Familiar Name

Damon Jones '95 was a Dartmouth tight end recruited by Buddy Teevens in his first go-around in Hanover. Now he's the head coach at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in his hometown of Naples, Fla., where his son Jensen has been selected as the first player from a private school to win the Broxson Trophy, given by the Naples Daily News to the area’s best overall football player. (LINK)

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Jensen Jones, the state's 2A player of the year, led his county in rushing with 1,970 yards and was third in the county in passing with 1,525 yards. He ran for 34 touchdowns and passed for 14. He also had 55 tackles at linebacker.

Find his Hudl highlight video HERE.

Oh yeah.

Among his college offers is one he tweeted back on Sept. 20 from his dad's alma mater. That's Damon wearing No. 87 in one of the pictures.  (LINK ;-)

Big Green In Paradise

In advance of their return to frigid Hanover in a week or so (except those lucky enough to have the winter off) a group of Dartmouth teammates enjoyed a little R&R earlier this month at the home of receiver Kamana Hobbs in Hawaii. Receivers Scott Lloyd, Hunter Hagdorn, Drew Estrada, Drew Hunnicutt and Brandon Hester, and offensive lineman Matt Kaskey joined Hobbs and safety Bun Straton – his childhood friend in Hawaii – in visiting some of the special places off the beaten path that tour groups seldom see. (Thanks for the photo!)

Uphill Climb

Well-regarded national writer Jeff Goodman polled Ivy League men's basketball coaches in an effort rank jobs from best to worst. Granted, this is about basketball and the Dartmouth hoops program doesn't have anywhere near the history that the Big Green football program has, but this should give you new respect for the job Buddy Teevens and his staff have done on the gridiron. Find the full story HERE.

Here's what Goodman wrote about the Dartmouth hoops job:

Dartmouth (20) – The Big Green haven’t had a winning record since 1999 when they went 14-12 overall and 10-4 in Ivy play under Dave Faucher. Dartmouth ranks dead last in four of the nine categories, and is considered the most difficult job in the league.

Where they win: “Probably the lack of expectations. No one expects anything, so anything you do is a bonus.” – Ivy League head coach

The knock: “Location. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere.” – Ivy assistant coach

Dave McLaughlin has Dartmouth hoops off to an 8-6 start this season.

Green Alert Take: It would be interesting if someone were to pull together a similar chart polling football coaches. The guess here is Dartmouth would finish higher in the standings each year than on the chart.

Two Additions

It will be a few days until BGA Daily kicks fully back into gear but in the meantime, a couple of commitments.

Abraham Jaafar is a 5-foot-8, 180-pound running back/corner from Fordson High School in Dearborn, Mich. He tweeted his decision HERE. He's listed with 136 carries for 1,390 yards and 14 touchdowns along with 26 catches for 589 yards and seven touchdowns HERE. The numbers are a little different but in the same ballpark in a Detroit News story listing him as an All-West selection HERE.

Also selecting Dartmouth is Tyron Herring, a 6-1, 187-pound safety from Deerfield Beach High School in Florida. He tweeted his decision HERE. His Rivals page lists offers from Army and Morgan State. (LINK)

A Little More Time Away

Had hoped to be back at it today, but BGA Daily will have to be quiet for the next week or so and I won't be checking email. Thanks for your understanding.

A Little Time Off

Happy Holidays. See you in a few.

Miller Heads To Big Apple

Find the "Gang Green" story HERE.

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STATS has a story listing 25 storylines from the FCS this year. Here's one of them (LINK):

9. Playoffs? Don't talk about … playoffs? The Ivy League presidents still say no even though just about everybody in Ivy League football wants the champion to advance to the FCS playoffs. Not only would Princeton (10-0) have qualified this season, but Dartmouth (9-1) might have earned an at-large bid. Oh yes, also credit Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens for hiring Callie Brownson as the team's offensive quality control coach, making her the first known full-time female football coach at the Division I level.

Ivy Bound

More All-America Honors

Ouch.

As they say, any publicity is good publicity so it's a good thing that Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann's appearance on the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) All-America team was deserving of a headline, even if they needed someone to take a second look at it.

Offensive lineman Matt Kaskey made the second team as did defensive lineman Rocco Di Leo.

Find the full team HERE.

Find a Dartmouth release HERE.

True Class

He's headed to an FBS school for football but will make a difference even if he never plays a down:

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The San Antonio Express-News does a terrific job of looking at what goes into choosing the Ivy League over scholarship offers, focusing on a couple of high school seniors headed to Harvard and Princeton. (LINK)

Heading This Way

Because there Ivy League does not use the Letter of Intent "Signing Day" (this early version or the February edition) is just another day in Ivyworld.

That said, with early decision admissions having gone out for the Ivies here is the Big Green's Early Decision Class:

DL John High, 6-0, 270, Bergen Catholic/Montvale, N.J.
QB Nick Howard, 6-2, 220, Southwest/Green Bay, Wis.
TE Jordan Kirkbride, 6-6, 230, Bishop Hartley/Bexley, Ohio
DB Sam Koscho, 5-9, 169, Cardinal Mooney/Sarasota, Fla.
DL Charles Looes, 6-2, 255, Pascack Valley/Hillsdale, N.J.
OL James McCarthy, 6-4, 270, Choate Rosemary Hall/West Haven, Conn.
OL Adam Will, 6-5, 309, Loyola Blakefield/Reisterstown, Md.

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Dartmouth apparently was in the running for one of the all-first name players in this year's class but SirVocea Dennis of New York's Christian Brothers Academy and Peddie School is going elsewhere. From a Syracuse.com story:

Dennis, who earned Class AA all-state honors in 2016 and 2017 despite his senior-year injury, said he was leaning towards Dartmouth before visiting Colorado Springs.

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Colgate, which will play at Dartmouth next fall, signed 13 players (LINK) and old friend Holy Cross a dozen. (LINK)

Green Alert Take: Colgate signed an offensive lineman I had been watching for a long time as a Dartmouth "lean." It's no secret that Patriot League scholarships haven't helped the Ivy's former sister conference, but is it only a matter of time?

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All-America season continues with Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann being named to the HERO first team. Princeton wideout Jesper Horsted and DB T.J. Floyd were chosen third team. (LINK)

Two Confirmed

First things first. The "early signing period" for college-bound football players began at 7 this morning and runs through the end of the week. The Ivy League does not use the national "letter of intent" and therefore does not participate.

That said, Ivy League early decision announcements went out last week. With the early decision announcements pretty much coinciding with the early signing period it's not surprising that Ivy-bound football players get mixed in with those who are actually signing scholarship offers in media reports.

All of that leads to this: a NorthJersey.com listing of seniors from the northern part of the Garden State making their college football choice official. The list includes four seniors headed to Ivy League schools with one to Princeton, one to Harvard and two to Dartmouth.

Headed this way per the story are Charlie Looes, a 6-foot-2 1/2, 255-pound defensive lineman from Pascack Valley High School and Hillsdale, N.J., and John High, a 6-foot, 270-pound defensive lineman from Bergen Catholic High School and Montvale, N.J.

Watch Looes in action HERE and check out High's highlights HERE.

Dartmouth has seven or eight early decision players headed this way. Stay tuned for the updated list.

Big Green Honors

Junior corner Isiah Swann was named to the STATS All-America first team, senior offensive tackle Matt Kaskey to the second team and senior defensive tackle Rocco Di Leo to the third. Find the Dartmouth release HERE and the STATS release HERE.

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Dartmouth defensive lineman Seth Simmer is one of three winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award. Simmer, who missed last year after brain surgery, will be recognized at the 2019 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on New Year's Day. In addition, the Mayo Clinic (main sponsor of the award) will donate $5,000 to Dartmouth's general scholarship fund. (LINK)

20/20 Vision

Monday, Monday

Incoming 6-foot-6, 300-pound lineman offensive lineman Adam Will of Loyola Blakefield in Maryland briefly mentions his commitment to Dartmouth at the 2:55 mark of this video preview of his school's 99th Turkey Bowl game last month:

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Marist has announced its 2019 schedule featuring an Oct. 19 visit by Dartmouth. The Big Green will be the second Ivy League opponent to play at Tenney Stadium next year. Cornell will be there Sept. 21. Columbia was the first Ivy to play at Marist, making the drive up the Hudson to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in 2017.

Tenney Stadium via Google Maps

As For The Ivies

Here are conference records in the FCS playoffs from STATS with an addition in italics by me:

Missouri Valley: 6-2
Big Sky: 6-3
CAA: 3-6
Ohio Valley: 2-2
Patriot: 1-1
Big South: 1-1
Northeast: 1-1
Southern: 1-2
Southland: 1-3
Pioneer: 0-1
Ivy League 0-0

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It has been some time since Dartmouth had an impact player from northern New England. Could a 6-foot-3, 200-pound running back from Maine be the next one? Tyler Bridge, named the Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year, led the state with 2,390 yards rushing (11.1 yards per carry) and 45 touchdowns (including two on returns) as he helped Wells to its third consecutive state championship.

But . . .

On the one hand, as the Sunday Telegram notes, he put those numbers up playing in Maine Class D.

On the other hand, in addition to Dartmouth he's being recruited by national semifinalist Maine and perennial NCAA qualifier New Hampshire and that ought to be worth something.

Green Alert Take: I vividly remember Dartmouth recruiting a six-man All-American from Texas once and the coaches telling me he might not have played on a regular high school team but a good football player is a good football player no matter where he played. Lyle Campbell '04 ended up starting on the Big Green defense.

Saturday Stuff

Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann has added first-team Walter Camp All-America to his resume. (LINK)

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The New York Times has a story about the 19-year marriage of storyboard artist and onetime Dartmouth football player Ray Prado ’89 and his wife Gesine Bullock-Prado, who hosted Big Green coach Buddy Teevens, Kirsten Teevens and several players on Gesine’s Food Network TV show, Baked in Vermont.

For the creative, the Dartmouth football episode, Baking for the Big Green, has the recipe and instructions on how to bake a cake with a surprise inside.

 

Worth A Look

A professional photographer/ballpark-arena historian from the San Francisco Bay Area named Bob Busser came through Hanover in the fall and pulled together a well-done album of Memorial Field photos HERE.

For what it's worth, you could waste a lot of time wandering through his entire collection of stadium/arena photos HERE.

Busser's fine work is in stark contrast to the absurd FCS stadium ranking that you can find HERE. Here's some of the silliness from the FCS stadium ranking with a few additions that those who followed Dartmouth the past few years might find interesting:

9. Columbia

21. Georgetown

28. Penn

34. Harvard

36. Yale

37. Stetson

41. Dartmouth

48. Butler

60. Cornell

67. Brown

72. Princeton

94. Sacred Heart

Green Alert Take: Listen, I understand that there are people who don't like modern stadiums and think Princeton's stadium is a little sterile, but to have it rated below Brown's facility is beyond a joke. Worse yet, Georgetown's bandbox rated higher than any Ivy stadium except Columbia? Ridiculous.

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Speaking of stadiums, Dartmouth had originally been scheduled to visit Army and Michie Stadium in 2022 but that game has been pushed back to 2024 per a release updating the future Dartmouth schedules. Instead of West Point, the Big Green will play its Week 2 game in '22 at Sacred Heart. The Dartmouth-Army game is now slated for Sept. 28, 2024 following a home game against Fordham.

Find Dartmouth's schedules through 2024 HERE.

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Could a Dartmouth-bound quarterback be bringing one of his offensive linemen with him? It's possible. CLICK HERE to read more.

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Alert eyes who follow recruiting sent along a link to a Tweet that you might find interesting. I've left out the link and high schooler's name to protect the innocent. Here's what the Tweet said:

Blessed and honored to have earned an offer from the University of Dartmouth!

Didn't Vote Early? Then Vote Often

The virtual ballot box for Hero national defensive player of the year closes tomorrow. That means it is the final chance to vote for Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann with his nation's best nine pass interceptions, 18 passes defended and 44 tackles. CLICK HERE to vote.

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What a difference one play makes!

Princeton's Bob Surace finished seventh in voting for the FCS national coach of the year after leading the Tigers to a 10-0 record. Dartmouth's Buddy Teevens, whose team was one play away from going 10-0 only to fall at Princeton, 14-9, was not a finalist.

Dan Hawkins of UC Davis won the award. Of interest, Colgate's Dan Hunt was third, Maine's Joe Harasymiak was sixth and old friend Roger Hughes of Stetson was 12th. (LINK)

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Speaking of old friends, Donnie Brooks, a familiar name to many Dartmouth football players for his work in the Big Green athletic administration, has been named athletic director at Macalester College in Minnesota. He had been AD at Millsaps in Mississippi for the past couple of years. (LINK)

Going National

Dartmouth defensive lineman Seth Simmer just wanted to play football. He didn't want a fuss made over him but still kindly agreed to chat for a story I was freelancing about his return to football after recovering from brain surgery. That story appeared in one of the Big Green game programs and is on the Dartmouth website HERE.

Flash forward three months and with his nomination for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award the Associated Press has taken Simmer's story national. Back home in Georgia the story has been localized with quotes from his high school coach. (LINK)

When I broached the idea of a story with Seth I told him, and I still believe it, that his story could save lives. To that end, I asked him what message he would like to share with others and this is what he said:

"Don't be stubborn when it comes to something medical. There's no point. There are medical professionals for a reason and they are important. Don't shy away from seeing somebody because you are too busy or think it's not important. You never know. Something that seems minuscule and didn't seem like a big deal to me turned out to be pretty serious."

Literally, words to live by.

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In addition to bringing in two women as coaching interns, Dartmouth had a third woman on the practice field for a week during the preseason this year. Lori Locust now has landed a position as defensive line coach with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football. A PennLive piece tells her story with a look at Callie Brownson's hiring at Dartmouth. The story includes this:

Like Locust, Brownson attended the Women’s Careers in Football Forum. And while working at the Manning Passing Academy in 2016, Brownson met Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens, one of the most progressive minds in the sport.

Swann First Team All-America, Kaskey Third

Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann has been chosen to the AP FCS All-America first team after leading the nation in interceptions and offensive lineman Matt Kaskey was named to the third team. Find a Dartmouth release HERE.

FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Easton Stick, senior, North Dakota State
Running backs - Joe Protheroe, senior, Cal Poly; Ryan Fulse, senior, Wagner
Linemen - Tanner Volson, senior, North Dakota State; Matt Pyke, senior, East Tennessee State; Micah Shaw, senior, North Carolina A&T; B.J. Autry, senior, Jacksonville State; Garrett Bowery, senior, Lamar
Tight end - Donald Parham, senior, Stetson
Wide receivers - Josh Pearson, junior, Jacksonville State; Michael Bandy, junior, San Diego
All-purpose player - Shane Simpson, junior, Towson
Kicker - Roldan Alcobendas, senior, Eastern Washington

DEFENSE
Linemen - Isaiah Mack, senior, Chattanooga; Derick Roberson, senior, Sam Houston State; Ahmad Gooden, senior, Samford; Darryl Johnson, junior, North Carolina A&T
Linebackers - Zach Hall, junior, Southeast Missouri State; Dante Olson, junior, Montana; B.J. Blunt, senior, McNeese State
Backs - ISIAH SWANN, JUNIOR, DARTMOUTH; Robbie Grimsley, senior, North Dakota State; Jimmy Moreland, senior, James Madison; Will Warner, junior, Drake
Punter - Chris Faddoul, sophomore, Florida A&M

SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Devlin Hodges, senior, Samford
Running backs - A.J. Hines, junior, Duquesne; Marquis Terry, senior, Southeast Missouri State
Linemen - Iosua Operta, senior, Weber State; Spencer Blackburn, senior, Eastern Washington; Drew Forbes, senior, Southeast Missouri State; C.J. Collins, senior, Kennesaw State; Dan Cooney, senior, San Diego
Tight end - Matthew Gonzalez, junior, Robert Morris
Wide receivers - Kelvin McKnight, senior, Samford; Keelan Doss, senior, UC Davis
All-purpose player - D'Angelo Amos, sophomore, James Madison
Kicker - Grayson Atkins, sophomore, Furman

DEFENSE
Linemen - Khalen Saunders, senior, Western Illinois; Greg Menard, senior, North Dakota State; Jay-Tee Tiuli, senior, Eastern Washington; Nick Wheeler, junior, Colgate
Linebackers - Jabril Cox, sophomore, North Dakota State; Sterling Sheffield, senior, Maine; Adrian Hope, freshman, Furman
Backs - James Allen, senior, Charleston Southern; Tyree Robinson, sophomore, East Tennessee State; Nassir Adderly, senior, Delaware; Marlon Bridges, senior, Jacksonville State
Punter - Alex Pechin, senior, Bucknell

THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Chandler Burks, senior, Kennesaw State
Running backs - James Holland, senior, Colgate; James Robinson, junior, Illinois State.
Linemen - MATT KASKEY, SENIOR, DARTMOUTH; Justus Basinger, junior, Wofford; C.J. Toogood, senior, Elon; Zack Johnson, junior, North Dakota State; Tiano Pupungatoa, senior, South Dakota State.
Tight end - Owen Cosenke, sophomore, Western Carolina
Wide receivers - Reggie White Jr., senior, Monmouth; Jazz Ferguson, junior, Northwestern State
All-purpose player - Kentel Williams, junior, Austin Peay
Kicker - Aidian O'Neill, junior, Towson

DEFENSE
Linemen - Nathan Clayberg, senior, Drake; Maurice Jackson, junior, Richmond; Filipe Sitake, senior, Weber State; Solomon Brown, senior, Charleston Southern.
Linebackers - Pete Swenson, senior, Western Illinois; De'Arius Christmas, senior, Grambling State; Cameron Gill, junior, Wagner.
Backs - Abu Daramy-Swaray, junior, Colgate; Dominic Frasch, senior, Cal Poly; Davon Jernigan, senior, Lamar; Jordan Brown, senior, South Dakota State
Punter - Garret Wegner, sophomore, North Dakota State

It's Academic

It's academics day for BGA Daily.

From Dartmouth sports information:

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the members of its Google Cloud Academic All-America teams for Division I today (combined for FBS and FCS schools), and Dartmouth linebacker David Emanuels earned a spot on the second team. He is the 19th Big Green football Academic All-America selection in program history and first since linebacker Michael Runger made the second team five years ago.

Emanuels has a 3.96 GPA as a biomedical engineering major. He made a career-high 11 tackles in the penultimate game of his college career at Cornell.

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For their final project in Astro 1, holder/kicker Jack Katzman, defensive lineman David Chalmers, offensive lineman Matt Kaskey and linebacker Harrison Farmer teamed up to do "A Newscast on the Sun." Check it out in the video below.

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And another academic note . . .

Dartmouth is in the running for a dual-threat quarterback from New Jersey with a 4.37 GPA. From a Northjersey.com story: (LINK)

Earlier this week, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens paid a visit to the Milko residence and offered Milko on the spot. 

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This academic one is fun one for me ;-)

Graduating Penn State linebacker Frank Di Leo, brother of Dartmouth fifth-year defensive line standout Rocco Di Leo and Big Green freshman Luca Di Leo, was presented with the PSU Football Letterman's Club Joe and Sue Paterno Post-Graduate Scholarship, a $5,000 Scholarship to a senior to provide recognition and financial assistance for graduate school, for his work in the classroom.

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On Monday Night Football last night sons of former Dartmouth football players squared off against each other. Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson is the son of Harry '77 and Vikings offensive lineman Brian O'Neill's father is Brendan '72. When was the last time sons of former Big Green players faced each other on Monday night? Your guess is as good as mine.

Pancake City

Offensive line highlights aren't always the most exciting thing going – unless you are an offensive lineman or a coach – but 6-foot-7, 320-pound Dartmouth tackle Matt Kaskey's new reel is worth watching. One piece of advice: If are of a certain age, turn off the sound.

In The Spotlight

The 61st National Football Foundation (NFF) Annual Awards Dinner a few days ago recognized legendary Dartmouth standout Murry Bowden '71 for his contributions to college football. Here's the page announcing his award. (LINK)

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Dartmouth's move away from tackling in practice continues to be emulated by football coaches across the country. From a Denver Post story about rules put into place by the Colorado High School Activities Association (italics in the story are mine):

. . .  (T)here was no such thing as tagging when I played,” (Chatfield coach Bret) McGatlin said. “I’d say (we went) live 75 percent of the time.

“We are better teachers. And let me tell you, we are much better tacklers. I looked at some of our playoff games this year, how good of tacklers we were.  It may not look as physical, but it gets the job done.”

It got done at Dartmouth, too. The Big Green posted a 9-1 record this fall, and despite not tackling at full-speed during the week, ranked No. 1 in the Ivy in scoring defense (12.0 points).

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Colgate showed its hard-hitting style in a 35-0 loss at six-time FCS national champion North Dakota State on ESPN yesterday, but came to appreciate just how much difference there is between a team that is bidding for its eighth national championship appearance in a row and the Patriot League champions. Rather than regretting the tough loss, the Raiders sounded like they embraced the challenge and look forward to a return to the playoffs. Here's Colgate defensive back Alec Wisniewski:

""We are building this program. We are a small liberal arts university in upstate New York, and we've made huge strides. In 2015, that was like your March Madness Cinderella. This year, we really put our mark on the map.

"We fell short today, but over these three years we've set the standard. If we continue to do that, hopefully you will see us at this stage again and matching their program."

And coach Dan Hunt:

"The last three games we've played have been measuring sticks for where we think we can get to."

Green Alert Take: Would Dartmouth or Princeton made it as far as Colgate? Would they have given North Dakota State a better game? Some people think so but we'll never know and that's a shame.

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Those last three Colgate games were a 14-point loss at bowl-bound Army, a win over former national champion James Madison and becoming just the latest victim of the North Dakota State juggernaut.

Speaking of Army, when Navy was in the midst of its lengthy winning streak over the Cadets I found myself quietly rooting for the underdogs. Watching yesterday I was reminded of my grandfather, a Naval Academy grad, who used to turn off his hearing aid when the Mids were losing. It's easier these days with a mute button on the remote ;-)

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And finally, I did not watch the endless Heisman Trophy presentation show last night. It just drags on too long. But I wasn't surprised how it turned out. In case you are curious, my ballot matched the 1-2-3 finish.

Hall(mark) Of Shame

Here's what I hope . . .

I hope that moms of players on the Dartmouth and Princeton football teams staged an intervention last night, commandeering the remote and and making their sons sit through a Hallmark Christmas movie instead of letting them tune in to the Maine-Weber State NCAA playoff game on ESPN2.

Because if the players on what might well be two of the best Ivy League teams in almost a half century – and clearly two of the best defenses in the nation – saw the game they could be in a funk until at least the start of spring football. We all knew it before but watching the smashmouth game Maine won, 23-18, it was abundantly clear the Tigers and Big Green, who deserved to be in the mix, belong in the mix.

Maine held Weber State to minus-one rushing yard, had 13 tackles for loss and with the game on the line ended three fourth-quarter possessions in a row with interceptions. That's the same Maine team, you should know, that lost at Yale in September, 35-14. The same Maine team that now is headed to the national semifinals while Dartmouth and Princeton, which both handily defeated Yale in New Haven, are stuck watching The Mistletoe Promise because the Ivy League presidents deny football players the same opportunity every other Ivy League athlete is entitled to.

Colgate's football team will be on the national stage at noon today. The Raiders figure to have their hands full against North Dakota State on ESPN but at least they have a chance to live out their dream by playing the six-time national champions in the frenzied Fargodome.

It sure beats watching a rerun of Christmas in Evergreen.

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The Sun Chronicle out of Attleboro, Mass., has a lengthy look at all-time Dartmouth rusher Nick Schwieger's career and what he's doing these days after his induction into the college's Wearers of the Green. (LINK)

Dartmouth-UNH Series Set

Dartmouth announced yesterday that in addition to the two previously scheduled games against New Hampshire, the Big Green will play four more games against its in-state rival. (LINK)

The Manchester Union Leader has a brief story HERE and UNH sports information has a story HERE.

Here are the Dartmouth schedules for the next four years and what is publicly available for the five ensuing years:

2019
Sept. 21 at Jacksonville
Sept. 28 vs. Colgate
Oct.  5 at Penn
Oct. 12 vs. Yale
Oct. 19 at Marist
Oct. 26 vs. Columbia
Nov. 2 at Harvard
Nov. 9 vs. Princeton
Nov. 16 vs. Cornell
Nov. 23 at Brown

2020
Sept. 19 vs. Jacksonville
Sept. 26 at Towson
Oct. 3 vs. Penn
Oct. 10 at Yale
Oct. 17 vs. Marist
Oct. 24 at Columbia
Oct. 31 vs. Harvard
Nov. 7 at Princeton
Nov. 14 at Cornell
Nov. 21 vs. Brown

2021
Sept. 18 at Valparaiso
Sept. 25 Sacred Heart
Oct. 2 at Penn
Oct. 9 vs. Yale
Oct. 16 at UNH
Oct. 23 vs. Columbia
Oct. 30 at Harvard
Nov. 6 vs. Princeton
Nov. 13 vs. Cornell
Nov. 20 at Brown

2022
Sept. 17 vs. Valparaiso
Sept. 24 at Army
Oct. 1 vs.  Penn
Oct. 8 at Yale
Oct. 15 vs. UNH
Oct. 22 at Columbia
Oct. 29 vs. Harvard
Nov. 5 at Princeton
Nov. 12 at Cornell
Nov. 19 vs. Brown

2023
Sept. 16 at UNH

2024
Oct. 19 vs. Central Connecticut

2025
Sept. 20 vs. UNH

2027
Sept. 25 at UNH
Oct. 16 at Central Connecticut

2028
Sept. 23 vs. UNH

To get your juices flowing for the UNH series, here are the highlights from Dartmouth's historic 22-21 win against the Wildcats in 2016:

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With the improving fortunes of Ivy League football that played a part in Dartmouth renewing its series with UNH, the push to eliminate the unjustifiable NCAA playoff ban is gaining momentum. To that end, here's a reprise of something that appeared on this site a couple of years ago:

Working on an essay for the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia some years back, I asked some very important people to please explain the ban on postseason play for Ivy League football teams. The answer I got most frequently was the telephone equivalent of a blank stare. In the end I got two unsatisfactory explanations. One was along the lines of, "That's the way it's always been." The other?

Ivy League rules prohibit it.

Let me see if I can simplify the second explanation for you. It's against the rules because the Ivy League rules prohibit it.

As silly as that is, it seems it might be wrong.

A good friend of BGA who has been doing some digging found a copy of the Ivy Manual online. Flip ahead to page 159 where the text of the Presidents Agreement of 1954 starts and read away. When you get to page 161 you'll find this:

The members of the Group shall not engage in post season games or any other contests designed to settle sectional or other championships. (NOTE: National Collegiate Athletic Association, Eastern College Athletic Conference, A.A.U. competitions and international competitions such as the games, meets and matches with Oxford and Cambridge Universities shall not be considered as post-season games or contests within the meaning of the above rule.)

Here's what it says to me: Postseason bowl games to determine a "mythical national championship" (Rose Bowl, etc.) are prohibited.

Postseason games to determine an NCAA championship are not prohibited.

If that's the case, Ivy League teams should be allowed by rule to appear in the NCAA FCS football playoffs, and allowing every last Ivy League sport except football to go on is indefensible.

BGA Take: As a lawyer friend explained, there's enough ambiguity in the Presidents Agreement to allow the Presidents to weasel out of (prohibiting) football participation in NCAA playoffs. Of course, the rules in the Agreement are hardly written in stone. Here are several that have been rewritten, with my thoughts in italics:

Football schedules shall not be made more than two years in advance of the current calendar year. (Dartmouth's schedule through 2022 can be found HERE.)

No football practice shall take place at any time except during the fall season (What was it I covered for 12 practices in the spring?)

No student shall be eligible for a varsity team until he has completed satisfactorily an academic year’s work at the institution he is to represent. (There are now freshmen who play in a game before ever sitting in on a class.)

Football practice for all institutions in the Group shall start not earlier than a date to be agreed upon each year by the Administrative Committee, which may not be earlier than September 1 in any year. (Practice for all schools begins in August.)

The coaches and players of institutions in the Group shall not participate in clinics for secondary school coaches or players (Football camps are held on campus.)

Thoughts?

Here's mine: In summers when I was a kid we had to sit on the beach for an hour after eating lunch, watching the clock and begging to go back in the water. The belief in those days was if we went right back in the water after eating we might get a cramp and drown. That, of course, ended up being hogwash. I've thought ever since that my mother actually owed me about a year worth of swimming. Well, I think the Ivy League owes every football player who won a championship since the start of the NCAA playoffs in 1978 a chance they'll never get and that's too bad. The time has come to let Ivy League football teams test the water just like every other Ivy League team.

End soapbox (for today).

Yesterday And Today

From the archives comes a look at Bob Blackman's first Dartmouth football team, one year before the start of formal Ivy League play:



Green Alert Take: I wonder sometimes if today's coaches could watch some of Blackman's games and come away with a few plays that would catch opponents off balance. I'm guessing they could ;-)

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Donnie Brown, the former Dartmouth defensive coordinator who got his start coaching across the river at Hartford (Vt.) High School in the 1980s, went on to serve as defensive coordinator at both Yale and Brown. The was a clamoring in New Haven to bring him in as head coach a few years back but he chose instead to continue working in the FBS. Although he'd rather forget this year's Ohio State game, eschewing Yale didn't turn out too badly for the current Michigan defensive coordinator. A USA Today survey lists Brown as the 10th-highest paid assistant in the land, earning $1.3 million a year.

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For what it's worth, I had an Ivy League coach tell me this fall that the number one question recruits ask him is: "Why can't Ivy League teams go to the playoffs?"

Read that again. It's the "number one" question recruits ask.

While you ponder what answer you might give, figuring out a good answer is not a problem Colgate assistants have to deal with. The Raiders take on North Dakota State, winners of six of the last seven FCS national championships, Saturday in the Fargodome. Read a capsule preview HERE.

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And finally, the Ivy office has video individual interviews with Dartmouth's Isiah Swann and Princeton's John Lovett, the Bushnell winners as Ivy League defensive and offensive players of the year. Click the picture of Isiah Swann to watch.

And More

And from the Dartmouth football office:



Linebackers Zach Hall of Southeast Missouri and Dante Olson of Montana, and Sam Houston State defensive end Derick Roberson are finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, emblematic of the nation's top defensive player at the FCS level. The rest of the voting per STATS (link):

4. Jabril Cox, LB, North Dakota State: 22-13-10-9-12-222
5. ISIAH SWANN, CB, DARTMOUTH: 5-22-17-10-18-202
6. Jimmy Moreland, CB, James Madison:13-16-11-14-10-200
7. B.J. Blunt, LB, McNeese: 12-4-15-13-17-164
8. Nick Wheeler, DE, Colgate: 9-5-11-8-12-126
9. Robbie Grimsley, S, North Dakota State: 7-8-5-10-11-113
10. Anthony Gore Jr., LB, Kennesaw State: 2-5-5-6-4-61
11. Darryl Johnson Jr., DE, North Carolina A&T: 1-4-4-6-4-49
12. Mason Moe, LB, UC Davis: 2-4-0-8-2-44
13. (Tie) Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois: 1-5-3-3-2-42
13. (Tie) Sterling Sheffield, LB, Maine: 1-1-6-5-5-42
15. Troy Reeder, LB, Delaware: 1-3-3-4-2-36
16. Cam Gill, LB, Wagner: 1-1-5-3-3-33
17. Isaiah Mack, DE, Chattanooga: 2-1-1-6-3-32
18. Will Warner, S, Drake: 1-0-2-3-5-22
19. Thomas Costigan, LB, Bryant: 1-2-1-0-3-19
20. (Tie) Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware: 0-1-2-1-3-15
20. (Tie) Darin Greenfield, DE, South Dakota: 0-2-1-2-0-15
22. Ahmad Gooden, DE, Samford: 0-1-2-0-4-14
23. De'Arius Christmas, LB, Grambling State: 0-1-1-2-1-12
24. (Tie) Nick Miller, LB, Penn: 0-1-0-0-2-6
25. (Tie) Nasir Player, DL, ETSU: 0-1-0-1-0-6
A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.

Pick Nine!

Interceptions this fall by Isiah Swann, the Ivy League's newly crowned defensive player of the year:



Find the Dartmouth release on Swann's honor HERE.

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A Bushnell-winning quarterback who led his team to the Ivy League championship as a senior returns to his alma mater to try to resuscitate its football program after just two years as a head coach at another school in the region. Sound familiar?

Brown can only hope the hiring of James Perry works out the way the hiring of Buddy Teevens did at Dartmouth. The Providence Journal has a story about Perry turning to Brown HERE and the Brown Daily Herald has a story HERE.

Perry, who was 12-10 in two years at Bryant, was announced yesterday as the successor to Phil Estes, his coach when he was awarded the Bushnell after quarterbacking Brown to the 1999 Ivy League title with a 6-1 conference record.

Teevens was 13-9 in two years at Maine before he succeeded Joe Yukica, his coach when he won the Bushnell after quarterbacking Dartmouth to the 1978 Ivy League title with a 6-1 conference record.

Teevens took over the Big Green for the first time in 1987 and went on to guide the program to the 1990 and '91 Ivy League titles.

Perry, who helped design the Princeton offense that enabled the Tigers to set Ivy League scoring records, was on the Dartmouth staff in 2001. His brother, John, was an innovative offensive coordinator for the Big Green under John Lyons from 1999-2004. He's now the wide receivers coach for the Houston Texans. (LINK)

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Ryan Day, whose touchdown pass with four seconds remaining gave New Hampshire a 42-38 win over Dartmouth in 2001, will be the next head coach at Ohio State. Day, the Buckeyes' interim coach at the start of the year, will succeed Urban Meyer, who is stepping down after the Rose Bowl. Find Day's bio HERE.

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Ever wonder what a Heisman ballot looks like? You are not allowed to divulge your vote before the announcement of the winner so I can't show you who got my vote but here was my ballot.

By the way, for the first time this year you needed to get a PIN from the Heisman folks before you could vote. For those of us who choose not to own a cell phone (I'm not the only one, am I?) that proved to be a bit of a headache ;-)

Swann Is Ivy Defensive Player Of Year

Dartmouth junior corner Isiah Swann has been selected as the Ivy League defensive player of the year. It's no great surprise after his nine interceptions topped all of Division I football and his 18 passes defended was third in the FCS. Find the Dartmouth release HERE.

Princeton quarterback John Lovett wins the offensive player of the year for the second time.

Green Alert Take: By all means fast forward through the yada yada yada and check out Isiah's heartfelt speech at the dais if you have ESPN+. (LINK)

Big Day In Big Apple

Graphic courtesy of the Ivy League

The Ivy League's Bushnell Cup(s) presentation will be broadcast today on ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. Dartmouth corner Isiah Swann is one of the finalists for defensive player of the year after leading all of Division I football with nine interceptions this fall and defending 18 passes, third in the FCS. Find the full Ivy League release HERE.

Green Alert Take: It will be a surprise if Swann doesn't win the award. The shame is that defensive lineman Rocco Di Leo, who had 12.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and six pass breakups, isn't in New York as well because he belongs there.

Green Alert Take II: Here's the "lede" to the Ivy League press release about the Bushnell award (italics are mine): "For the ninth-straight year, the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF) has partnered with the Ivy League to co-host the 2018 Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation, presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses." It's interesting that a league that doesn't believe its players should take part in postseason football joins up each year with the organization behind the "Granddaddy of Them All."

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Among those being honored at the the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner tomorrow night will be Dartmouth football legend Murry Bowden '71, who will be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award. The 2003 College Football Hall of Fame inductee is the Atlanta Hall Management Chairman for the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame.

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Jim Hofher, who coached Cornell to its last Ivy League championship, is leaving his role on the Iowa State staff to join the staff of the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football. Hofher spent eight years leading the Cornell program, winning one title and finishing second once, third three times and in the upper division all eight years.

Quickly

NCAA playoff score: Colgate 23, James Madison 20.

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Dartmouth's no-tackle philosophy gets a mention in a Denver Post story HERE.

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An email following last week's posting of Ivy League schedules reveals a Yale visit to Richmond of the CAA on Oct. 19 next fall. (LINK)

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Spent some time with Mrs. BGA's family in Massachusetts yesterday and then dropped That Certain Dartmouth '14 at Logan Airport yesterday for her flight back to Bozeman, Mont. after her two-week visit.