Dartmouth has a high proportion of athletes in the undergraduate student body, and a good number of those athletes — most notably the football team — play fall sports. So, if Ivy League sports were to resume, would that mean that all fall athletes would be guaranteed spots on campus?
That would likely prove problematic. Mainly, there’s the basic issue of fairness: Why should athletes be guaranteed spots on campus, especially when that would mean that a student’s chances of living on campus would decrease if he or she is not an athlete? If the College were to make that decision, it would implicitly give preferential treatment to athletes — and I’m pretty sure that’s not a message Dartmouth or any other Ivy League school would want to send.And this caveat:
Of course, this is all contingent on the fact that the Ivy League will choose to have a fall sports season at all. Remember that back in March, the Ivy League was the first NCAA conference to cancel its basketball tournaments, and its cancellation of spring sports preceded similar cancellations across the NCAA and professional sports landscape. My guess is that the conference will likely be among the last to resume any kind of sports schedule.Two football recruits are mentioned in a Dartmouth story headlined, Incoming student-athletes train remotely with fall term competitions in limbo. From the story:
Incoming football player Macklin Ayers ’24 said that he envisions a scenario where the team could be forced to cancel its season or pivot to a “limited schedule” if other schools do not play this season. Ayer’s soon-to-be teammate, quarterback Jace Henry ’24, agreed that the status of the football season is out of Dartmouth’s hands, and he has mentally steeled himself for a worst-case scenario.
“It would suck to not be able to play football for my first college season, but training-wise, I'd be on the same grind, getting ready for the next season,” Henry said, “It's always 24/7, year-round. Always got to prepare and be ready.”
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From incoming recruits to outgoing players, both Isiah Swann and Niko Lalos are ever-so-briefly mentioned in NFL stories.In a Bengals.com round table under the headline, Which Position Group Are You Most Excited To See In Training Camp one of the contributors pointed to cornerback, the position Swann plays. After calling it "one of the deepest (positions) on the team," the analyst points out that, "Of the Bengals cornerbacks who played 100 or more snaps last season, only William Jackson III and Darius Phillips returned for 2020."
He goes on to say:
There is a lot of intrigue as well with (former CFL standout Winston) Rose and Isiah Swann, the undrafted free agent from Dartmouth.An SI Giants Country posting under the headline, Defensive Line Preview | A Team Strength, but for How Long includes this about Lalos' position group: "Despite appearing to be the most stable and strongest unit on the Giants, the defensive line has several question marks that will need to be answered over the coming months."
From the story:
. . . (T)he Giants collection of defensive linemen, other than for veteran Austin Johnson and undrafted rookie free agent Niko Lalos, remains unchanged from the end of last year.
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HERO Sports offers up its preseason All-America team and two Ivy Leaguers get a mention. (LINK)Columbia's Mike Roussos is the second-team punt returner and Brown quarterback EJ Perry is, strangely, the third-team "athlete."
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And finally, in the best "bury the lede" tradition, here's the eye-catching story of the day: Brown University announced yesterday it is dropping 11 varsity sports and adding two.With the stated intention of redistributing limited resources to improve its competitive posture, the school's announcement says (LINK):
Brown will cease training, competition and operations at the varsity level for men's and women's fencing; men's and women's golf; women's skiing; men's and women's squash; women's equestrian; and men's track, field and cross country (which are three varsity sports under federal Title IX rules governing access to opportunities in sports).Per The Excellence in Brown Athletics Initiative report, the school had been fielding 38 sports, the third-largest number in the country. The release goes on to say:
. . . (T)he University will maintain its current operational budget for varsity athletics, with operating funds made available by the reduction in varsity teams being allocated strategically within the Department of Athletics. Brown will continue to recruit the same number of varsity athletes so that rosters can be right-sized, and the smaller number of varsity teams will support stronger recruiting in the admissions process, allowing for deeper talent on each team.More from the release:
The revised roster of teams was determined through a thorough, data-driven review that assessed such factors as the existing strengths of each team; current roster sizes; and the quality of facilities available for practice and competition. For example, the committee considered that Rhode Island does not have mountains to support a strong program in skiing, yet the state has one of the best sailing bays in the country and a new sailing facility.And this:
(Brown President Christina) Paxson noted that while some universities have reduced athletics programs in the wake of COVID-19, Brown's initiative is not a measure to reduce budget or an effort to contend with the financial impact of the pandemic. Rather, it's an opportunity to invest further in advancing excellence in Brown's full lineup of sports programs.Green Alert Take: While there will no doubt be a lively debate about the relative merits of the Brown initiative and whether it might be a first sport-cutting domino to fall in the Ivy League, don't overlook this statement in the release regarding athletes in programs that are being dropped:
". . . (T)he fact that COVID-19 has raised uncertainty nationwide about collegiate competition in 2020-21 means that effecting the change in varsity status now for the identified teams may provide Brown's student athletes with extra time to make decisions."Anyone who is 100 percent confident that there will be Ivy League sports this fall would do well to read that sentence again.
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EXTRA POINTBGA World Headquarters solar capability during off-the-grid summer of 2018:
BGA World Headquarters solar capability after completion of "tracker" installation yesterday:
