Not Yet

Had hoped to share news yesterday on the scheduling of a night football game for next fall but the anticipated release about the schedule was waylaid by the announcement that Chris Wielgus, architect of the Dartmouth women's basketball program and winner of 12 Ivy League titles, has coached her last game in Hanover. Find a press release about her departure here.

Wielgus won 12 Ivy League titles in 28 years on the Dartmouth bench, the last in the 2008-09 season. (She also won one Patriot League title in her two years at Fordham.) Over a five-year-stretch between the 2004-05 and 2008-09 seasons she guided Dartmouth to four Ivy League titles and one second-place finish. Dartmouth has struggled the past four  years, going 6-22 overall and 4-10 in the Ivy League each of the last two.

Wielgus closes out her Dartmouth career with a 227-122 record in Ivy League games, a 393-342 overall record and a string of one-liners that will always make me smile. My favorite came at the University of Virginia after Dartmouth threw a mighty scare at the Cavs in the NCAA Tournament.

Toward the end of the press conference after the dramatic game was over, I asked Chris a question about the next year's team. Without missing a beat she said from the podium, "Bruce, that's like asking a woman in labor if she wants to have another baby."

I remember asking her about the difference between coaching at Fordham and Dartmouth. She replied, "It's easier to find parking in New York City."

Chris is a good friend and she will be missed.

•

The Sports Network has its "Ivy League spring football notebook" story up and the only Dartmouth mention is this:

Quarterback Alex Park isn't out of the mix at Dartmouth, but Dalyn Williams showed athleticism and throwing ability after taking over for the final three starts last season.

One correction on this statement: "The league lost some heavy hitters at quarterback - Harvard's Colton Chapple, Columbia's Sean Brackett, Penn's Billy Ragone . . ." Ragone is on the Penn spring roster and as long as his mangled ankle is better he's expected to return next fall for a fifth season.

The story does confirm what I'd heard elsewhere – that Brown quarterback Patrick Donnelly will be back for a fifth season. That, too, is big news because when he's at the top of his game Donnelly is one of the best in the Ivy League. ... No mention by TSN in a blurb about Yale's quarterback battle of the anticipated arrival of Clemson transfer Morgan Roberts. He's expected to be joined in the transfer ranks in the fall by Brett Nottingham, who is leaving Stanford for Columbia.

•

If you want to see what the Ivy League is missing by not having a true basketball tournament like the rest of the free world, check out the Patriot League title game tonight when No. 2 seed Lafayette plays at No. 1 seed Bucknell at 7:30 on CBS Sports Network. Even without a dog in the fight I promise you will be drawn in by the drama.

For those of you who use the argument that a postseason tournament would deny the regular season champion a shot at the NCAA Tournament, know that over its 23-year history the Patriot League format has resulted in the No. 1 seed in the league tournament making it to the championship game EVERY YEAR. Has the No. 1 team advanced every year? No. But if it can't hold serve on its home court then maybe the team that beat it is playing better at season's end.

Question: Why is it that in the NCAA Tournament the most compelling games often feature the heavy underdog winning, but in a conference tournament watching a heavy underdog battle its way into the tournament would be a bad thing?