With a new academic year rolling around, a new athletic year begins. The 2023–24 year will mark a new chapter in Ithaca College athletics, with several new coaches and administrators taking over for well-known and beloved names who departed after last year.
Among the recent departures was men’s lacrosse head coach Jeff Long, who was at the helm for 36 seasons at the college, notably leading the team to six conference championships in that time. Replacing Long is Tommy Pearce, who comes from Allegheny College where he was the head coach of the men’s lacrosse program for five seasons.
Other notable departures include former men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach Kevin Markwardt, retiring after 42 years on South Hill. In his time as swimming and diving head coach, Markwardt led the Bombers to 12 total conference championships across both men’s and women’s teams, including a five year streak with the men’s team from 1988–93. He will be replaced by former assistant coach Mike Blakely-Armitage ’00, who will be joined by another new hire — SUNY Cortland’s Noah Beck — as assistant coach.
The college’s men’s soccer team has also seen a new addition, introducing Nick Calo as the team’s lead assistant coach. Calo spent the last four seasons as assistant coach at Utica University.
On the administrative side of things, Margaret Shackell joined the department as the NCAA faculty athletics representative — while another key departure was deputy Athletic director Erienne Roberts, who accepted an offer at the University of Chicago to become their deputy athletic director for internal operations.
Replacing Roberts on the athletic administration team at the college is Tyler Heisey, the new associate director of athletics for NCAA compliance. Heisey comes in from his previous position working in athletics fundraising at Susquehanna University. Heisey, a former student–athlete at Dickinson College, said athletics has always been an important part of his life and he knew he wanted to work in administration after his positive experience at Dickinson.
“I was a collegiate student-athlete at Dickinson College and there I knew that I always wanted to stay connected to sports,” Heisey said. “From there I went on to the University of Arkansas for my master’s in sports administration and that really opened my eyes to all the possibilities in college sports. I had a great experience as a student–athlete and to provide that experience and give back has led me here.”
Heisey said he was drawn to Ithaca College because of the national level of success among its many athletics programs. Most notably, the college has won 15 national championships and has ranked in the top 25 of the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup, an award measuring success in all collegiate sports, consistently over the last two decades, including a 12th–place finish for the 2022–23 athletic year.
“This place draws in great people. The coaches are amazing and work hard and the opportunity to support them excited me,” Heisey said. “It’s a place where people want to help each other and be successful. It’s really what Division III sports is all about and that’s the kind of place I want to associate myself with.”
From the position of a student–athlete, having a new coach coming in can be a challenge. Joshua Miles, the co-chair of the college’s Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), welcomes the opportunity to get to watch a new set of coaches and said he is excited about what they have to offer for the athletic program’s future.
“I completely trust the athletic department here,” Miles said. “[Director of Intercollegiate Athletics] Susan Bassett is incredible. It’s sad to see Roberts go as she did so well at her job, but with the new faces coming in, I’ve talked briefly with them and they really care about the athletes here and they definitely want to make a difference.”
Miles said he joined SAAC in his second semester on campus as he felt it was a service to give back to not only his fellow student-athletes, but the coaches and administrators as well.
“I thought it was a really great opportunity to be more hands-on with the whole athletic community here at Ithaca,” Miles said. “Also to make the athlete’s experience here as memorable as possible and be a voice for the athletes and communicate with the athletics department.”
While having a new coach can be tough on returning student athletes, it can also be a daunting task on the coaches’ side. For Tom Rishcoff, the college’s new head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis programs, he welcomes the challenge of working with two new teams and leading the charge.
“I’m extremely honored to take over the program here as there’s a storied success to this program and there’s an opportunity to continue to build off of that,” Rishcoff said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to make great strides within the program and continue to build off the previous success this program has had and look to take us to the next level.”
Previously, Rishcoff worked as an assistant coach for the Middlebury College tennis programs and has prior head coaching experience, serving as interim head coach of the men’s team at Hamilton College in 2021. Rishcoff will be replacing the former men’s tennis coach Chris Hayes ‘16, who spent three seasons leading the men’s and women’s teams to a combined 41–47 record. Rishcoff said he is looking to continue the success of the tennis program and establish a powerful team relationship.
“What I want to bring is a level of energy and a certain culture that I’m trying to build in terms of the way we are competing and representing Ithaca on and off the court,” Rishcoff said. “I really want to build a tennis community and continue to build a tight–knit community within the team day by day, as well as strong comradery.”
With the first weeks of the fall season slowly approaching, Heisey is looking forward to following the pride and commitment that each athlete puts into their sport, driving the success of athletics at the college.
“For me, it’s those special moments each season,” Heisey said. “The game-winning field goal, game-winning shots, I know how hard they work for these opportunities and for me, it’s getting to see those special moments that we all remember.”
