The Dartmouth men's basketball team has been ripe for ground-breaking change since former Coach David Faucher resigned midway through a 3-25 season this year.
Phil Wallace, a 22 year old senior at Columbia University and the men's basketball reporter for the Columbia Spectator, thinks that he may be the solution to Dartmouth's recent spell of losing seasons.
Wallace is one of approximately 100 applicants vying to lead the
Program that ranked 324 in a field of 326 Division I teams this season, according to the College Basketball Ratings Percentage Index.
Nicholls State of the Southland Conference and Arkansas Pine Bluff of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, ranked 325 and 326 respectively, were the only two men's basketball teams to trail Dartmouth, according to the index.
Although optimistic, Wallace admitted he is an unlikely candidate for the job because of his young age and inexperience in coaching.
Dartmouth "should seriously consider me, though I think the odds are that Dartmouth will go with a conventional hire," Wallace said.
The men's basketball coach search committee is currently narrowing down its list of applicants, College Athletic Director Josie Harper said. A head coach should be named by the end of May.
Wallace faces stiff competition in his bid for the Dartmouth coaching position.
The College athletic department has spoken to several assistant coaches at top-flight national basketball programs, according to Harper.
Though the Columbia senior has never coached at either the collegiate or a secondary school level, Wallace said that he was the most qualified candidate for the Dartmouth position because he is both innovative and unorthodox.
As coach, Wallace said he would move the Dartmouth men away from the Princeton offense in favor of a motion offense that would take advantage of Ivy League Rookie of the Year Leon Pattman's skills.
Wallace also predicted that his young age would make him particularly adept at courting college-aged spectators and hosting fan-friendly events at Molly's and an improved Midnight Madness.
At capacity, Leede Arena seats 2,100 spectators. However, the average attendance at men's home games during the 2003-04 season was 1,103 visitors per game.
Wallace also insisted that he was the best candidate for the coaching vacancy in light of the College's recent budget crisis, as he is willing to coach at a steep discount compared to other coaching applicants.
The average salary for a Dartmouth men's head coach is more than $51,000 annually according to the College's 2002-3 Equity Disclosure Act.
"I know that the Dartmouth athletic budget is tight -- I'm the most cost effective option out there," Wallace said.
However, chairman of the men's basketball coach search committee Brian Austin said the athletics department does not expect to be frugal in its search for a coach.
"We are certainly not looking to save dollars," Austin said. "For the kind of coach that we need to attract, we have to spend the marketplace dollar."
Although Austin declined to say whether or not the search committee had ruled Wallace out, Harper said that the candidate's chance at the job was poor at this point in time.
Harper said that the College would prefer to hire a coach with at least five to six years of coaching experience.
"We are not interested in issuing learner's permits," Harper said.
Harper, however, commended Wallace's initiative for applying for the head coaching position.
"I applaud him for the confidence he must have to throw his name in the hat," Harper said. "If he has a real passion to coach, I'd suggest that he looks for an assistant coaching job somewhere."
Just in case the Dartmouth job does not come through, Wallace said he has made career contingency plans.
At present, Wallace interns at NYC 2012, an organization behind New York City's bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Wallace said he plans to either continue at NYC 2012 post-graduation, work in sports management or attend law school.
