Sullivan has seemed like a really nice guy when I have interviewed him, and I’m sure there are scores of his former players that will tell you what an impact he had on their lives.

But just as Restic and Tomassino were huge contributors to Harvard, the fact remains that they simply weren’t able to get it done late in their careers. And this is Harvard we’re talking about here. Murphy and Mazzoleni had great records in previous jobs at Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio, respectively, and there is no doubt that enticing an established basketball coach to Harvard wouldn’t be that difficult. Who knows, maybe even someone as established as Cambridge native and ex-St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis would be interested in the position.

And not all Ivy League schools are complacent with their athletic firing standards. Just last year, Columbia fired Armond Hill after a 2-25 season. Former Villanova assistant Joe Jones promptly came in and improved the Lions record to a respectable 10-17, including 6-8 in the Ivy League.

My basic point is that the administration shouldn’t look at Harvard basketball and be happy about going 7-7 in the Ivy League. Walsh, Murphy, Mazzoleni, and leaders like men’s heavyweight coach Harry Parker have set a standard of consistently winning Ivy League (or in Mazzoleni’s case, ECAC) titles.

There is no reason why the basketball program shouldn’t be able to do the same.

If after sixteen tries Sullivan is unable to do that, then I believe the University will need to find someone who can.

–Staff writer Robert C. Boutwell can be reached at boutwel@fas.harvard.edu. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.