This is the Tuesday in August when the Ivy League has traditionally held its media day and released its media poll.
Don't hold your breath.
Don't hold your breath.
Unfortunately, the conference that used to hold an honest-to-goodness media day gathering at Yale Golf Club before giving it up in favor of a teleconference, has punted that and will instead produce a video of a coaches "roundtable," whatever that is. It will be released at an as-yet-to-be-determined future date.
The annual preseason poll? Although I have voted in it every year, I never heard one word about it being eliminated or postponed until asking about it yesterday. Supposedly it will be conducted at a later date.
Green Alert Take: Talk to people in the media – which I have – and the general feeling is that when it comes to publicizing football the Ivy League has lost its way. I can tell you I could not get – and therefore wasn't able to share – the kind of information I got from the in-person media day when the Ivy went to the teleconference. And I doubt seriously I'll get – and be able to share – the kind of information I was able to get and share from the teleconference whenever the amorphous roundtable is posted. And people wonder why Ivy League football doesn't get the respect it deserves.
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As most of you know, the Ivy League does not let its athletes graduate and use their final year of eligibility as a graduate student, regardless of how successful they are in the classroom. Therefore, in order to take advantage of their final year of eligibility, Ivy student-athletes who lost a season to injury must either drop out for a term or semester or take their final year somewhere else.
When Dartmouth takes on Sacred Heart this fall it will see a familiar face in an unfamiliar uniform. Graduated wide receiver Charles Mack will be playing for the Pioneers. (LINK)
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Dartmouth is among four Ivy League teams receiving votes in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25:
1. North Dakota State (14-1), 3,919 points - 151 first-place votes; Final 2017 Ranking: 1
2. James Madison (14-1), 3,764 - 6; Final 2017 Ranking: 2
3. South Dakota State (11-3), 3,470; Final 2017 Ranking: 3
4. Sam Houston State (12-2), 3,228; Final 2017 Ranking: 4
5. Kennesaw State (12-2), 3,120; Final 2017 Ranking: 8;
6. Jacksonville State (10-2), 3,041; Final 2017 Ranking: 9
7. New Hampshire (9-5), 2,873; Final 2017 Ranking: 12
8. Weber State (11-3), 2,815; Final 2017 Ranking: 5
9. Eastern Washington (7-4), 2,541; Final 2017 Ranking: 21
10. Wofford (10-3), 2,087; Final 2017 Ranking: 6
11. Samford (8-4), 2,003; Final 2017 Ranking: 18
12. Elon (8-4), 1,812; Final 2017 Ranking: 20
13. Northern Iowa (8-5), 1,612; Final 2017 Ranking: 17
14. North Carolina A&T (12-0), 1,480; Final 2017 Ranking: 7
15. Delaware (7-4), 1,470; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
16. Central Arkansas (10-2), 1,383; Final 2017 Ranking: 10
17. McNeese (9-2), 1,133; Final 2017 Ranking: 22
18. Nicholls (8-4), 1,056; Final 2017 Ranking: 25
19. Villanova (5-6), 920; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
20. Stony Brook (10-3), 798; Final 2017 Ranking: 11
21. Illinois State (6-5), 795; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
22. Austin Peay (8-4), 709; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
23. Furman (8-5), 685; Final 2017 Ranking: 19
24. Montana (7-4), 626; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
25. Youngstown State (6-5), 541; Final 2017 Ranking: NR
Others Receiving Votes: South Dakota (8-5) 496, Western Illinois (8-4) 401, Southern Utah (9-3) 357, Northern Arizona (7-5) 312, Grambling State (11-2) 289, Idaho (4-8) 287, Yale (9-1) 252, Sacramento State (7-4) 208, San Diego (10-3) 202, Richmond (6-5) 91, Monmouth (9-3) 53, Colgate (7-4) 45, Lehigh (5-7) 27, Central Connecticut State (8-4) 23, North Dakota (3-8) 13, UC Davis (5-6) 12, Western Carolina (7-5) 10, Bethune-Cookman (7-4) 9, Montana State (5-6) 8, Stephen F. Austin (4-7) 7, Mercer (5-6) 6, Eastern Illinois (6-5) 6, Harvard (5-5) 4, Southern Illinois (4-7) 4, Howard (7-4) 4, Duquesne (7-4) 3, North Carolina Central (7-4) 3, Columbia (8-2) 3, Dartmouth (8-2) 3, Alcorn State (7-5) 2, The Citadel (5-6) 2, UT Martin (6-5) 1, Southeastern Louisiana (6-5) 1
Green Alert Take: That's pretty close to half of the FCS teams in the country. I guess it's a division "where all the coaches are smart, all the players are talented, and all the FCS teams are above average." Either that or the season hasn't started yet. ;-)
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The dean of Division I coaching is retiring and guess what? His first win was over Dartmouth. (LINK)
