Cornell has appointed Reid Johnson to lead its men’s lightweight rowing program, putting a coach with youth-development experience in charge of a team serving probation through spring 2029 after a university hazing finding.
Johnson, named the Henry E. Bartels ’48 Head Coach on Aug. 14, replaces Tyler Nase, who left Cornell after four seasons to become head coach of Penn’s women’s team. Cornell announced Nase’s departure in July and did not connect it to the hazing case.
Johnson’s background is in building rowing programmes. He spent nine years at Pelham Community Rowing Association, where he most recently served as Director of Youth Rowing, after two seasons as an assistant with Princeton’s heavyweight programme from 2015 to 2017.
During his time at Pelham, Johnson expanded the youth programme to about 130 athletes, with three full-time coaches and as many as eight part-time coaches supporting it. Under his leadership, Pelham’s men’s crews won 12 medals at the New York State Scholastic Rowing Championships, and the programme achieved its best finishes in the Head of the Charles and Youth National Championships.
Six Pelham crews qualified for Youth Nationals in spring 2026, and 22 of Johnson’s athletes later competed at Division I level, including 10 in the Ivy League. At Princeton, every varsity boat won an IRA medal in 2016, when the Tigers also took the Eastern Sprints team-points title.
“Reid has the right combination of program-building experience and a genuine passion for developing young people, both on and off the water,” Cornell director of athletics Dr. Nicki Moore said. “He will set a standard of excellence I believe our student-athletes will want to rise to meet.”
Cornell’s probation follows hazing finding
Cornell’s internal review found that the lightweight men engaged in hazing between August 2025 and January 2026. The university described degrading presentations, an alcohol-related basement activity involving blindfolding and humiliating behaviour, and a training-trip exercise in which newcomers were pressured to race nude.
The team was initially suspended in February. Cornell later permitted a phased return to training, but placed it under a three-year probation lasting through to Spring 2029, alongside requirements including hazing-prevention education, bystander-intervention work, conflict-resolution sessions and external culture development.
A rower whose identity was not disclosed disputed Cornell’s account in an interview with The Cornell Daily Sun, saying participation in the presentations was optional and denying that newcomers were required to consume alcohol or other substances.
Johnson said tradition and conduct would shape his approach: “Grit, respect for the program’s tradition, and enthusiasm for being model citizens will guide us as we build a culture that brings out the best in everyone,” he said.
Cornell’s lightweight men have won eight IRA National Championships and 12 Eastern Sprints titles. Johnson will move to Ithaca with his wife, Emma, and their twin daughters, Imogen and Whitney, before the autumn season begins.
