The Big Green men's basketball team is trying to rebound from a 5-23 season, which saw former head coach Terry Dunn step down mid-season. After a selective interview process, College President Jim Yong Kim, Acting Athletics Director Bob Ceplikas and their staffs chose Cormier to take over the program, Ceplikas said.
"I couldn't be more pleased to have a guy like [Cormier], someone with such great moral character who is such a great coach and great recruiter," Kim said at the press conference. "Those are the things that we need."
Cormier began his Division I head coaching career at Dartmouth in 1985, leading the Big Green to two of its three winningest seasons in the past 50 years.
Between 1987 and 1989, Cormier's Big Green teams posted consecutive 10-4 records in conference play and missed the Ivy League title by only one game both seasons.
Cormier went on to coach at Fairfield University and led the Stags to one NCAA Tournament appearance and one NIT appearance.
For the past decade, Cormier has been an advanced scout or administrator for several NBA teams, including the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and New Jersey Nets.
Before returning to Dartmouth, Cormier worked for the Golden State Warriors and was in charge of scouting college players on the East Coast. Cormier believes that his experience working in the NBA will help him on the court as a head coach.
"During my years in the NBA, I watched great coaches and got to see them live," he said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I got to see what plays they ran, what schemes they had and how they defended against certain concepts."
Cormier will replace interim head coach Mark Graupe, who will not be on the Dartmouth coaching staff next season and is applying for coaching positions elsewhere. Graupe said he believes that hiring Cormier is a great move for the basketball program.
"I've only known [Cormier] for three days, and I already know that he will do great here," Graupe said. "I see that he's got real guts."
Cormier comes back to Dartmouth with a sense of unfinished business stemming from the 1987-1988 season. That year's Big Green team suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss to Yale University in its final game of the season after missing a critical free throw at the end of the game.
As a result of the loss, Dartmouth missed out on a share of the Ivy League title and a chance to play in a tiebreaker game for the NCAA Tournament.
"The last time I was here, the reason I left, is that I found it a struggle to get to the next level," Cormier said at the press conference. "I really believe now that everything is in place. Everyone wants it, and it's not just talk."
According to Cormier, success requires dedication from the whole school. After talking to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris and the Director of Admissions Recruitment Dan Parish, Cormier said he sees that the recruiting process is much more transparent, and that there is a commitment to the basketball program.
The rebuilding process will not happen overnight, Cormier said. He added that former Cornell head coach Steve Donahue did not win an Ivy League title until his ninth year at Cornell. This past season, Donahue's 12th year with the team, he led the Big Red squad to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
"We have enough talent to put the building blocks in place to win," Cormier said. "When people come to watch us play next season, I want [the players] to feel good about being part of the men's basketball program here."
