Friday Wrapup

From the 1983 Dartmouth press guide.

Lots of tidbits today starting with former Dartmouth assistant coach Joe Moglia making it to the big-time. No, not in finance. He did that a while back when he became CEO of TD Ameritrade. Now hhe's made it to the big-time of football.

CNBC reports that Nebraska's athletic department has recruited Moglia to "help teach life skills to football players."

The story notes that, "Moglia will likely feel comfortable at the athletic department because he coached football for 16 years and served as Dartmouth College's defensive coordinator before joining the business world."

More from the story:

Athletic Director Tom Osborne ... says Moglia was a natural for the unpaid position because of his unique combination of Wall Street and football experience. Osborne says this job will give coach Moglia a chance to re-establish himself in the football world and learn how Nebraska operates.

Find Moglia's Wikipedia bio here.

Today's Daily Dartmouth has a story about new college president Jim Yong Kim meeting with representatives of every Greek organization Wednesday night. Among those quoted: football players David Johnson and Joe Zimring. I particularly like the way the story ended:

Shortly before Kim left, the conversation turned to the renovations currently being made on the President’s house.

“I can tell you we’re going to get a basketball hoop in the driveway, so you will all be invited to come play basketball,” he said.

Game on.

The D has a couple of other stories about former Dartmouth athletes. One is tells of John Carney '78, Dartmouth's Bob Blackman (MVP) winner in '77 as a defensive back, running for Delaware's seat in the House of Representatives. (link) According to the D, the former Delaware lieutenant governor, "cited his ability to work with a team and bring people together as a strength that will aid him in the election, a skill he credits in part to his years on Dartmouth’s football and lacrosse teams."

The Daily D also has a piece on baseball's Nick Santomauro, the Ivy League Player of the Year, who signed with the New York Mets this spring after helping the Big Green to the Ivy League championship and the NCAA Tournament. (link)

Have you ever wondered why the University of Virginia teams are, in addition to the Cavaliers, sometimes referred to as the Wahoos. Or just the Hoos? And have you wondered if it has anything to do with Dartmouth? Turns out it does. Find the story here.

The New Haven Register has a story about incoming Yale quarterback Patrick Witt, a transfer from Nebraska. From the story:

Witt is anxious for the quarterback competition to begin, but he is taking nothing for granted other than a stated vow he will compete as hard as he can to win the job, much as he expects (junior Brook) Hart and (sophomore Bryan) Farris to do the same.

His political correctness is well taken, but understand that no one transfers from Nebraska to Yale with the thought of being backup quarterback.

Good point.

As reported here earlier, the Ivy League football media day, long held in early August at Yale Golf Course, will be replaced next month by a teleconference on Aug. 11. An Ivy League release reports that the conference, "will feature all eight Ivy head coaches and Jim Maconaghy, the League’s coordinator of football officials, to discuss the major rules changes and points of emphasis for the upcoming season. During the regular season, all eight coaches will be featured on weekly media teleconferences for 10 consecutive weeks beginning Tuesday, September 15 through Tuesday, November 17."

Said new Ivy League executive director Robin Harris: "“We feel this initiative will allow us to expand our coaches’ availability to the media regionally and nationally to a wider audience interested in Ivy League Football throughout the season."

The New Haven Register's Jim Fuller isn't so sure. He writes on the Portal31 blog: "I may be way off on this but I question how many news outlets are going to be jumping in on the weekly conference calls. I think the media day was a chance for the league to get some preseason ink."

Fuller points out that media interest in some Ivy League markets has become so non-existent that, for example, "When Yale played at Brown with a victory giving the Bears at least a share of the Ivy League title, Brown coach Phil Estes wasn't even brought in for interviews because no local media was there to cover the game."

Green Alert Take: As much as I disliked the drive to New Haven early each August, the media day had real advantages. It was a chance to pick up a press guide well before the season began. It was a chance to renew acquaintances with coaches so they could put a face with a name. And it was a chance to trade small talk with, and learn from, sports information personnel from the various schools (and Ivy League) as well as other media.

The weekly teleconference is indeed a chance to, as Robin Harris says, "expand our coaches’ availability to the media regionally and nationally to a wider audience ..." But better to mix and match and have the weekly teleconference in addition to the preseason media day.