Lambert Poll Reminds Of Of The Way We Were

Two Ivy League teams and five teams Dartmouth faced this fall finished in the top-10 balloting for the Lambert Meadowlands Cup, symbolic of eastern supremacy in the FCS. The final poll looks like this:

1. Villanova
2. William & Mary
3. Richmond
4. New Hampshire
5. Holy Cross
6. Penn
7. Colgate
8. Lafayette
9. Delaware
10. Harvard
Also receiving votes: James Madison, Central Connecticut State.

The Lambert Cup is the little brother of the Lambert Trophy, won for a record 28th time this year by Penn State.

The Nittany Lions would have 29 Lambert Trophies if not for what happened in 1970 when Ivy League upstart Dartmouth captured the award over Joe Paterno's gang from Happy Valley. From a 1987 Sports Illustrated story that recalled how the undefeated '70 Dartmouth team finished 14th in the AP and UPI polls – and ahead of the Nittany Lions in the Lambert voting:

... (W)hen Dartmouth was awarded the Lambert Trophy as the best team in the East, Penn State coach Joe Paterno felt obliged to register a tongue-in-cheek protest. Paterno suggested—through the press—that Dartmouth and Penn State play each other to determine which was really the top Eastern team. Responded Blackman, "Of course, Coach Paterno knows that under Ivy League rules we're not allowed to play in a postseason game, but if we were allowed to play a postseason contest, I would prefer to play a team that had a better record," a dig at the Nittany Lions' 7-3.

Links to stories about former Dartmouth defensive coordinator Joe Moglia pushing for a Division I head football coaching position after more than two decades away from the game elicited an interesting response from a writer whose opinion I value. He suggested that in these difficult financial times Dartmouth might want to consider interviewing Moglia, the former CEO of TD Ameritrade, for its permanent athletic director position. He wrote:

Good leaders can lead anybody in any profession, and need to have vision and communicate. Too many times we focus look at the wrong traits in hiring.

Interesting thought.

NEW NOTE: Michigan hires Domino's Pizza CEO as AD