A fixture in Schoellkopf Hall for more than 30 years, Pete Noyes spent eight seasons as the director of football operations before taking over the role of coordinator of football alumni relations in 2006. He is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day operations of the Cornell Football Association, including administrative duties such as alumni and parent relations and major football fundraising. He was honored with the 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.
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 ran grew from 50 to 300 golfers, while net income rose from $4,000 to $155,000. Noyes also headed up the discovery and display of historic artifacts of the Friends Hall Tradition and Hall of Fame Rooms, as well as the renoved Schoellkopf Memorial Hall.
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, he 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 had 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 83 total 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 had 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.
*Updated December 16, 2011
