. . . Go

Dartmouth kicks off spring practice late this afternoon with the first of 12 practices. Be sure to visit BGA Overtime tonight for coverage of the session.

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In advance of the start of practice, head coach Sammy McCorkle offered some thoughts via Dartmouth's social media. Here's the video followed by a gently edited transcript if you'd prefer:

Tomorrow, the work starts.
Coach McCorkle on spring ball, new voices, and earning your place.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/3dHhgYLuGr

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) April 6, 2026

Sammy McCorkle: 

"I’m really excited about the new coaches that have joined our staff. You could tell last week just the energy they bring to the program. You could see their sense of urgency. They’ve really done a really good job of attention to detail. They bring a lot of knowledge, a lot of energy, and I’m really excited for them to come out to start spring practice and bring that same type of energy and attention to detail.

"I think the fans can be really excited about the competition we’re going to have this spring. We’ve graduated a number of guys from past year, but we’ve got a lot of guys that are coming back that have got a lot of playing experience. We’ve got a lot of young guys who are very talented, and so we're really excited to see every day guys compete and challenge each other, and continue to take this program to the next level.

"I think the one thing we’re looking for by the end of this camp is just having some guys who are in position to lead, guys who are in position to be ready to go out there and play next fall on a Saturday. And I think the biggest thing is just having that attention to detail.

"Our guys had a great first week of mat drills, with energy and the effort. And I think the big thing now is taking that energy and effort into spring practice and making sure by the end of that everybody’s attention to detail is improved.

"Our guys are prepared and when it’s their opportunity to step on the field, they’re ready to play."

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Incoming Dartmouth offensive lineman Nick Schenkel has been named Ambassador of the Year for boys basketball in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley because of his unselfish leadership contributions to his Liberty High School team. From a story behind The Morning Call paywall (LINK):

Nick Schenkel played in just 15 of Liberty High School’s 29 games in the 2025-26 boys basketball season. He scored just seven points.

But the Hurricanes may not have gone 18-11, reached the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinals, the District 11 6A title game or the second round of the state tournament without him.

And . . .

“Ambassador is the perfect word to describe Nick because he’s a great ambassador for our community, our school, our team and our sport,” said Liberty coach Nigel Long. “Nick has been a pleasure to be around, not only to me, but the entire Liberty community. He has been a great representative of our school … on the court, off the court, on the football field and off the football field, in the classroom and in the community.” 

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Schenkel admitted it wasn't always easy:

“There were moments when I wondered if I really wanted to do this, but there was a kinship and a brotherhood within our team that was second to none. It was truly something special and something I am so appreciative of because it will help me going forward. We struggled in football here when I was a freshman and sophomore. But coming to the basketball team in those years really enlightened me as to finding a culture and learning what was necessary to be successful. Basketball had a winning culture and I wanted to bring what I learned there to the football team.”

Here's the Dartmouth-bound football player on his future in Hanover:

“Some Ivy League schools have a snobby-ish image; they have that stigma around them, but not Dartmouth,” he said. “I felt right at home and everyone was so welcoming. Everyone I’ve talked to since then has had nothing good things to say about the school.

“The coaching staff does a phenomenal job, and my position coach [Keith Clark] who coaches the offensive line, was named the FCS assistant coach of the year. He’s friends with Jeff Stoutland, who just left as the Eagles O-line coach and he played at Lafayette, so he knows this area. I’m excited about finding a great community up there.”

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EXTRA POINT
For Christmas I received a silly pair of electric socks to keep my feet warm hiking on the mountain this winter. I haven't worn them in more than a month but I'm charging the batteries this morning. If I'm going to spend two hours at "spring" football practice today, as least I can keep my toes warm. ;-)

Ready, Set . . .

Dartmouth is slated to begin spring football tomorrow, and BGA Overtime will be there to bring you coverage of the first session, as well as several others over the course of the spring. Here's the tentative practice schedule:

Tuesday, Apr. 7 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Apr. 9 - 5 p.m.

Saturday, Apr. 11 - 10 a.m. 

Tuesday, Apr. 14 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Apr. 16 - 5 p.m.

Saturday, Apr. 18 - 10 a.m.

One week break, then . . . 

Tuesday, Apr. 28 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Apr. 30 - 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 2 - 10 a.m. 

Tuesday, May 5 - 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 7 - 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 9 - 10 a.m.

While Sammy McCorkle would surely like to have all practices on Memorial Field under clear blue skies, this is northern New England, so expect adjustments to the schedule.

Editor's Note: Tomorrow's forecast is a perfect example. "Cloudy with snow showers changing to rain showers as the day progresses. High 42F. E winds shifting to NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch."

A reminder that spring coverage will be posted on the BGA Overtime site HERE.

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FLO Sports is the latest to offer up a "way-too-early" 2026 preseason ranking. It features two Ivies and four Dartmouth opponents total:

1 Montana State (14-2)
2 Montana (13-2)
3 Rhode Island (11-3)
4 South Dakota St. (9-5)
5 Villanova (12-3)
6 Illinois State (12-5)
7 Tennessee Tech (11-2)
8 YALE (9-3)
9 Stephen F. Austin (11-3)
10 South Dakota (10-5)
11 Abilene Christian (9-5)
12 North Dakota (8-6)
13 Youngstown St. (8-5)
14 West Florida (*10-2 in Division II)
15 Tarleton State (12-2)
16 UC Davis (9-4)
17 MONMOUTH (N.J.) (9-3)
18 HARVARD (9-2)
19 Alabama State (10-2)
20 LEHIGH (12-1)
21 Mercer (9-3)
22 Lafayette (8-4)
23 Southeastern Louisiana (9-4)
24 West Georgia (8-3)
25 South Carolina State (10-3)

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 Missed this last week:

The Ivy League and its eight member schools scored a significant legal win at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday, as the court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the league’s policy of no athletic scholarships as an antitrust violation.… pic.twitter.com/34Wcv6YKwN

— Sportico (@Sportico) April 4, 2026

Find the Sportico story behind a paywall HERE. Like most of you, I can't access the story but I was able to pull up an AI summary that reads like this:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the Ivy League’s policy of no athletic scholarships. The court ruled that the plaintiffs failed to identify a relevant market for antitrust scrutiny, as students can pursue enrollment at other selective colleges offering athletic scholarships. The ruling supports conference autonomy in setting rules governing athletes, highlighting the complexity of antitrust law in college sports.

Courthouse News has a story HERE, and Bloomberg Law has a piece HERE. The bottom line, as I understand it, is simply that the Ivies are free to continue giving financial aid based on need, rather than athletic ability.

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EXTRA POINT
If you've been following along you know that a couple of Christmases ago we were given a bird feeder with a bluetooth-enable camera allowing us to have close-up views of our avian visitors. The app that works with the bird feeder strives to identify the type of birds and keeps a daily count of how many stop by. A couple of days ago we set a record with 275 bird visits – in one day.

It's kind of fun watching birds on the feeder chasing away others until they've had their fill. This was a little more unusual:

That's a female northern cardinal on the left, and a bright red male on the right. They have been stopping by regularly to share meals.

After this couple made several visits, I Googled more information and read this (LINK):

Cardinals mate for life. Most cardinal couples stay together as long as their mate is alive. They don’t just mate for life — they spend most of the year together. They are a true couple. 

The things you can learn visiting BGA each day. ;-)

Just Because

For Easter Sunday, I asked AI to make a chocolate Heisman Trophy bunny. The winner? Banner Manco, which I Google to no avail.

And then, because I couldn't help myself, I asked for a more realistic chocolate Heisman to be placed on the Dartmouth football field.

Click image to super size.

AI gave it a shot but for some reason it put the trophy and players outside its own imagined Memorial Field. It gave the Big Green several fictional Ivy League championships and while it credited the Lewinstein Family with the scoreboard twice, it has 28:39 on the board. And it created Trustee John D. Cahill out of nowhere.

Finally, I asked AI to create a Dartmouth football player throwing a football-like Easter egg.

I could never quite get it to understand the helmet striping before I ran out of free time on the app. ;-)

Now And Then

The headline:

Steelers Met with Freakishly Athletic Duke Defensive Tackle

And that defensive tackle? None other than Josiah Green, who earned a Dartmouth degree in anthropology before spending a grad transfer year with the Blue Devils. From the story (LINK):

Green turned heads at his pro day, recording a 4.43 shuttle, 1.65 10-yard split, 7.43 3-cone, which would’ve ranked first among DTs at the Combine. His 34″ vert and 9’6″ broad would’ve ranked second.

Green also posted a program-record 36 bench press reps. Green was second in quick pressures last season among draft-eligible DTs, according to Pro Football Focus.

Per that story, Green is considered a "mid-to-late" round draft pick.

A site covering the Indianapolis Colts also had a story around Green HERE.

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Former Dartmouth linebacker Reggie Williams '76 has never shied away from sharing his opinions and the former Cincinnati Bengal and College Football Hall of Famer has made his feelings known about today's political climate and Dartmouth's response to it on his Facebook account. Here are a couple of screenshots:

Editor's Note: I do not have a Facebook account but was able to access these postings and the comments with Reggie Williams' replies because they are public. Find the originals HERE and HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
Yes! My package was delivered yesterday without issue. I had hoped to see the delivery person to get a little more insight on how best to address packages when the online form will not accept our street address, but was on the mountain when the delivery truck arrived. Maybe next time.

Coming And Going

Another Dartmouth social media post, and another opportunity for a new football assistant to introduce himself:

The man leading the corners.@CoachMcGuire_ on his approach and the standard for the secondary.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/bTyFzLgiaY

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) April 2, 2026

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It doesn't happen all that often, but Dartmouth football has seen a recruit "flip" to another school.

Linebacker Parker Maiers of Indianapolis has backed off a commitment to Dartmouth in favor of an opportunity to join the Northwestern program. Here's what Maiers had to say in an On3 story carried by Yahoo (LINK):

“Playing at the highest level of college football has always been a dream of mine and Northwestern gave me that opportunity."

“Not only do they have amazing academics but have a great football program, Their staff has been nothing but welcoming to me and my family. I can’t wait to be a Wildcat.”

Maiers originally picked Dartmouth over offers from Navy, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Buffalo, Air Force, UMass, Western Illinois, Butler and Penn.

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Dartmouth quarterback recruit Jack Cannon is the player in the spotlight in a story headlined, Lacrosse program emerges as title favorite with N.J. football Player of Year back in lineup. From the NJ.com story (LINK):

Holmdel played with the mindset and composure of a team that expects to win big games. The Hornets compete in the Shore Conference’s top division and have been a playoff contender for several years under Quinn, but have never been able to seriously challenge the big three of Rumson-Fair Haven, Manasquan and Christian Brothers. That changed with the win over Manasquan.

That mentality starts with Cannon, a Dartmouth football commit who was the NJ.com state Player of the Year this past fall.

Cannon was credited with a goal and four assists in the story about the Holmdel win. The story goes on:

Cannon put together an all-time career for the Hornets as the team’s record-breaking quarterback, leading them to the program’s first sectional championship with a 41-20 win over Seneca in the Central, Group 3 title game.

He set a state record with 63 touchdowns combined between rushing and passing. He led New Jersey with 33 rushing touchdowns, was fourth with 2,747 passing yards, fifth with 30 passing touchdowns and 10th with 1,673 yards rushing. 

More from the story . . . 

Cannon played lacrosse as a freshman and sophomore and was beginning to develop into one of the best all-around players in the Shore. He skipped his junior season to focus on his football recruitment, leaving a void in Holmdel’s midfield. He committed to Dartmouth in May 2025. Later that summer,, with his collegiate future secured, he decided he would return to lacrosse and play basketball during his senior year.

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Longtime New Jersey sportswriter Paul Franklin – who should know better than to write Dartmouth University – has a piece about new Dartmouth men's basketball coach Brett MacConnell HERE. Franklin points out that MacConnell did not play high school basketball in Central Jersey, but rather was a soccer player.

Of note, the story mentions that . . . 

MacConnell is flying to Fresno, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to meet with the parents of three current players and two incoming freshmen.

Green Alert Take: Call this informed speculation, but the guess here is that the new coach is taking a shot at pulling sophomore guard Connor Amundsen of Fresno and sophomore guard Kareem Thomas of Wilmington, Del. – half an hour from Philly – back out of the transfer portal.

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EXTRA POINT
Following up on yesterday's rant about databases that will not accept our address for package deliveries, the good news is that my order is on its way. In fact, it is projected to arrive at some point today. That's pretty fast service . . . if the package gets here.

I'm optimistic because it is coming from UPS, which like FedEx has dependably delivered to our house, perhaps because the route drivers have come to recognize our name and address.

If I'd known the package was coming by UPS I wouldn't have been as frustrated as I was a couple of nights ago. Of course, even UPS and FedEx are no sure thing. The "Last mile" delivery system sometimes results in packages like mine being dropped off by those services not at our house, but at our local post office, which can present its own set of problems.

As I found out a few months back, a package arriving at our post office is no guarantee we'll get it because the online forms sometimes return a message in red saying they don't deliver to PO boxes so there's nowhere to list the box number. In those cases, I include the "0026" at the end of our zip code (26 is our box). But even that's no guarantee. You'd be amazed how many times I've seen mailing labels where the "+4" is cut off.

And that's why I now put #26 at the end of our street address.

Sorry for getting worked up again. I'll stop now. Let's just hope my package arrives this afternoon. ;-)

Closing In On It

With spring practice beginning next Tuesday, Dartmouth is currently going through mat drills. What's that you ask? What are mat drills?

The answer first appeared on this site 10 years ago. Click HERE to read that post, or just watch a little of what's happening below:

Setting The Foundation.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/PAniq1dDyb

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) April 1, 2026

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A reminder that BGA Overtime will go live again next week when spring ball starts. If you haven't investigate the OT site, you can take a look at it HERE. 

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Dartmouth continued its meet-the-new-coaches series earlier this week with this social media posting:

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An email landed in my in-box yesterday with a reminder that the Dartmouth Friends of Football Golf Classic is set for Saturday, June 20, at Montcalm Golf Club, about 15 minutes from campus. The email provided this tentative schedule:

• 10:30 AM: Shuttle service to course
• 11:30 AM: Registration and lunch
• 1:00 PM: Shotgun start
• 6:00 PM: Post-round reception

The email also noted that they are still recruiting sponsors for everything from the tournament itself down to tee box and green sponsors.

To register for the event, click HERE.

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Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a few steps forward. No idea what will happen, but along with the news of Brett MacConnell being named Dartmouth's new head men's basketball coach earlier this week comes news that two of Dartmouth's most promising young hoop players have entered the portal. Find a listing by school of basketball players in the portal HERE.

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I'm not a fan of click-bait "best of" type postings that force you to click, and click, and click only to find out the headline was a tease. Fortunately, just one click brings up the full listing of The 39 Most Stunning College Campuses in the World. You'll take pride in who comes in at No. 7. Click HERE to see who it is.

Green Alert Take: Gotta admit, I really, really like the setting for No. 20. Of course, that may have something to do with seeing a basketball game there in the dead of a northern New England winter. ;-)

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EXTRA POINT
I'm not going to relitigate why it is so unbelievably annoying that there are databases out there that will not accept our address for the delivery of packages, but here's what I will tell you. After about 90 minutes of trying last evening to order something that cannot be found locally, the paint is peeling off the walls here in the BGA World Headquarters from all the screaming and expletives that came out of my mouth. (OK, that's not entirely true. The paint is not peeling.)

Time will tell if putting our actual town where a PO Box should go will work. Audibles like that sometimes do. Other times, packages are returned to sender.

It is utterly absurd that I can put in my house number, street, town and zip code into the online forms and then be told my address is not valid.

After discussions with our postmaster a while back, I went into Google Maps and tried to change the listed location of our house from the next town to our little town. An email back from Google said the change was accepted, but the postmaster warned me that not every business uses the Google database. He also warned that some of the databases may not be updated for months or even a year. All I can say is "Argh," but I can't shout it. My throat is too sore from shouting last night.

Dartmouth Football Coaching Tree

 

From the top down: Head coach Sammy McCorkle, the coordinators, three returning assistants, and four of the new position coaches.

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Speaking of coaching, former offensive lineman Sanders Davis '14 is in his second year on staff as an offensive line assistant with the Cleveland Browns. The product of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge came to the NFL team after six seasons at Rice University. Find his bio with the Browns HERE and his Dartmouth football bio HERE.

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A headline that is yet another illustration of how football is different in Texas: Rural Texas HS with enrollment just over 100 students set to build $21 million facility. Find the story HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
This is no April Fool's. It was on this day in 1826 that the first patent for what is now called the internal-combustion engine was received in what is now called the Upper Valley. The patent was issued to Samuel Morey for the "gas or vapor engine" he used to motor up and down the Connecticut River. The patent for his engine was "rediscovered" in the Dartmouth archives in 2004. (LINK)

Morey has been honored locally with the eponymous Samuel Morey Bridge connecting the towns of Orford and Fairlee (he lived in both) and by the naming of Fairlee's Lake Morey, where it was long believed Morey sank his steamboat, the Aunt Sally. (LINK)

Coaching News

Not to bury the lede on a day after a day in which Dartmouth announced its new men's basketball coach, but the Big Green football program has its new running backs coach.

Add to the Dartmouth staff Ben Wilkerson, most recently running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Fordham. A former Alfred State quarterback who played professionally for three years in Europe, Wilkerson helped standout running back Julius Loughridge to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons while at Fordham.

Prior to his time in The Bronx, Wilkerson coached at Arkansas Pine Bluff, Buffalo, Susquehanna and Buffalo State, as well as at Alfred State. In addition to running backs, he has coached quarterbacks and wide receivers at the college level.

Also joining the Dartmouth program this spring is new offensive quality control assistant Luke Seale.

With Wilkerson onboard, here's how the retooled Dartmouth staff looks heading into spring practice, which begins one week from today:

Head Coach: Sammy McCorkle 
Offensive Coordinator: Shane Montgomery
Quarterbacks: Shane Montgomery
Offensive Line: Keith Clark
Tight Ends: Kevin Daft
Wide Receivers: Todd Gilcrist
Running Backs: Ben Wilkerson
Defensive Coordinator: Jordan Belfiori
Linebackers: Jordan Belfiori
Defensive Line: Quentin Jones
Corners: Adam McGuire
Secondary: Kevin Bracken
Offensive Quality Control: Luke Seale

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From Dartmouth athletics social media

Hired to try to bring Dartmouth its first Ivy League men's basketball title since 1959 is Brett MacConnell, who spent last season at Stanford after 13 years on staff at Princeton. Find a Dartmouth release HERE, an ESPN release HERE, a NJ.com story HERE, and arguably the most revealing story about him coming to Hanover in the Princetonian HERE. 

A four-year student manager at Rutgers in his native New Jersey, MacConnell made stops at Delaware Valley, Holy Family and Saint Peter's before coming to Princeton ahead of the 2012-13 season as director of basketball operations. After one season he was promoted to assistant coach. He was named recruiting coordinator in 2015, and in 2018 was given the title associate head coach.

In his role as recruiting coordinator MacConnell helped bring recent standouts Xavian Lee and Caden Pierce to the Tigers, along with Tosan Evbuomwan and Devin Cannady, who both went on to the NBA.

Interestingly, during his time in Princeton he filled in as head coach for the Tigers for four games, including a 77-76 overtime win at Hanover on March 1, 2019.

Building the future.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 pic.twitter.com/j6yEBi8Q4m

— Dartmouth Men’s Basketball (@DartmouthMBB) March 31, 2026

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EXTRA POINT
After a winter buried in the back of our garage, the '84 VW poptop camper started without any problem yesterday. We drove it into town to do an errand, and the 42-year-old vehicle performed like a champion.

Unfortunately, after a day in the low 60s that allowed me to hike up the still snow-covered mountain in shorts, it's going to be cold and rainy for a few days. Hopefully it won't be long before we have more days like yesterday.

Here's a look at "Wiffle," primed and ready to take us to the mountains and beyond!