So Long Division I-AA

The NCAA yesterday approved nomenclature to rename Division I-A and Division I-AA. I-A schools will now be referred to as the "Football Bowl Subdivision," while the I-AA schools will be called the "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision." Rest assured, that will be shortened to the Bowl Division and the Playoff Division. Which brings to mind a couple of thoughts, both offered in jest.

If the current I-A schools ever, in fact, start a playoff, do they become Playoff Division teams?

And, are the Ivies incorrectly identified as Playoff Division schools, since they aren't allowed to go to the playoffs?

An approved change that would have allowed a graduate of one school to "transfer" and immediately use remaining eligibility at another was overridden while an override was delayed on an effort to overturn a recently defeated bid to add a 12th game for some I-AA schools. (Certainly not the Ivies, which can't get an 11th game.)

From the NCAA Release regarding the new Division labels:

The presidents believe the new nomenclature, which becomes effective in December, more accurately distinguishes Division I institutions for purposes of governing football, the only sport for which such a distinction is necessary. Members felt the old nomenclature inaccurately tiered Division I institutions in all sports, not just football, and produced instances in which media outlets and other entities incorrectly cited institutions as being Division I-AA in basketball or baseball, for example.

“All Division I institutions, regardless of whether they sponsor football, are in fact and should be referred to as Division I members,” said Board Chair and University of Connecticut President Philip Austin. “The only reasons for labeling are the need to distinguish the two football subdivisions for the purpose of governing the sport and to maintain separate statistics. The Board is stressing that the nomenclature reflect the totality of the Division I membership whenever possible and that the subdivision labels be used sparingly. Still, there are instances in which we need to use them, and we feel the new labels are more accurate.”

An update on Dartmouth's webcasting plans: All five home games are slated to be webcast. Terms and conditions (ie. how much it will cost) is yet to be announced. Green Alert Take: This is a positive step for Dartmouth but it will be interesting to see how the technology works. Other schools have had mixed reviews for similar efforts.

Dartmouth defensive back Joe Scola gets a brief mention in his local paper.

And finally -- I'll have a story out of Ivy League media day next Tuesday before kicking off my comprehensive opponent preview series on Wednesday. To access those stories and enjoy full coverage of Dartmouth football seven days a week, be sure to sign up for a subscription to the regular Green Alert site here. Once again, there will be coverage of preseason practice posted shortly after each session (twice on double-session days) and at least eight newspaper-length stories each week of the season.