Be sure to check out Lehigh Football Nation, which always does a thorough job with all things Patriot League, for thoughts on the PL's decision. Lehigh AD Joe Sterrett is quoted:
"The pool of viable prospects just got larger, including the segment of those who present highly attractive qualifications and qualities. It means our coaches can conduct our already challenging recruiting efforts without confronting the frustrating final hurdle of financial aid awards from other fine institutions with which we are unable to compete on aid offers."Replace "other fine institutions with which we are unable to compete on aid offers," with the Ivy League and you understand what he's saying."
Lafayette coach Frank Tavani quoted in the Lehigh Valley's Morning Call:
"The focus now will only be on the type of person, student and athlete we're recruiting. This will enhance the quality of play in our conference. Once we get four full scholarship classes, you're going to see our teams go deeper in the playoffs and have a chance to win a national championship."From a column in the Morning Call, which doesn't pull its punches:
Look out, Harvard. Beware, Penn. Move aside, Yale. Don't look now, Villanova, Delaware and William and Mary, but the little ol' Patriot League is coming to get you.And this from the same column:
The recruiting war will be taken to a new level. Many Patriot League schools, which already boast of academic standards that are among the highest among Division I colleges and universities, will focus more intensely on a smaller group of scholar-athletes – kids they would not have dreamed of luring away from an Ivy in the past. Athletic scholarships will not mean a reduction in the admission requirements; in fact, the quality of the Patriot League football player's academic skills may increase.More from Holy Cross AD Richard Regan in the Worcester Telegram:
"What this will do for Holy Cross, like it will do for every other school in the league, is it will help us get better students, get better athletes. I think we'll be able to compete on a higher level.”From the Express-Times of the Lehigh Valley:
Downsides? Well, the Patriot League has long played most of its non-league games against the resolutely non-scholarship Ivy League, which could reconsider the relationship. But (League commissioner Carolyn) Schlie Femovich has insisted throughout the scholarship saga, which extends back several years, that the relationship with the Ancient Eight will remain.From the Daily Item, which covers once-and-future Dartmouth opponent Bucknell:
"What this does is ensure us an even playing field when we go out recruiting," said Bucknell football coach Joe Susan. "It is recruiting in its purest form. It won't change the quality of student or the quality of athlete we recruit."And this:
"From a fan's and alumni perspective, one of the most important attributes in the policy is that we have much more flexibility in scheduling," said (Bucknell AD John) Hardt. "Not only at the FCS level, where we can play the likes of Delaware, William & Mary and Villanova, but it also allows us, on occasion to play up against Army, Navy, Syracuse, Rutgers and even, down the line, a Pitt or Penn State."And then there's the outlier.
Georgetown's statement included this: "Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based aid program."
Green Alert First Take: The pitch by coaches over the past few years when the Patriot League was pushing for scholarships was that the grants wouldn't mean recruiting student-athletes with lower academic profiles, but rather landing student-athletes with higher academic profiles. If that's the case you know where they are going to come from, and it's probably not Rice, Vandy, Duke or Stanford. The sense here is that the recruiting battles now will pitch Ivy League financial aid and prestige against the lure of scholarships, an 11th game, the chance to go to the NCAA playoffs and, down the road, to play against an Army or a Navy or a Rutgers. There's no guarantee that the Patriot League will start to dominate the Ivy League on Saturday afternoons – it hasn't really happened in basketball, where the PL has scholarships – but don't for a second think that the Ivies are going to enjoy the recruiting advantage they have enjoyed in the past when it comes to top students. Should the Patriot League pick up where Holy Cross left off before it dropped scholarships, the Ivy-Patriot scheduling paradigm will be a good deal less appealing.
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Penn starts spring practice one month from . . . yesterday. Missed mentioning this by a day ;^). ... Still endeavoring to get dates for Dartmouth's spring practices and game.•
From Yahoo Sports: Proposed college football rule change would radically change kickoffs.•
It hasn't been officially announced yet but coming on top of a radio station blog report out of Tampa that former Dartmouth strength coach Jay "Big Bopper" Butler was following Greg Schiano from Rutgers to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Football Scoop is reporting that RU's assistant strength coach has been promoted to head strength coach. Connect the dots, people.•
On this Valentine's Day, a love story featuring a college football player and the goose chase he arranged for his girlfriend. Find the story here. The player's sister is a professional photographer and it's worth checking out the shots on her site.
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