Story written by Thomas Edson '21 | Photo Credit: (Image courtesy of Greg Carraccio/Sideline Photos)

Zach Spiker '00 and Dane Fischer '02 are no strangers to being together in a gym. The pair of former Bombers established a life-long friendship during the 1999-2000 Ithaca Men's Basketball season when Fischer was a sophomore and Spiker was a student assistant coach. Now, two decades later, the two former Bombers meet annually as head coaches at the NCAA Division I level. 

Spiker is in his fifth year as head coach at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., while Fischer is in his second season at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Both schools are conference affiliates of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Dragons and the Tribe split the first two matchups of the season in Philadelphia, Penn. before Drexel took the matchup in Williamsburg, Va. that was scheduled last-minute when both of the programs' original opponents for the weekend went on pause due to COVID-related issues. 

The meetings in January were the third, fourth, and fifth meetings between Spiker and Fischer as head coaches. Drexel and William & Mary split last season's regular season matchups. Spiker now leads the matchups between the two as head coaches, 3-2. 

"It's actually miserable. It's hard to coach against a friend who you want to see be successful but you're also competing against in the same league for championships and tournament bids," said Spiker, who is in his 5th season as Drexel's head coach.

Fischer, who is in his second year at the helm of the Tribe, echoed Spiker's sentiments about the difficulty of coaching against a good friend. "The back-to-back games gave it a different feel because Saturday we got to talk and spend time together before the game, but we came in on Sunday and it's a question of 'well do we talk now or just focus on the game?'"

The past five meetings between Drexel and William & Mary are not the only times that the two coaches have competed against each other from the benches, however. The former Bombers met multiple times while Spiker was the head coach at The United States Military Academy at West Point and Fischer was an assistant coach at Patriot League foe Bucknell. 

Both coaches reflected fondly on their time on South Hill, and gave a lot of credit to former Ithaca Head Men's Basketball Coach Jim Mullins for helping them develop as players and find opportunities to coach. This network includes Mullins, Spiker, Fischer, and Ithaca graduate Kevin Connors who is now at ESPN. 

Mullins said he was very excited when he found out about the matchups. "They are part of a tree that we are very proud of. They are both huge parts of the Ithaca Basketball history." Mullins added that he is not at all surprised that both men ended up in coaching and that they have found their way to be head coaches for competitive programs. 

University of Massachusetts Amherst Athletics Director Ryan Bamford '00 played with both Spiker and Fischer during his career on South Hill. Bamford knows it's tough for the two to play each other, but loves to see their success. "It's neat to have both of them coaching in the same conference, but the fact that I've been able to stay in touch and I'm so close with them, it's tough for me when they play each other. But I can tell you every other night when they aren't playing UMass I cheer for them."

Coach Spiker's Drexel team is now 7-5 on the season and 2-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play, and return to action on January 30 against Northeastern. Coach Fischer's William & Mary squad is 4-7 on the season with a 2-4 mark in CAA play, and will travel to Towson on January 30.