I'll be in and out today but once the first news comes through I'll toss up a post and keep topping it off with new material as I get it. So keep checking back.
I will spend a good part of the day surfing the net for info but your help would be greatly appreciated. If you spot something I missed or you have a photo or link to share, CLICK HERE and it will address an email to me with the subject SigningDay. Then just include the link or photo and I'll post it. Thanks!
Me? I'll be watching one particular FBS school's site to see if a player who has been flirting with Dartmouth pulls the trigger. But keep in mind, it doesn't close the door on Dartmouth or any other Ivy League school if he does, as THIS POST from old friend Chris Lincoln's Athletic Hook site explains.
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Nerves would have been on edge today if his recruiting trip to Hanover had been enough to pry Louisiana lineman Jerry Tillery away from Notre Dame and to Dartmouth. The NBC Sports Notre Dame website (LINK) reminds us that the Big Green was in the battle for a biggie, literally and figuratively. From the posting:A legit 6-5, 315, Tillery is a physical specimen, with time in the weight room and a commitment to only football likely to make him even more stout. Originally recruited as a blind side left tackle, Tillery will instead start his career along the defensive line, a place where he’ll be able to find the field much quicker.
His commitment to Notre Dame way back in June of 2013 likely kept him out of the mix for a five-star ranking and dozens of scholarship offers. But make no mistake, Tillery is an elite prospect.And this:
... (I)t’s hard to imagine a scenario where Tillery doesn’t make a significant impact. A true student-athlete who used an official visit to take a look at Dartmouth, Tillery will likely dive into the student experience at Notre Dame this spring while also getting a jump start on his football career.
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Columbia's new athletic director is Peter Pilling, a vice president at IMG College who has worked in athletic departments at BYU, TCU, Baylor and Air Force as well as Villanova, St. Bonaventure, Wyoming, Morehead State and Kentucky.From a Columbia release:
Pilling will immediately address the University priority of ensuring that the same high standard of competitiveness extends to Columbia football. His first responsibility will be to lead the search for a new head football coach, a task in which he is already fully engaged.
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The Yale Daily News has a story on the school's athletic budget that compares the numbers reported out of New Haven to those from other schools.From the story:
Director of athletics Tom Beckett said that comparing budgetary numbers between schools is often not an “apples-to-apples” comparison because of differences in facilities and the reporting of data.
“We have a rink, we have a golf course, we have a tennis center that are under the hospices (sic) of the athletic department,” Beckett said. “Some schools that do have those kinds of facilities, they’re in the budget of the university.When I did a similar story as beat writer at the local daily, I spent time grilling a dean who famously said the comparison from school to school wasn't apples-to-apples but "apples to hubcaps."
After studying the numbers I couldn't help but agree.
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Back to the hot topic of the morning, afternoon and night, it is the first signing day for new football programs at Kennesaw State and East Tennessee State. The Sports Network has a story that goes back and looks at how new programs have fared in their first year. (LINK)By the way, the president of Kennesaw State is Dartmouth alum Daniel Papp, a Phi Betta Kappa who graduated in 1969.
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Football Scoop has a column and video about the geographic diversity of the Stanford football team. The author of the piece writes:I can’t imagine another program where even 20 states would be represented.No, huh? Dartmouth had players from 28 states, the District of Columbia and Canada last fall, and the rest of the Ivies are very similar.
