone has to be a massive recruiting tool for those seeking a profession outside of wrestling after their collegiate career.

Andy Noel was the longtime Cornell AD and a former Cornell wrestling coach.  Mike Grey continues to have the apparent full support of the current (non-wrestling-background, woman) AD (https://cornellbigred.com/staff-directory/nicki-moore/5089).

Deserved or not, UNC does not have the academic reputation as Cornell (cue Ag School jokes).

Apparently, Koll left that Rolodex with Coach Grey, whose solid recruiting (especially in NJ) has continued unabated.  It was never made explicit, but Koll appeared to have issues with how Cornell and the Ivy League handled COVID; Gabe Dean was explicit in his criticism when he was a coach there at the time.  The latter had issues with the requirement that he implement (the horror!) the policies set forth by the Ivy League, so he left and Max left as well.  Like ensuring that the wrestlers adhere to COVID policies such as mask wearing.  No wonder he left...

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

9 hours ago, Dark Energy said:

He also had a major backer in the AD who was retiring.  Was able to slot in Mike Grey as he left.  All in all I think Koll departed on his terms and made it all work.  

He actually officially "retired" from Cornell.  I assume he is receiving some sort of pension.

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

5 hours ago, Adaysend said:

I’m just a girl who knows a girl, but for what it’s worth…I was made aware not too long ago that Koll ran into some trouble by not handling the books as thoroughly as he should of, and landed himself at the center of an internal investigation. That’s why he left pretty abruptly and took the next spot he could find, which was Stanford during that whole mess. For those saying it was the new AD at C, there wasn’t any overlap between Moore and Koll. She didn’t start until 2023 and Koll was long gone. But yes, the former AD was getting close to retirement during Koll’s last season there. I think Koll had every intention of finishing off his (almost 30 year) career at C before all of that. As always, take it with a grain of salt, but if you’re like me, I always try to keep my ears to the ground. Curious if anyone has heard anything similar? 

one post

[fishbane]

29 minutes ago, BigRedFan said:

Deserved or not, UNC does not have the academic reputation as Cornell (cue Ag School jokes).

My understanding is that there is more academic flexibility at UNC which gives athletes the option of taking paper classes.  This could be a potential selling point for recruits, possibly helped him land AJ Ferrari.

[charmon55]

He left because of the North Carolina girls. Simple.

[Fletcher]

Heard from inside sources at Stanford that the team there didn't love Koll. He spent all his time fundraising and glad-handing instead of coaching.

Maybe that was necessary though, given the dire straits the program was in after almost getting cancelled.

[Caveira]

12 hours ago, Dark Energy said:

He also had a major backer in the AD who was retiring.  Was able to slot in Mike Grey as he left.  All in all I think Koll departed on his terms and made it all work.  

That’s a great lesson.  Koll helped build up Mike grey and celebrated his promo to head coach.  Psu faithful take note.  That’s how you celebrate your underlings / teammates success.   You don’t knock them for their big promos.  

[Voice of the Quakers]

Short answer: Cornell wouldn't let Koll bring AJ Ferrari to campus. Glad to see these two icons reunited like a Hallmark movie in Chapel Hill.

[WrestlingRash]

12 hours ago, Adaysend said:

I’m just a girl who knows a girl, but for what it’s worth…I was made aware not too long ago that Koll ran into some trouble by not handling the books as thoroughly as he should of, and landed himself at the center of an internal investigation. That’s why he left pretty abruptly and took the next spot he could find, which was Stanford during that whole mess. For those saying it was the new AD at C, there wasn’t any overlap between Moore and Koll. She didn’t start until 2023 and Koll was long gone. But yes, the former AD was getting close to retirement during Koll’s last season there. I think Koll had every intention of finishing off his (almost 30 year) career at C before all of that. As always, take it with a grain of salt, but if you’re like me, I always try to keep my ears to the ground. Curious if anyone has heard anything similar? 

you created an account just to post this? seems like slander to me. don't bring your personal crap here. 

[wrestle87]

7 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Andy Noel was the longtime Cornell AD and a former Cornell wrestling coach.  Mike Grey continues to have the apparent full support of the current (non-wrestling-background, woman) AD (https://cornellbigred.com/staff-directory/nicki-moore/5089).

Deserved or not, UNC does not have the academic reputation as Cornell (cue Ag School jokes).

Apparently, Koll left that Rolodex with Coach Grey, whose solid recruiting (especially in NJ) has continued unabated.  It was never made explicit, but Koll appeared to have issues with how Cornell and the Ivy League handled COVID; Gabe Dean was explicit in his criticism when he was a coach there at the time.  The latter had issues with the requirement that he implement (the horror!) the policies set forth by the Ivy League, so he left and Max left as well.  Like ensuring that the wrestlers adhere to COVID policies such as mask wearing.  No wonder he left...

Grey has been the source of that pipeline from the beginning.  Grey was the largest name to come out of NJ’s biggest club, which is also rather closely tied to Delbarton, Bergen Catholic, and Blair.  Flo did a documentary on them (the edge), but it’s impossible to overstate what a big impact that club had on North Jersey Wrestling in the 1990’s and 2000’s.

[Elevator]

7 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

Andy Noel was the longtime Cornell AD and a former Cornell wrestling coach.  Mike Grey continues to have the apparent full support of the current (non-wrestling-background, woman) AD (https://cornellbigred.com/staff-directory/nicki-moore/5089).

Deserved or not, UNC does not have the academic reputation as Cornell (cue Ag School jokes).

Apparently, Koll left that Rolodex with Coach Grey, whose solid recruiting (especially in NJ) has continued unabated.  It was never made explicit, but Koll appeared to have issues with how Cornell and the Ivy League handled COVID; Gabe Dean was explicit in his criticism when he was a coach there at the time.  The latter had issues with the requirement that he implement (the horror!) the policies set forth by the Ivy League, so he left and Max left as well.  Like ensuring that the wrestlers adhere to COVID policies such as mask wearing.  No wonder he left...

Obvious "best practices" lesson from pandemic is that: Universities making decisions about public health policies during a pandemic should consult with their own medical school faculty as well as the head and assistant wrestling coaches. 

[Cornell Kevin]

1 hour ago, WrestlingRash said:

you created an account just to post this? seems like slander to me. don't bring your personal crap here. 

I agree with you it’s all crap and not accurate at all.   There was a rumor of Coleman not handling books well at UNC but even that is at best a rumor.  Posting something like that about Koll is irresponsible and has zero trust to it so i’ll take it with much salt. 

[scribers]

There’s truths sprinkled all about the thread.  Frankly he made a mistake leaving. His legacy as a coach was Cornell and he should have kept the seat warm for Dake. It’s water under the bridge now. 

[Adaysend]

6 hours ago, WrestlingRash said:

you created an account just to post this? seems like slander to me. don't bring your personal crap here. 

I created an account after googling “Rob Koll Cornell investigation” and this is the first thing to pop up. I don’t know him personally, I’m just curious. I had heard something from someone who I do trust and is more involved than I will ever be, but at the end of the day, they’re just one person. I googled, saw this thread was recent, and I wanted to see if anyone else had heard anything. To abruptly leave after building up a program for nearly thirty years is odd. He was a pillar of that community, raised his family there, just very invested and settled in NY for all that time…sure, it could be COVID related, but we all knew that, while a pain in the ass, all those protocols were temporary and would pass. Anyways, if no one has heard anything of the like, then I have my answer. 

[Adaysend]

4 hours ago, Cornell Kevin said:

I agree with you it’s all crap and not accurate at all.   There was a rumor of Coleman not handling books well at UNC but even that is at best a rumor.  Posting something like that about Koll is irresponsible and has zero trust to it so i’ll take it with much salt. 

Irresponsible is bringing on AJ and Anthony for a $1.3 million NIL deal, but I digress. I’ve heard that rumor about UNC as well, but perhaps with even more drama. I am just a mere onlooker…associated by wedlock to an alum who is still active in the community. However, I stay for the drama (or tea, if you will). And let me tell you….the wrestling community as a whole needs a reality TV show…I swear it’s better than telenovelas lol anyways, keep on keeping on. I’ll keep snooping. 

[HRRBM]

Covid pissed him off with the loss of a year and threat of losing another year.

He kids had recently graduated Cornell so not at home.

Most importantly, he had reached the magic 30 years as a NY state employee and locked in his pension.  Who wouldn't want to take another job and, who knows, also start getting your pension at the same time. 

Don't things get stale after a long time and you are open to change.  West coast would sound fun to me.  

Stanford needed him to save the program and they made it financially worth his while.

Exciting to hit the west coast at a high academic school (where you are an expert in recruiting that kind of kid), where for the first time in your life as a coach you get to actually offer scholarships.  Easy recruiting sell based on his prior experience at Cornell (which is why about 3 years in a row he had top 10 recruiting classes at Stanford).  

 

On the UNC thing.  Who wouldn't want to move back to their alma matter where you where a national champ and still have buddies living locally.  That much closer to your children.  And, again, you are at a top 30 academic school that allows scholarships and supports wrestling a bit more than Stanford did.  

 

I don't think this needs a lot of discussion to unpack.  Surprised the thread was this long

Edited April 9 by HRRBM

[1032004]

39 minutes ago, HRRBM said:

Covid pissed him off with the loss of a year and threat of losing another year.

He kids had recently graduated Cornell so not at home.

Most importantly, he had reached the magic 30 years as a NY state employee and locked in his pension.  Who wouldn't want to take another job and, who knows, also start getting your pension at the same time. 

Don't things get stale after a long time and you are open to change.  West coast would sound fun to me.  

Stanford needed him to save the program and they made it financially worth his while.

Exciting to hit the west coast at a high academic school (where you are an expert in recruiting that kind of kid), where for the first time in your life as a coach you get to actually offer scholarships.  Easy recruiting sell based on his prior experience at Cornell (which is why about 3 years in a row he had top 10 recruiting classes at Stanford).  

 

On the UNC thing.  Who wouldn't want to move back to their alma matter where you where a national champ and still have buddies living locally.  That much closer to your children.  And, again, you are at a top 30 academic school that allows scholarships and supports wrestling a bit more than Stanford did.  

 

I don't think this needs a lot of discussion to unpack.  Surprised the thread was this long

I‘m wondering if it was more about the Ivies cancelling the season than other “covid policies.”  If that was the case then Stanford was an odd choice.  Although I suppose he may have decided he was leaving either way and looking for just about anything at that point, Willie made this post at the time which IIRC Koll almost took a job as the RTC coach at UNC before the Stanford opportunity came up.