Quick Hit

Just a quick on this morning as I need to hop in the car and drive 90 minutes south to talk with some folks for a freelance writing gig. More when I get back ... if there's more to share.

The Oklahoman has a short follow on receiver/punter Austin Katigan heading to Dartmouth. He told the paper:

"They’re a rebuilding program, and I think I can be a part of something special there.”

Expect the names of several other players who were accepted by the college and intend to play to surface in the next weeks, along with up to three recruits who have not previously been mentioned.

With New Hampshire off the schedule next fall there won't be that many links to what is happening over on the other side of the state, but with the Wildcats starting up spring ball it is as good a time as any to take a look at what Dartmouth will be missing next fall. Here's the lede from a SeacoastOnline story:

University of New Hampshire football teams have been scoring points so regularly for so long that the annual ritual of identifying new players during spring practice is not the headache it is in other programs.

For the offensive coaches, it's not doomsday. More like Christmas morning.

Speculation mounts that Columbia hoops coach Joe Jones will be joining the staff of former Cornell coach Steve Donahue at Boston College. The Columbia Spectator says that is still speculation although the Boston Herald writes that "multiple reports" indicate Jones will be "in the fold."

If it is indeed true that Joe Jones is moving on, that would be three of the seven eight Ivy League schools (Dartmouth, Cornell and Columbia) looking for head coaches. Several sources suggest Dartmouth is having its first on-campus interview today.

The Boston Globe had an editorial dealing with the selection of a new head of the NCAA. Here's part of it:

Now that the basketball playoffs are ending, the NCAA is turning its attention to finding a new CEO. To protect the student-athletes, the NCAA should anoint a president who hails from a major public university with an undeniable record of excellence on the field and integrity in the classroom.

In seeking a new chief, the NCAA should be looking at campus leaders like Penn State President Graham Spanier, whose football team has an 85 percent graduation rate.

Being a Penn State type, I just had to throw that in.

And finally, we had tryouts for the Hanover Little League minors last night. Tryouts isn't really the right word because everybody makes the cut. It's more of an attempt to gauge the talent of the kids so that when we set up the three teams they are as equal as possible. Anyway, I looked up as the kids started to arrive and there came Dartmouth President Jim Kim with his son.

President Kim found himself a little nook tucked out of sight alongside one bank of bleachers and spent most of the two-hour session working away. But I admit to sneaking a peek over every once in a while and it didn't surprise me at all that a dad who had been a pretty fair athlete himself had perfect timing, looking up just in time to watch his son take a few pretty good cuts at the plate. Nice to see.