Regarding Holy Cross, TSN writes:
Holy Cross was hammered by injuries last year, but it gave opportunities to young players like nose tackle Mike Galantini and quarterbacks Steve Elder and Ryan Laughlin, who were solid by season's end. The Crusaders were 2-9, but six of the losses were by a touchdown or less.(Editor's note: Dartmouth was one of those narrow losses. The Big Green won at Holy Cross, 13-10, on a last-second field goal.)
Regarding Bucknell, TSN has this to say:
Bucknell hopes to do a Texas two-step in the league standings with Plano's Brandon Wesley, who will be the starting quarterback for a fourth straight season.(Editor's Note: Bucknell was 3-8 last fall)
Regarding the Patriot League, The Sports Network - which expects Lehigh and Colgate to come back to the pack and the others to take a step forward - writes:
With the league's first scholarship class in place (except at Georgetown, which doesn't offer them), expect to see more freshmen in the two-deeps. Redshirting freshmen is not allowed in the Parity League, er Patriot League, and coaches will play the best players, regardless of age.
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NEC member Wagner will be playing Syracuse next fall and there's been discussion on the 'Net about whether the game will count toward the Orange's bowl eligibility (should the 'Cuse win) because of the NEC's scholarship numbers. A Syracuse Post-Standard story yesterday might (or might not) have been the final word. According to the story, the game will count. From the story:Wagner, which competes in the Northeast Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision, is allowed to offer 40 scholarships. In order for a victory against an FCS opponent to count toward bowl eligibility, the NCAA requires the FCS team to supply aid at at least 90 percent of the 63 scholarship limit allowed over a rolling two-year period.
In other words, the school must supply aid to at least 57 players.
Jim Gibbons, Wagner's assistant athletic director for academics and compliance, confirmed his school is able to grant any aid — but not federal aid— to a football player and have it count toward the 57 requirement.
Gibbons said Wagner currently sits at 61 scholarships.The key is the amorphous "equivalency aid."
The discussion of will it or won't it count takes up pages on the Any Given Saturday messageboard (where several posters bring up the idea that the Ivy League, wink, wink, essentially offers football scholarships under the guise of financial aid). But I digress. One poster on the board reports trading emails with NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris regarding the conference's scholarship rules and quotes her answer:
Currently, the NEC limits the number of athletic scholarships in football to 34 scholarships in an equivalency approach (i.e., the 34 scholarships can be divided among an unlimited number of football student-athletes). We are trending up to a limit of 40 by 2013. The scholarship limit applies to athletically related aid only. Institutions are permitted to provide a combination of athletic aid and need based aid/merit aid up to the FCS limit of 63 equivalencies.Green Alert Take: Confused yet?
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Former Dartmouth assistant coach and Princeton head coach Roger Hughes will lead the first Stetson football team since 1951 onto the field this afternoon for its spring game. The Hatters, who will join Dartmouth opponent Butler in the Pioneer Football League next fall, kick off varsity play Aug. 31 against Warner University. (Stetson plays at Butler on Oct. 5.)
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I hiked through ever-deepening snow to the south peak of Moose Mountain yesterday afternoon and with the white stuff a little sticky had fun making this guy. Those of you who hiked up in the fall will recognize the sign behind him noting the summit.
