Waiting Ends This Weekend for Ivy Draft Hopefuls

The NFL draft begins today and there are stories about each of the Ivy League's draft hopefuls. Cornell offensive lineman Kevin Boothe, who could go today, is profiled at length in this Ithaca Journal story. ... Brown coach Phil Estes tells the Providence Journal that tailback Nick Hartigan belongs, but probably won't hear his name called until late -- if at all -- tomorrow. ... The Trenton Times takes a look at defensive back/special teams standout Jay McCariens, whose brother is already in the NFL. ... One name that kind of slipped through the cracks until the last few days is that of Yale quarterback Jeff Mroz. Sports Illustrated online calls him a "hidden gem," and writes that he's one of "a number of lesser-known names you could be soon hearing more about." ... Dartmouth's Anthony Gargiulo had a good experience with rugby this spring, but it would be only natural if he found himself wondering sometime this weekend if his phone would have rung sometime late Sunday afternoon if he'd pursued the NFL. Green Alert Draft Take: Boothe will go in the third or fourth round and the others will agree to free agent contracts Sunday night. (At least that's the way it feels after watching Ivy hopes wax and wane on draft weekend for the past 20 years.) ...

This is kinda interesting. Harvard had its spring game yesterday and incumbent starter Liam O'Hagan was not the No. 1 quarterback. Information is sketchy so it's possible the kid had a muscle pull or something. Still, here's what the school web page wrote: "Quarterback Chris Pizzotti, who ran the first-team offense, completed 20 of 40 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns ..."

Ivy League football coaches tabled their push for an 11th game several years ago to instead channel their efforts into getting the green light to go to the playoffs. (Good luck with that one, fellas.) Meanwhile the rest of Division I-AA was pushing for a 12th game. The NCAA this week shot that motion down. The governing body of college football also held off on renaming I-A and I-AA, apparently to better consider the alternatives. Read about both moves here.

And finally, what would an NCAA meeting be without some discussion of Indian mascots, a subject Dartmouth alums know so well. From an NCAA release Friday:

The NCAA Executive Committee today retained the University of Illinois, Champaign, the University of North Dakota and Indiana University of Pennsylvania on the list of colleges and universities subject to restrictions on the use of Native American mascots, names and imagery at NCAA championships.

Among the schools that has been adamant about keeping its nickname is the University of North Dakota. Under a banner featuring a characterization of the Fighting Sioux, the Grand Forks Herald wrote today: "UND's streak of hosting college football playoff games might have officially come to an end Friday, four months before the season starts." ... Speaking of North Dakota, echoes of the past will no doubt be heard next winter when the school's powerhouse ice hockey team visits Thompson Arena and the Fighting Sioux fans begin to chant.