Of Wins and Losses

Scanning the record books I started wondering about where Dartmouth football stood in terms of wins and losses in Ivy League play since the conference began official competition in the 1956 seasons. Here's what I found:

Composite Ivy League Records Through the 2009 Season
1. Harvard 227-142-9 (.612)
2. Dartmouth 219-150-9 (.591)
3. Yale 219-151-8 (.589)
4. Princeton 205-168-5 (.549)
5. Penn 198-176-4 (.529)
6. Cornell 169-204-5 (.454)
7. Brown 159-212-7 (.429)
8. Columbia 88-285-5 (.239)

The Big Green will have to post a better Ivy League record than Yale this fall to avoid slipping into third place in the composite standings. That got me wondering how things have changed since Dartmouth's last Ivy League championship in the undefeated 1996 season:

Composite Ivy League Records Through the 1996 Season
1. Dartmouth 193-85-9 (.688)
2. Yale 169-110-8 (.602)
3. Princeton 164-118-5 (.580)
4. Harvard 158-120-9 (.566)
5. Penn 135-148-4 (.477)
6. Cornell 133-149-5 (.472)
7. Brown 104-176-7 (.374)
8. Columbia 66-216-5 (.238)

And of course the next step was to check the difference in winning percentage between the '96 season and 2009:

Difference
1. Brown +.055
2. Penn +.052
3. Harvard +.046
4. Columbia +.001
5. Yale -.013
6. Cornell -.018
7. Princeton -.040
8. Dartmouth -.097

Whether you are a Big Ten fan or not, Jay Paterno's column on the ramifications of possible expansion in the conference are worth noting. Paterno writes:

One thing is clear, this expansion process is being driven by two things: money and television. It is not about academics, it is not about making the conference more competitive, it is not about the welfare of the student-athletes. It is about money and television.

On a CBSMoneyWatch.com look at the "endowment policies of many of the nation's wealthiest universities," the accompanying photo is of Dartmouth's Baker Library. Lynn O'Shaughnessy doesn't pull her shots, writing about the study that sparked her column and a number of others:

"The study was partially funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents workers at several of the campuses. You can’t use this connection as an excuse, however, to dismiss what are clearly damning accusations that point to endowment policy models that beg for a saner and more ethical approach to investing.

"Here’s just one of the many findings in this thick report that I find appalling:

"Over the past five years, Dartmouth’s board has included more than a half dozen trustees whose firms have managed well over $100 million in investments for the institution. While Dartmouth insists that trustees recuse themselves from conflict of interests, I think it’s clear that this kind of self-dealing among trustees is dangerous and should not be allowed."