Recognizing the situation was still fluid and unprecedented, however, I opted instead to leave myself an "out" and instead wrote that spring football is "in jeopardy."
As of this morning "in jeopardy" is probably still the call.
Bruce Feldman, a well-connected writer for the Athletic, has Tweeted of the Ivy League's response to the epidemic (italics are mine):
The league is also shutting down all FB spring practices through April 5. Officials are still determining whether that will include team workouts.And . . .
The Ivy League is shutting down all spring football practices as of this morning I'm told until April 5. I spoke to some coaches who had started spring ball and were about to go thru another practice when they got word that it's getting shut down due to #COVID19.Feldman also wrote:
Ivy League football staffers are still trying to get a handle on whether shutting down spring football will also mean shutting down team workouts/lifting.Green Alert Take: Given that Dartmouth isn't slated to start practice until after April 5 the Ivy League policy should be firmed up well before then.
Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton and Yale have all moved spring classes online as of this morning. (LINK)
Dartmouth, which earlier canceled spring international programs, is now limiting "large gatherings on campus," and suspending tours per the school paper. (LINK)
From the story:
(I)n an email sent to campus on Tuesday evening, College provost Joseph Helble instead issued guidance that students — including those with interim housing on campus — leave campus once finished with their finals, practice social distancing and avoid international travel. The email stated that while the interim period will be used to assess the best way to provide “educational continuity,” the College intends to hold spring term classes on campus as of now.
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The situation in the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) is confusing as well. The conference, sometimes referred to as the Division III Ivy League, has seen Vermont's Middlebury College and Amherst in Massachusetts switch to online classes. Per a D3 Sports story Tufts University announced that . . ."Tufts, like many of our NESCAC colleagues, will not have any spring sports for the remainder of the semester." It also announced that "Following a decision of the NESCAC presidents, the NESCAC league and championship play are canceled." The NESCAC has not confirmed this publicly.
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It isn't going to force a change but as of this morning the petition asking the Ivy League to reinstate its basketball tournaments has garnered almost 10,000 signatures. (LINK)
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Per STATS . . .FCS wins leaders from 2017-19:
1-North Dakota State, 45
2-James Madison, 37
3-Kennesaw State, 34
4-Weber State, 32
5-North Carolina A&T, 31
6-South Dakota State, 29
7T-Monmouth, 28
7T-San Diego, 28
9-Wofford, 27
10T-Dartmouth, 26
10T-Eastern Washington, 26
10T-Nicholls, 26
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Athlon has a story under the headline, FCS Football: Potential Surprise Teams by Conference that identifies Cornell in the Ivy League race. (LINK)Green Alert Take: While the Athlon selection of Cornell is solid, the strong vote here would be Brown. Quarterback EJ Perry is that good, coach John Perry is that creative and with a year behind them – and the standout QB heading into his final season – there's an urgency that could pay dividends.
Green Alert Take II: I very clearly remember talking with a Dartmouth defensive lineman some years ago about how an Ivy League team won the league championship behind a completely new offensive line. When I told him I didn't think the line would be that good he shook his head and said the line was terrible. The difference, he said, was the champion's standout, refuse-to-lose quarterback. That's the kind of QB who will be playing for Brown this fall.
