Yale's Siedlecki retires after 12 seasons at helm

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Yale coach Jack Siedlecki announced he is retiring after 12 years and two Ivy League championships, but he'll be staying at the university to become assistant athletic director.

Siedlecki was 70-47 and 47-37 in the conference during his tenure in New Haven, which included sharing league championships with Brown in 1999 and Princeton in 2006.

The Bulldogs were 9-0 heading into last year's final game and looking for their first perfect season since 1960, but lost to Harvard. Yale finished this season 6-4, including 4-3 in the conference and a 10-0 loss to Harvard in the 125th edition of "The Game."

Siedlecki took the helm after Hall of Famer Carm Cozza retired in 1996 after 32 seasons. Only Cozza was head coach at Yale longer.

"I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished over 12 years," Siedlecki said in a statement Wednesday. "I have been given an opportunity to stay affiliated with Yale Athletics for the balance of my career, and I deeply appreciate that."

It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday why Siedlecki was retiring. A message seeking comment was left at the athletic department.

Yale said in the statement that it has formed a search committee to find a replacement for Siedlecki.

The Bulldogs went 1-9 in 1997, Siedlecki's first season as Yale's 32nd football coach. But only two years later, the team finished 9-1, won a share of the league title and Siedlecki earned New England Coach of the Year honors.

But the Bulldogs lost to Harvard, their main rival, in seven of the past eight years.

"We are proud of the work Jack and his staff have accomplished in a football program where the expectations are very high and the results have been good," Yale athletics director Tom Beckett said.

Siedlecki was previously the head coach at Amherst College. His career collegiate coaching record stands at 126-71-2.