Eight Is Enough

Craig Haley of The Sports Network used to be the beat writer covering Princeton sports when I was the same for Dartmouth, so he certainly knows his way around the Ivy League. Here's where he places the Ancient Eight in terms of conference strength in a column this week:

1. Colonial
2. Southern
3. Big Sky
4. Missouri Valley
5. Southland
6. Ohio Valley
7. Great West
8. Ivy League
9. Big South
10. Patriot League
11. Northeast
12. Independents
13. Mid-Eastern
14. Southwestern
15. Pioneer

Here's what Haley writes about the Ivies:

This should be an especially good season for the Ancient Eight, with each team returning a veteran quarterback. Penn is seeking the league's first title three-peat since Dartmouth from 1990-92, but Brown, Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth will make noise in the race. To rank the Ivies this high says a lot because the league doesn't offer athletic scholarships.

(If Dartmouth really is going to "make noise in the race" for the first time in almost 15 years there's no place better to read about it than Big Green Alert premium. Sign up now – if for no other reason than to avoid these public TV-like pleadings ;-)

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Speaking of leagues, Dartmouth will once again play its second game of the year against Northeast Conference member Sacred Heart. The Big Green squeaked by the Pioneers last year, 21-19, but judging by his NEC preview, Charles Burton of College Sporting News doesn't expect much from the school this fall. Chuck picks the Pioneers to finish eighth in the nine-team league.

Burton writes:

... (T)he Sacred Heart Pioneers wave goodbye to quarterback Dale Fink, the most productive signalcaller in Pioneer history. It won't be easy for head coach Paul Gorham to replace his 8,803 passing yards and 82 career touchdown passes, and it promises to be a rebuilding year in Fairfield.

In case you are wondering, Sacred Heart is rebuilding from a season in which it finished 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the league.

(Bonus points to anyone outside the league who can name at least six of the nine teams in the NEC.)

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Dartmouth's Memorial Field didn't get a lot of love in a message board thread about Ivy League stadiums but some people at least like the location. It was no surprise at all that in a ranking of Colonial Athletic Association facilities New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium was a runaway choice for last. The only surprise would be if it weren't.

This Any Given Saturday thread starts with good photos of all of the Colonial Athletic stadiums. That UNH has turned into a powerhouse is remarkable given what recruits must think when they visit the stadium after checking out some of the other CAA facilities.

Not that it is going to happen any time soon, but plans have been drawn up for a renovation at UNH that would see the home stands moved to the other side of the field. Check out the photos here. (On that first one you can see the remnants of UNH's baseball field behind the near right corner of the end zone.)

An aside: I wonder where Dartmouth's Memorial Field will be ranked when the home stands are replaced. You may remember that the project was literally days away from being started when the economy tanked. For you newbies out there, the plan was to keep the historic brick outside of Memorial Field intact while replacing everything inside the wall.

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A column in the Daily Dartmouth ranks the college's Top 10 teams from last year. Football finishes a surprising fifth, ahead of the Ivy League champion women's lacrosse team, the Red Rolfe Division champion baseball team, the men's hockey team that made the ECAC Final Four, the men's cross country team that finished second at the Heps and the women's hockey team that won an at-large bid to the NCAA's.

Green Alert Take: Granted, the first winning record for football since 1997 was huge and there's absolutely no intention here to say otherwise. But as I wrote after last year's season-ending win over Princeton, I just can't imagine what former players and alums from the glory days would have to say about celebrating what was, after all, a 3-4 Ivy League campaign.

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On the subject of the last school year, Princeton's Tiger Blog has turned up a fact regarding Dartmouth that might just shock you. No, it will shock you. Out of professional courtesy to my friend TB, I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it's down there about four paragraphs from the bottom.

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The Daily Dartmouth has a story noting that the Hanover Inn will close for four months, from early December though early April, to complete renovations. Among the changes will be moving the main restaurant to the site of the present Hayward Lounge corner, essentially behind the porch. Good move.

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And finally, That Certain Hanover High Graduate enjoyed meeting a Certain Loyal Green Alert Reader this week ;-)

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Oh, and this. In addition to being the only passenger on her flight to NYC yesterday, Mrs. BGA was met at the White Plains airport (they shuttle passengers into midtown) by not the courtesy van she expected, but by a limo. And yes, she was the only rider in the car as well. Not bad for a freebie.