Cornell University Athletics

With more than 125 years of basketball to call upon, the Big Red has an incredibly storied history on the college hardwood. Cornellians have been successful in the NBA (both on the hardwood and in the board room) and have often challenged the best teams in the country. From Cornell Hall of Famers Howard Ortner and Sam MacNeil to Albert Sharpe, Royner Greene, Steve Donahue, Brian Earl and now Jon Jaques '10, Big Red coaches have routinely put their teams in positions to compete for championships, claiming eight EIBL or Ivy League titles. Most recently, three consecutive Ancient Eight crowns, including an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2009-10 and an appearance in the 2024 NIT, show that the Big Red continues to rewrite history.

Five NCAA Tournament and an NIT appearance. More than 1,200 wins. NBA players and dozens of professional basketball players around the globe. From being a charter member of the first basketball conference in the college game (Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League), to now being a part of the oldest and most stable athletic grouping (Ivy League), Big Red basketball has played an important role in the history of college basketball.

Basketball first appeared at Cornell in 1892, and a club was formed in 1898 after with J.S. Hills as elected manager and R.F. Ludwig named captain. For the first three years it was not officially recognized by the Athletic Council, and consequently could not use the name Cornell. In  1901, however, the team was granted the rights to use the Cornell name. It’s name has been stitched on the front of jerseys ever since, and Cornellians have been instrumental in the growth of the college, professional and international games.

Ed Steitz ‘43, a member of the Basketball and FIBA Basketball Halls of Fame, was the original founder and president of Amateur Basketball Association of the United States of America (ABAUSA), now USA Basketball. He served for more than 25 years as secretary, editor and national interpreter of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, authoring more than 90 books and 300 articles on basketball and its rules. He was instrumental in the reinstatement of the dunk in 1976 and was an advocate of the 45-second shot clock and 3-point shot. Steitz also helped establish the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. while serving as head basketball coach and athletic director at Springfield College.

Nat Militzok was the first Cornellian to play in the NBA, and may have been the first player from any school to step on an NBA court. He had the honor of playing in what is considered the first NBA game for the Knicks against the Huskies in Toronto on Nov. 1, 1946 and was credited with the first assist in league history. 

Cornell has played games in 47 states (only Alaska, North Dakota and Mississippi are holdouts), as well as in Australia, Belgium, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Puerto Rico, Spain and Sweden. The Big Red has suited up against the Canadian national champions and national teams from countries spanning from Great Britain to Egypt to Luxembourg, all the while representing one of the world’s most fabled Universities. 

Characters abound in Big Red lore, from diminutive 5-6 All-American Chuck Rolles to 7-0 local star Jeff Foote, Cornell’s most recent NBA player. Matt Morgan, Ryan Wittman and John Bajusz, the top three scorers in school history, are well-regarded as among the finest shooters to ever grace the Ivy League courts. Standouts like Lee Morton, Ken Bantum and Louis Dale  have been honored as the top player in the conference, and nine student-athletes have garnered a total of 10 All-America honors. Twelve have been drafted into the NBA and five have garnered coveted spots on the Academic All-America team, showing the balance of athletics and academics the Ivy League prides itself in.

Away from the court, Cornellians have been surgeons and architects, engineers and professors. They’ve tackled Wall Street, coached future generations of basketball players and served their communities in every way possible - just like tens of thousands of their classmates and fellow alumni.