ITHACA, N.Y. – Pete Noyes and Cornell football have been synonymous for 36 years. Now, after serving as assistant coach, director of football operations and coordinator of football alumni relations, Noyes has retired, leaving with him a unique legacy – touching the lives of generations of Cornell football players. Noyes retired on June 30, though you're still likely to see him at Big Red football games.

Noyes coached for 21 seasons at Cornell before becoming the program's first director of football operations, a position he held for eight years. He then assumed coordination of football alumni relations in 2006. Noyes became responsible for coordinating the day-to-day operations of the Cornell Football Association, including administrative duties, alumni and parent relations and football fundraising. He was honored with the organization's Lou Conti '41 Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Noyes' efforts were also recognized on the national level in 2003 when he received the All-American Football Foundation's Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach Award.

"It has always been about the people who have made my 36 years with Cornell football a great experience," Noyes said. "I will be forever grateful to coach Bob Blackman for hiring me in 1977 - he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I am also grateful for all the great relationships over the years with my fellow coaches and, most importantly, the players who put in the hard work. They made us a better team and gave me a chance to be a better coach. Many of these players have become best friends and certainly represent the foundation of all that is great about Cornell football. I am so very grateful for our athletic director, Andy Noel, for his friendship, loyalty and incredible support throughout these 36 years - he has stood by me like a rock. My cup runneth over and I can't thank Cornell and all the people enough for their support over the years."

"Pete Noyes is Cornell football," said David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football. "The relationships and the loyalty that Pete Noyes has engendered can't be adequately expressed in words. It is expressed in sprit, it is expressed in emotion. Not only was he a top coach and a top recruiter, he created a legacy that makes him a true Cornellian. He'll be greatly missed around the halls of Schoellkopf."

As Director of Football Operations, Noyes helped the Cornell Football Association (CFA) membership rise from 250 to 1,400, while the football program's annual fund has grown from $126,000 to $630,000 per year. The Ben Mintz/CFA Golf and Tennis Outing he managed grew from 50 to 300 golfers, while net income rose from $4,000 to $155,000 per year. Noyes also spearheaded the discovery and display of historic artifacts of the Friends Hall Tradition and Hall of Fame Rooms, as well as the renovated Schoellkopf Memorial Hall.

"Pete has been the heart and soul of Big Red Football for decades," said Andy Noel, Cornell's Meakem*Smith Director of Athletics and Physical Education. "His unconditional loyalty to the program and his relentless efforts on behalf of our coaches and players has become legendary."

Noyes came to Cornell in 1977 as head defensive and linebackers coach, and in 1981 he was named by Coach Bob Blackman as his first defensive coordinator by title in 32 years of coaching. Up until 1998, Pete filled a variety of roles, serving as defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator (1983-93), offensive line coach and defensive backs coach. He was also the assistant head coach from 1986 to 1989. Noyes' hard-nosed approach to the game enabled him to coach the Cornell defense to Division I-AA runner-up for fewest points allowed per game in 1986 and a seventh-place finish in I-AA in 1988. In both 1986 and 1988, Noyes' defense topped the Ivy League and the East in the same category. The defense's 1986 performance was also the best-ever at Cornell since the formation of the Ivy League. In 1990, while Noyes was the offensive line coach, Cornell celebrated three first-team All-Ivy linemen for the first time ever. In 1993, the Big Red was sixth in the nation in total defense, 13th in scoring defense, 17th in rushing defense and 21st in pass efficiency defense. Overall, his teams recorded 21 career shutouts, including 12 with Cornell. His overall record vs. Harvard and Yale was 26-15-1 (20-15-1 as a defensive coordinator), including a school-record 11-game win streak vs. Harvard (1986-96).

During his 21 years of coaching at Cornell, Noyes recruited 18 captains and coached or recruited 25 first-team and a total of 83 All-Ivy selections. Included among his recruits are Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame members Derrick Harmon '84, Scott Malaga '89, Chris Zingo '94 and John McNiff '91. He recruited 10 starters on the 1988 Ivy championship team and 14 starters from the 1990 championship squad. During his 10 years as recruiting coordinator, Cornell played for an Ivy League title three times, winning twice (1988 and 1990) and earning an Ivy League record of 39-30-1 and 51-42-2 overall. In 1995, Noyes coached in his fourth Ivy League title game, the most of any Big Red football coach since the formation of the Ancient Eight.

Noyes previously served as the defensive coordinator at Bucknell for six seasons under the late Fred Prender and Bob Curtis with emphasis on the linebackers. His 1972 and 1976 Bucknell defensive units were nationally ranked in points allowed per game. The 1976 defense only had 12 points scored against them in the second half of games, including just two points in the fourth quarter of games.

A 1968 graduate of the University of Bridgeport, he was co-captain of the football team as a senior. The former linebacker was a three-year starter and was named to the school's all-time team in 1969.

Noyes and his wife, Carol, reside in Ithaca and have three children: Jennifer Noyes '98; Justin Brion; and the late Ronnie Brion '00.

"Carol and I plan to continue to live life to the fullest and we are excited," Noyes said. "We will continue to live in beautiful Ithaca, spend quality time in Marco Island, Fla., in the winter and certainly spend lots of time with our family and friends. We also look forward to traveling more, especially to see Jenny, Justin and our two grandsons. We plan to attend lots of Cornell football games in the fall and continue to provide 100 percent unconditional support for Dave Archer, Big Red football and the CFA."