As For The Other Guys

Following up on Friday's posting of Ivy League football schedules (LINK), here are the schedules for Dartmouth's nonconference opponents this fall:

NEW HAVEN
Sept. 5 vs. Bowie State
Sept. 12 vs. Franklin Pierce
Sept. 19 at DARTMOUTH
Sept. 26 vs. Southern Connecticut State
Oct. 3 at Pace
Oct. 10 vs. St. Anselm
Oct. 17 at American International
Oct. 24 at Stonehill
Oct. 31 vs. Assumption
Nov. 7 vs. Bentley
Nov. 14 at Franklin Pierce

TOWSON
Sept. 5 at Maryland
Sept. 12 vs. Morgan State
Sept. 19 vs. Stony Brook
Sept. 26 vs. DARTMOUTH
Oct. 10 at Villanova
Oct. 17 vs. James Madison
Oct. 24 at Richmond
Oct. 31 vs. New Hampshire
Nov. 7 at Delaware
Nov. 14 at Elon
Nov. 21 vs. Rhode Island

MARIST
Sept. 5 vs. Georgetown
Sept. 12 at Morehead State
Sept. 19 at Cornell
Sept. 26 vs. Dayton
Oct. 3 at Drake
Oct. 10 vs. Davidson
Oct. 17 at DARTMOUTH 
Oct. 31 vs. Valparaiso
Nov. 7 at Stetson
Nov. 14 vs. San Diego
Nov. 21 at Butler

As noted in an earlier post, New Haven is playing New Hampshire teams four times, including Franklin Pierce twice.

(As an aside, Pierce is in just its second year as a Division II program. The Ravens were outscored, 555-62, while going 0-10 against DII opponents last year. They lost their final three games by a 190-0 margin.)

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While we await NCAA rulings on fall sports, the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) has announced it is requiring "about" half of the schools sponsoring a sport to "receive clearance from local authorities to return to competition before the season can begin." In football that would mean 47 of the 95 schools that field football teams.

Per the NAIA Council of Presidents the football season will be cut from 11 games to nine this fall, in part as a cost-saving measure. Other sports are having their seasons shortened commensurately.

NAIA schools will be allowed to begin football practice as early as Aug. 15 with the first games Sept.  12, or after four weeks or practice.

Find more about how the NAIA is responding to the pandemic HERE.

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The Manchester Union Leader has an in-depth look at the coming year in college sports with longtime New Hampshire Athletic Director Marty Scarano. (LINK) A few outtakes:

Scarano: “Everyone feels awful for the spring sport kids, particularly seniors. We don’t want to see that happen again if we can do it safely.”

And:

. . . (T)he department plans to take an old-school approach to some away-game travel to help limit overnight stays. There is also a possibility, Scarano said, that UNH will cancel some of its away games that involve flying. 

And:

Within a 48-hour period, said Scarano, the UNH athletic department lost $4 million: $1 million in NCAA distribution money and another $3 million in refunded student fees. 

And:

The most significant financial consideration for Scarano and his department heading into the fall is the football team’s season opener at FBS and Big 12 member Kansas on Sept. 5.

There is a large guarantee UNH will receive for playing at Kansas but also a large default it would have to pay Kansas if UNH cancels that game.

And:

Scarano is optimistic winter sports teams’ schedules will not be significantly trimmed because they have more time and do not face the same obstacles the fall sports teams do. Winter sports athletes arrive on campus when the academic year begins. Those participating in fall sports arrive in August, three weeks prior to the start of classes. 

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Sports Illustrated has a story under the headline, Who's Next: Ranking the Teams Duke Basketball Hasn't Played.

From the story (LINK):

Out of the 353 teams in Division I, Duke basketball has played more than 225 at some point in its history. . . .  (T)eams that Duke has never played, here, in ascending order of interest, are the top 10.

8. Dartmouth: Duke prides itself on its academics and regularly includes Ivy League teams on its non-conference schedule, but the Blue Devils have never played the Big Green, the only Ivy Duke has ducked.

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EXTRA POINT
Dartmouth's football game at Stetson several years ago offered a special opportunity to visit with an old friend who had moved to Florida after giving up his newspaper gig. Mrs. BGA came along on the trip and at one point we asked our friend how he keeps busy in retirement. He told us he tries to make sure he takes care of one important responsibility a day. For instance, he said, one day he went to the post office to buy a stamp.

That has since become a catchphrase here at the BGA World Headquarters: What is our "stamp" today?