Gaudet Helps UVa Squeeze Orange

The Chad Gaudet '08 story keeps getting better. In front of a lacrosse-crazy, Carrier Dome crowd of 16,595 yesterday, the former Dartmouth tailback won 12-of-23 faceoffs to help No. 2 Virginia upend No. 1 ranked Syracuse, 13-12. Gaudet also had eight ground balls. On the season he has won 41-of-73 faceoffs playing as a grad student for UVa, which is 5-0. He also has two assists.

Former punter Brian Scullin worked hard to drum up crowd support for the men's basketball team in last night's critical showdown with Ivy League-leading Cornell and while the student turnout wasn't what it was for the "blackout" earlier this season, there was a a healthy group of students in the crowd of 1,572. Unfortunately, a barrage of Cornell 3-pointers helped the Big Red all but end Dartmouth's title hopes with a 75-57 final. (The Dartmouth women's team, which was cruising along undefeated in the Ivies, fell for the first time over in Ithaca, 66-61 in overtime, and now holds just a one-game lead over the H-school.)

While the basketball game was going on, there was a rollicking crowd of 4,422 at Thompson Arena watching the Big Green topple Princeton, 2-0.

Regarding yesterday's post about basketball and hockey going head to head for fans, I received an e-mail that explains the predicament this way:

ECAC Hockey requires that all men's and women's hockey games start no later than 7:00, except for TV (when both schools agree) and when also hosting a women's playoff game on a Friday, in which case the women's game must start no earlier than 3:30, and the men's game no later than 7:30.

Point taken. I do wonder, however, if it's time to pressure the ECAC into revisiting the rule. Granted, the basketball game was relatively well-attended, but there were still 500 or so seats available according to the official attendance (and probably more than that in reality). A little more flexibility wouldn't hurt.

While action was heating up in Hanover, the baseball team was opening its season at Duke. Playing a doubleheader on the same day it bused to the airport and flew to North Carolina – the games were moved up because of an ominous forecast – the Big Green dropped a twinbill, 8-5 and 6-1.

At the basketball game last night there was an unofficial Dartmouth mascot in the form of a big, dark brown moose. The issue of a college mascot comes up every few years at Dartmouth and has yet to be resolved. While Dartmouth muddles along without a mascot, William & Mary is taking a different approach. Consider this letter from the W&M president:

We have the Tribe to unite us, but no mascot at the moment. Let's find one and have fun while we search!

Do visit (mascot website) to submit your mascot ideas and see how the search is going.

It will be great if the mascot is ready to roll at some point next fall, perhaps by Homecoming.

Kudos to William & Mary for making something happen.

Find a Q&A with Mike Slive '62, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, here. Among other topics, Slive addresses the idea of a plus-one championship format in the BCS, whether there will ever be a true football playoff, the image of the SEC, coaches criticizing their peers at other schools, and the dearth of minority head football coaches in Division I.

You Make The Call

Barring something strange happening, it's a done deal that Dartmouth and UNH will be playing football this fall. As for the fall of 2010, that game might, that's might, be in limbo. FootballScoop has a list of a dozen FCS schools reported to be looking for games on Sept. 25, when the Big Green is scheduled to host UNH. Keeping in mind that not all schools with openings are listed, that some of these schools may have filled their openings, and that Iona – which dropped the sport – is on the list, is there an opponent here that appeals to you?

• Charleston Southern
• Coastal Carolina
• Drake
• Lamar
• Liberty
• McNeese State
• North Carolina Central
• North Dakota
• NDSU
• Northwestern State
• Southeastern Louisiana
• South Dakota

One of the things that makes coaching in the Ivy League difficult is that when you recruit a kid and lose him, you'll often find yourself coaching against him for the next four years. So it is with a couple of high school seniors reported to have been Dartmouth recruiting targets. One is defensive end Seyi Adebayo of Brophy Prep in Arizona. Scout.com wrote a while back that "Adebayo (6-3 215) tells us via text message that Columbia and Dartmouth have extended offers." Now word has made its way here that Adebayo has chosen to go to Columbia.

Zach Vrtis, an offensive lineman from Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia, was reported in the Marietta Daily Journal a while back to be, "deciding between the Ivy League pair of Penn and Dartmouth." He has committed to Penn.

It will be interesting to see how the careers of the two high school standouts pan out.

Speaking of recruiting, Chuck Burton over at the always informative Lehigh Football Nation site has a Q&A with Mountain Hawks coach Andy Coen. Of interest to Ivy League football fans is Coen's take both on the Academic Index banding system now in place in the Patriot League and the effect of the economic downturn on recruiting/financial aid.

Curious about the Dartmouth investment strategy with its endowment dollars? The Daily Dartmouth has a story.

Back to the world of sports, the Daily D has a back-and-forth over whether fans should go to the men's basketball game tonight (a showdown against Ivy League leader Cornell with possible championship implications) or the hockey game against Princeton which, despite all efforts of the college, will result in the annual pelting of the ice with tennis balls after Dartmouth's first goal.

Green Alert Take: I sure wish they would have moved the basketball game up to 6:15 and the hockey game back to 8, because I'd love to go to both. Given the Cornell basketball was in town last night, the earlier start time shouldn't be a problem for the Big Red, and in fact would have allowed a quicker getaway for the bus drive down to Harvard for tomorrow's game. As for the later start for hockey, it's a Friday night. They could start that game at 11 and the students would still flood Thompson Arena. ... Now, I fully understand there are probably nuts-and-bolts reasons I don't know about that explain why changing the start times would be a hassle, but the big-time schools do it all the time for TV purposes.

The Daily Pennsylvanian has a story (with artist's rendering) about the $40 million, 24-acre athletic fields construction project that will take place adjacent to campus. Read the story quickly and you might miss one aspect of the project. The story says the project is supposed to include "a dome to cover a field during winter months."

Um, I was in Philadelphia last week and, well, down at Swarthmore they were turning the dirt over on the softball field to get it ready for play. As I look out my window typing this, we've got more than two feet of snow on the ground. (Granted, I'm on the mountain, but there's still a good foot covering the fields in town.) If there's going to be another dome in the Ivy League (Harvard already has one), I'm not sure Philly has the greatest need.

Time to pound my chest a little about Penn State. Unless you are a Nittany Lion yourself, or live out that way, you may never have heard about THON, the dance marathon they hold at PSU. It's "the largest student run philathropy organization in the world." The just-completed THON set a fund-raising record despite the economic downturn. From the Daily Collegian:

Shortly after 708 dancers sat down for the first time in 46 hours, they stood again to cheer when the 17 members of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon overall committee revealed the total money raised -- $7.49 million. ... The money will go to the Four Diamonds Fund, which helps families with the financial burden of pediatric cancer.

Now that's impressive.

And finally, the Hanover High indoor track team held its awards banquet last night and that certain HHS junior and her freshman brother won two of my favorite awards. The junior was presented a team Sportsmanship Award for the second time in track and the third time overall. She also was selected a co-captain for next fall. (She'll wrap up her season a week from today at the New England championships and then start up in softball, which she will also captain this spring as a junior). The freshman won the Coaches Award for effort. Though not a natural distance runner, he never missed a practice and continued to work out with the runners who advanced to select meets, the states and now New Englands for six or so weeks, long after his own competitive season ended.

Former Receiver Getting Help From Musical Friends

On Sept. 23, 2000 wide receiver Damien Roomets '02 set a Dartmouth record for catches in a game that still stands when he grabbed 17 Greg Smith passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 loss at the University of New Hampshire. Roomets would go on to graduate with 74 career catches for 931 yards before joining teammates Gordy Quist and Trevor Nealon as a professional musician.

To chase the music is to follow an uncertain road and so it has been for Roomets, who has sacrificed the safety of a steady paycheck and benefits to pursue his dream. That road hit a big bump recently when Roomets, who has no insurance, was hurt in a ski accident. From a story on Utah's ParkRecord.com:

"He suffered a complete fracture of his mandible," said Dr. Jon Kolon, the owner of Silver Creek Dental. "How do I say this? He broke his jaw through and through. His jaw was shoved into the base of his skull."

The music community in the Utah ski community is coming together to help Roomets meet his medical/dental bills with a benefit in which he'll perform despite having his jaw wired shut. A blog that calls him an "affable dobro-playing, bass-toting, musical phenom," notes that the $10 cover for tonight's show will go "straight to Damien."

From ParkRecord.com:

"Music has been that love that has really elevated me," (Roomets) said through a clenched jaw Monday afternoon. "Being a musician is a lifechoice I made and it means I don't make much money. It's not everyone else's job to pay (my bills), but it's nice to see that people care."

While we're at it, check out what's up with former linebacker Gordy Quist's career. Click here for his website with some exciting news (think Rolling Stone). His very catchy song Quarters and Dimes will start to play when you visit the site. Good stuff.

Two Dartmouth seniors who wrapped up their football careers in November will be back on the playing field this spring – although it will be a different field. Linebacker Andrew Dete and wide receiver Phil Galligan have joined the powerhouse Dartmouth rugby squad that will play in the national Sweet 16 in April. While Dete is a newcomer to the sport, Galligan had a little more exposure to the game while growing up in California, where the Big Green will play a handful of games on its spring trip. The first local action will see Dartmouth host the New England Collegiate All-Starts on Apr. 5, and Norwich University on Apr. 11. The Sweet 16 will be held in Atlanta, not far from Dete's hometown of Marietta, starting on April 17.

A Daily Dartmouth story about how budget problems are affecting the athletic department includes an interview with AD Josie Harper. From the story:

She explained that since so much of the department’s money comes from the Friends of Dartmouth Athletics funds and other alumni donations, the department has suffered a loss from multiple angles.

“All of our soft money, or Friend money, is down, as well as our endowment,” Harper said.

Harper told the paper the department's donations are down 25 percent.

Given that news, perhaps it's a good time to share an email sent by Dartmouth's new football captains last month. It said:

Even though there is still plenty of snow on the ground, as the newly elected Captains of the Dartmouth Football team, we can assure you that preparations for the 2009 season have already begun. The returning players are already working extra hard in the weight room and we are looking forward to organizing and leading the "captain's practices" for the players who are in residence during the winter term. All of the current players realize that last year's results fell far short of the standard that was set by those of you who played for or attended Dartmouth during the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's and the members of the 2009 team are determined to get the program back on track toward another Ivy Championship.

As in the past, the financial support of Friends of Dartmouth football is critical to the success of the program and we are grateful for the support that we have received in the past and we hope that you will "bear with us" in our quest to return to the upper echelon of the Ivy League. If you have already made a donation, we thank you for your support, and if you have not, we hope that you will consider making contribution to the 2009 Friends of Football campaign. To do so, you can use the form that was sent to you during the fall or if you wish to make your contribution online, just go to: (Giving to Dartmouth via Friends of Football)

Thank you for your continued support.

Peter Piedermann '10
Timmy McManus '11

The Daily D has little more on the naming of Bob Ceplikas as acting athletic director for the next school year. From the story:

When asked whether he wanted to stay on as athletic director after the one-year interim period expires, Ceplikas said he is focused on the upcoming academic year, adding that his interim appointment is an “opportunity to test drive the position.”

The Daily News out in Los Angeles has a nice piece about Dartmouth alum Brad Ausmus coming back for a final year as a backup catcher with the Dodgers. A 16-year big leaguer, Ausmus will turn 40 shortly after opening day. From the story:

Brad Ausmus, with his Ivy League education and his cerebral approach to the game, has never had a problem with the mental side. It's the physical part that has been bearing down on him for a few years now.

And finally, like Dartmouth football, the men's basketball programs at Penn and Princeton long ruled the Ivy League. Like the Big Green, the "Killer P's," have seen their programs slip. Is this just a blip on the radar screen or will the downturn for the Ivy's two most successful programs be protracted? The Daily Pennsylvanian considers the possibilities.

"Cep" To Step In

Bob Ceplikas has been named acting athletic director at Dartmouth for the 2009-2010 school year. He will step in for retiring AD Josie Harper while the college conducts a national search for a permanent replacement. Find the college announcement here.

Football Playoff Discussion? One AD Hopes So

The Daily Pennsylvanian has the best look so far at Robin Harris, the incoming executive director of the Ivy League. Ivy football fans may find the following excerpt from the story of particular interest:

Steve Bilsky, Penn's athletic director, said that Harris' new job has two components. First, there are rules, legislation and compliance, which he believes Harris is well equipped to handle. Then there are questions of league imaging and promotion, the part of the job about which he had more uncertainty.

(Retiring Executive Director Jeff) Orleans "didn't gravitate to that area, for whatever the reasons were, so I think we're anxious to see what (Harris) feels about that," Bilsky said. "That's everything from the competitive levels of the league, football - whether they should be in the playoffs, how to get officiating better, which is one of my interests. … We're all hoping that that's an area that she really gets more involved in."

Traditional first-game football opponent Colgate has found a way to help an important cause through its offseason strength-training. The Raiders are holding a Lift For Life event next week that will raise money and awareness for the fight against Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder that affects the sister of one of the Colgate players. From a Colgate release:

The event will feature Colgate football players competing in lifting and skills competition. Colgate fans will have a chance to meet the players with an autograph session after the competition. The first 100 fans will receive free T-shirts, and other gifts, including an autographed helmet and jersey from Donovan McNabb, will be raffled off along with other prizes from local businesses.

Neat idea.

Former wide receiver Jimmy Mullen had two more goals for the Dartmouth lacrosse team in a 12-9 loss to Bryant yesterday. Although Bryant is a newly minted Division I program, it features Zach Greer, the all-time leading goal scorer in college lacrosse history, who is playing at the Rhode Island school as a graduate student. The former Duke standout, who lost a year when the Blue Devils' 2006 season was cancelled, had five goals and two assists against the Big Green. He has had 11 goals and seven assists in the past two games.

One of the great pleasures of covering Dartmouth sports for the local paper was the chance to interview Princeton basketball coach Pete Carril once – and sometimes twice – a year. If you wonder why, check out this quote from an espn story that ran when Princeton named its court after Carril Saturday:

"Two things have happened here," he said pointing to the court logos and new banners. "People are going to step all over me when they play on this court and now they decided to hang me."

That, my friends, is vintage Carril.

Tight End Commit

A news report this afternoon has revealed the name of another Dartmouth recruit. A blurb in The Freeman published several weeks after signing day headlined "Five Brookfield Central athletes set to sign," lists "Mitch Aprahamian with Dartmouth football."

Working backward, that led to a "cached" story from the Feb. 9 Brookfield Now. Here's what it said:

Brookfield Central senior Mitch Aprahamian recently committed to play football at Dartmouth College, contingent upon formal admission later this spring.

He was a three-year varsity letterwinner in football for the Lancers as a tight end. He is currently captain of the basketball team and was a starter on the team last year that made it to state. He is also throws the shot putt and discus for the track team.

Aprahamian is listed variously at 6-foot-4 or 6-5 and 220 pounds. For a picture of him playing basketball, click here.

Shula Going To The Birds

Former Dartmouth quarterback Dan Shula '06 is joining the coaching staff at Illinois State, an FCS (formerly I-AA) school in Normal, Ill. Shula will serve as an offensive assistant, co-special teams coordinator and assistant director of football operations for the Redbirds, according to the Pantagraph.

Shula spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Miami Hurricanes.

The official Illinois State release on Shula's new role is here.

Incoming freshman defensive back Cole Pembroke gets a nod from his local paper in the aftermath of the National Football Foundation and College Football hall of Fame's local Scholar-Athlete awards presentation in Arizona. From a story in the local paper:

Pembroke a three-year starter with the Thunder as a safety and quarterback and was named a first team Central Region Player of the Year as well as a fist team all-state quarterback.

He is also a four-year starter on the Thunder baseball team where he was named the all-region first team and a Joe Sellah Leadership Award winner. Pembroke, who has a 4.43 (H/AP) and 3.81 GPA will be playing for Ivy League Dartmouth University (sic) next fall.

Incoming defensive lineman Elliot Kastner finished fourth in the Hawaii State Wrestling Tournament last weekend. Kastner won four matches, with three coming on first-period pins. His two losses came on third-period pins. On the year, Kastner finished 16-3 with more than half of his 15 pins coming within the first 30 seconds on a pull-down-and-role move he developed himself.

Jimmy Mullen, the senior wide receiver who opened eyes last fall in his first-and-only season of college football, has been selected the Ivy League men's lacrosse player of the week. Mullen scored four goals, including the gamewinner as time ran out, as Dartmouth opened with an overtime victory at Hartford.

Catching Up

Not sure how I missed this one the first time around, but the Jan. 30 Harvard Crimson had a story about well-traveled quarterback Andrew Hatch, who has returned to Harvard after playing for a couple of years at LSU. The story quotes Hatch:

“I would like to continue with football. If the NCAA approves it that’s the next step.”

Here's the hang-up, again from the Crimson:

The NCAA requires athletes to meet certain benchmarks for credit hours in order to play each season, and because Hatch is returning to Harvard without trying to transfer any credits from LSU, he will not be able to demonstrate the progress towards his degree that would normally be necessary for him to play. But he said he is petitioning the NCAA for a credit waiver that could put him back on the field.

Given that the story is three weeks old, if the timetable it mentions is accurate, Hatch and Harvard should know by now, or will within days, if he'll be able to play next fall.

Regarding the Harvard quarterback situation, there's this from the Crimson story:

If granted eligibility, Hatch could bring some welcome complication to the Crimson’s quarterback situation. With fifth-year seniors Chris Pizzotti and Liam O’Hagan graduating in June, Coach Tim P. Murphy would have to decide between Hatch, Collier Winters ’11, and Matt Simpson ’11.

Winters played in six games as a freshman in the 2007 season, while Simpson has seen more limited action, appearing in only one game in each of his first two years, making Hatch, with Southeastern Conference experience to his name, seem the likely choice. But Murphy has yet to be convinced.

If Hatch is eligible to play, “he would have to start from the bottom and work his way up,” Murphy said.

On the subject of peripatetic people, Rhode Island football coach Darren Rizzi said last week he is resigning to become special teams coach for the Miami Dolphins. Rizzi is leaving his alma mater after, count 'em, one year. Check out a story in the Providence Journal.

It was a month ago yesterday that there was a Green Alert blog post about how four Rutgers transfers were coming to Rhode Island, where they would be reunited with Rizzi, formerly an assistant with the Scarlet Knights. In the URI newspaper (named The Good 5¢ Cigar ;-) defensive end Tom Lang said at the time:

"I chose to come to URI mainly because of coach Rizzi and the entire coaching staff," Lang said. "I knew coach Rizzi for two seasons when he was at Rutgers, and I believe in his coaching principles. "

Ouch.

I've gotten a few emails asking about where The Great College Tour '09 stopped last week, so here goes: Colgate and Hamilton College, Bucknell, Lehigh and Lafayette, Haverford and Swarthmore.

And finally ... I'm not sure how much snow they got in the valley (I'll find out in about an hour when I head down) but we got at least a foot up here on the mountain. With the snow we got while we were away and what had built up this winter, we now have about 32 inches at the snow stick in the yard. That's a far cry from the 54 inches we had a few years ago, but still makes for a pretty good snow pack.

Receiver Mullen Paces Lacrosse

Back in Hanover and now off to Harvard for a track meet so this has to be brief ...

Senior Jimmy Mullen, a welcome addition to the football team last fall as a first-time wide receiver, scored with six seconds remaining in overtime Saturday to lift the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team to an 11-10 overtime win at Hartford in the season opener. Mullen led the Big Green with four goals. Find a story here. The Big Green is slated to open the home season Tuesday against Bryant.

The MetroWest Daily News has a feature on Matt Burke, the former Dartmouth defensive back who is the new linebackers coach for the Detroit Lions.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes about Gil Brandt, the former director of scouting for the Dallas Cowboys and today a regular guest analyst on NFL.com. Dig down into the story and there's an anecdote about Brandt being dispatched to sign "star running back," Jake Crouthamel of Dartmouth to a Cowboy contract. The story is well-known but it's fun to see it resurrected (even if Bob Blackman's name is spelled wrong).

The Dartmouth men's basketball team made more history last night, knocking off Princeton, 63-62, to complete the first road sweep of the vaunted "P" programs in 50 years. Although the Big Green is 8-16 overall, it is 6-4 in the Ivy League, tied for second with Columbia and Yale. Cornell leads the loop at 8-2. The Big Red visits Hanover Friday night for the biggest men's basketball game at Leede Arena in years. ... The women's basketball team continued undefeated in the Ivy League with a 43-42 win over Princeton while the ski team wrapped up an undefeated EISA season by winning the Middlebury carnival.

Dartmouth Completes First Penn Sweep in 50 Years

Dartmouth 69, Penn 59

The Great College Tour 2009 wound down Saturday in suburban Philly, which allowed us to witness history: the completion of Dartmouth's first sweep of Penn in men's basketball in 50 years. Click the flick to watch the final seconds of the game. To read the Philadelphia Inquirer's report of the contest, click here. The Dartmouth release on the game is here.

I've always thought this quote on the wall of the Palestra summed things up very nicely, whether it be basketball, baseball, football or whatever game you play.

I can remember when Dartmouth wide receiver Craig Morton was invited to the NFL Combine in the 1980's, up-to-date information was almost impossible to get. The NFL kept everything hush-hush. Not so much these days with workouts being broadcast on TV and results being posted on the Internet.

Cruising by the NFL's combine web page I came across a list of NFL "Pro Days," when scouts are invited to visit campus and put players through their paces. While players will often travel to other campuses to work out at a regional pro day, only two schools Dartmouth opponents were on the list as hosting pro days. Colgate is listed as having one on March 3 and Brown on March 11.

FCS Crosses Fingers For Ivy In Playoffs

Two more colleges down yesterday, a final pair today as we wrap up the Great College Tour 2009. Because we're heading out in minutes to meet with a coach and then take a tour this will be brief. ...

Dave Coulson over at The Sports Network has a column that includes thoughts about the Ivy League and incoming executire director Robin Harris. Coulson writes:

Of all of the changes you could make to the FCS playoff structure, I can think of none that would have a more positive impact than having the Ivy League participate.

I, like many other FCS supporters, will keep my fingers crossed that Harris has postseason football on her agenda.

To see what followers of the FCS think about Harris, the Ivy League and the playoffs, spend a little time reading down a thread about the subject on the Any Given Saturday message board.

The Holy Cross spring prospectus is out. One sentence should give opponents reason for pause:

The Holy Cross offense will be led by senior quarterback Dominic Randolph, who has won two straight Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year awards and finished ninth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award last season.

Randolph, who received a medical redshirt and will be back as a fifth-year senior, is one of six starters and 17 of the the top 22 players back on the offensive side. Nine starters return on defense.

Cornell Financial Aid

A couple of emails from readers recommended linking to a story about the new financial aid policy at Cornell. From the story:

A student becomes a University “enrollment priority” based on several criteria, including academic excellence, athleticism and race, (Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment) explained.

“Some of the students who are selected will be ‘college scholars’; the selection of college scholars is done by each college … Other students may be selected because they are an enrollment priority, such as students of color, athletes, and students from farm families –– these are just a few examples,” Davis stated in an e-mail.

Also ...

In terms of the new program’s adherence to the bylaws of the Ivy League, which regulates the athletic competition amongst the Ivies, states, “Athletes shall be admitted as students and awarded financial aid only on the basis of the same academic standards and economic need as are applied to all other students.”

Davis, however, asserts that Cornell University’s new financial aid policy does not violate the bylaws of the Ivy League since there are other students who are not athletes being selected.

Discuss among yourselves.

Mike Liss, a 6-foot-2 receiver, opted to walk on at hometown Colorado State after a visit to Dartmouth among others. Find a story here.

For a few thoughts about Signing Day, the dot.com recruiting analysts and the FCS, check out Chuck Burton's column in the College Sporting News.

And finally, the Great College Tour '09 continues today after visiting a school – smaller than Dartmouth – whose athletic facilities would be the envy of most – if not all – Ivy League schools. We'll hit a couple more today and two more tomorrow before heading back to Hanover.

Quick Hits

A couple of really quick notes as we continue The Great College Tour 2009 ...

The Boston Herald has a nice story about Harvard corner Andrew Berry's NFL dreams. He's gearing up for a Pro Day at Boston College on March 13. Find the story here. From the story:

“If God has blessed me with enough talent to try it would be silly not to take advantage of it,” said Berry, an Academic All-American and a John Harvard Scholar, having a 3.8 GPA that places in the five percent at Harvard. “There are some people at Harvard who tend to think professional sports is a waste of time, so to try to do this you need to be like a horse with blinders. You run your own race.”

Impressive.

Also, the Columbia Spectator has a piece about Robin Harris, who will succeed Jeff Orleans as executive director of the Ivy Group. (I have to chuckle at the formal name of the conference. Heaven forbid it be officially a league.)

And finally, the spring sports season at Dartmouth is on tap. Believe it or not, men's lacrosse opens at Hartford Saturday.

On Colgate-Dartmouth

Early wake-up call today. ...

Spending a little time on the Colgate website yesterday, I stumbled across a Q&A with Athletic Director Dave Roach, someone who always makes time to say hello to the visiting media before football games. Here's the Q with Roach's "A":

Q: Dartmouth has been on Colgate’s football schedule annually for some time. However, I understand that this rivalry ends in 2011. Are there any plans to schedule additional games with Dartmouth and other Ivy schools besides Cornell, Princeton and Yale?

Also, are there any plans to schedule games with schools outside the Northeast besides the Furman and Air Force games that are already scheduled in the future?

A: Your question comes up quite often. We have contacted every Ivy school on numerous occasions in regards to football scheduling. We will continue to play Cornell every year along with some of the Ivies you mentioned. We will schedule Dartmouth again after a short break. Please keep in mind the Ivy League plays three non-League games per season while we play 5-6 depending on the year. We do have games scheduled with Northeastern ( 2012 & 13) and UMass ( 2016 & 17). We have not scheduled games out of the Northeast beyond Furman in 2010 and Air Force in 2013.

Junior safety Tony Pastoors has been elected president of the Beta fraternity for next year. Pastoors, currently among a group of players studying in Spain, got the news from senior Andrew von Kuhn, the former wide receiver for the Big Green.

Spring football has begun. In San Marcos, Texas, at least. The Texas State website has a story about the opening day of spring ball for the Bobcats.

Now we're off to New York State as we begin College Tour '09 ;-)

Green Grad Gets Shot On Detroit Staff

Sunday's Boston Globe had a lengthy story about the new head coach of the Detroit Lions, a former Bill Belichick assistant named Jim Schwartz. Dig deep into the story and there's this nugget about one of Schwartz' new assistants in the Motor City:

First-year Lions coach Jim Schwartz on why Hudson (Mass.) native Matt Burke was his choice to be linebackers coach: "Like the rest of us in coaching, he was willing to make sacrifices in order to coach. When you have a degree from Dartmouth, you have other paths in life that you can walk, but you choose to make football your profession, and that's why we brought him to Tennessee. He was my right-hand man at Tennessee, worked with me down there for five years. The players had a lot of confidence in him. He grew in that job. This is a chance he has earned."

Burke '98, had been a defensive assistant/quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back was a Dartmouth classmate of Lloyd Lee, the former linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears who was reported to have interviewed for a position with the Lions.

Does the name Budd Schulberg ring a bell? In its section listing "Prominent Dartmouth Living Alumni," the Dartmouth football media guide will tell you that Schulberg '36 is an "author and Oscar Award-winning screenwriter." Given that this past weekend was Winter Carnival, a story about the 94-year-old Schulberg in The Independent is particularly timely. From that story:

As a young screenwriter, Schulberg collaborated with F Scott Fitzgerald. "Around 1939 I was working on a script called Winter Carnival. It was set in Dartmouth, New Hampshire, where I went to college," Schulberg says. "The studio announced they'd assigned another writer to work with me. When I asked who, they said: 'F Scott Fitzgerald.' I said: 'He's dead, isn't he?' They said: 'No. He's in the next room, reading your treatment.' I went in. He said: 'I'm afraid I don't think this is very good.' I said: 'I don't either.' So we went to lunch."

Today's Daily Dartmouth has a story about the Big Green cheerleading squad, which has had more of a presence at basketball games this winter than in quite a few years.

And finally, posting may be a bit spotty this week. With school out, we're hitting the road over the next few days with that certain Hanover High School junior as we check out colleges and meet a few cross country/track coaches. Incidentally, we'll be starting our tour in the same place Dartmouth football has kicked off even-year seasons for the past decade or so. The irony, of course, is that she could end up going to school there right about the same time the Big Green stops playing there.

More Football History

Interested in Dartmouth football history and already have a copy of Jack DeGange's Green Fields of Autumn?

You can buy a copy of Louis Bénézet's book Three Years of Football at Dartmouth for $325. Or, if you are just curious about what's in it and I'm reading this ad right, you can buy a PDF copy of the book that covers the 1901, '02 and '03 seasons, burned to a CD, for $12.95 with free shipping here. Interesting.

How about a 9.5-inch pewter stein that apparently was presented as a football trophy in the first season covered in the book? It's inscribed, "First Prize Place Kicking Contest Presented By The Faculty Of Dartmouth College May 11, 1901." The current eBay bid is $11.49 and the auction ends tomorrow.

Sticking with the theme, here's a nifty scorecard from the 1922 Dartmouth-Harvard game at Soldiers Field. The auction is ending tonight and the current bid is just $9.99. Frame that puppy up and you've got something.

Or a 1975 Dartmouth-Princeton program featuring a barefoot Princeton punter on the cover?

Next in a series on early decision recruits (keeping in mind this doesn't include regular decision) taken from published reports ...

Men's Soccer

• Justin William Ciambella, MF, Ocala, Fla. (Vanguard)
• Sean Donavan, G, Burr Ridge, Ill. (Hinsdale Central)
• Kevin Dzierzawski, MF, Oakland Twp, Mich. (Brother Rice)
• Brad Jacobson, MF, Larchmont, N.Y. (Mamaroneck)
• Keith Moffan, F, Berkeley, Calif. (Berkeley)

Women's Soccer

• Grace Best, D, Downington, Pa. (Downington East)
• Emma Brush, MF, Grosse Point Park, Mich. (Grosse Pointe)
• Elizabeth Hamlin, F, Vernon, Conn. (Rockville)
• Kimberly Rose, MF, Seaford, N.Y. (Seaford)
• Aurelia Solomon, D, Washington D.C. (Georgetown Day)

News On Two Old Friends

As The Dartmouth Independent reports in its cover story, Keggy has been resurrected just in time for Winter Carnival.

---

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a look at the University of Virginia men's lacrosse team, a legitimate national championship contender this spring. Scan down to the penultimate paragraph of the story and find this nugget:

A newcomer of note is graduate student Chad Gaudet, who transferred to U.Va. from Dartmouth with a year of lacrosse eligibility remaining. Gaudet, a former football star at Dartmouth, has established himself as Virginia's top faceoff specialist. Unlike most players at that position, Gaudet faces off with a long stick, and he's "been a revelation so far," (coach Dom) Starsia said.

For a story I freelanced on Gaudet last year, click here.

Terribly sad news out of Princeton where Lorin Mauer, the Athletics Friends Manager for the Princeton University Department of Athletics and Office of Development, died in the Continental Connection Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo Thursday. Mauer was a four-time Most Valuable Swimmer at New Jersey's Rowan University before graduating in 2001, and had a masters from the University of Florida. Find a Princeton news release here.

Dartmouth has lost its share of recruiting battles to the service academies as well as Stanford and the usual suspects this year. But Bemidji State, a Division II program in Minnesota? Whether Dartmouth backed off Collin Stoffel, he backed off Dartmouth, or Scout.com had the connection between Stoffel and Dartmouth wrong the whole time is uncertain. What is certain is that the linebacker from Arizona is headed somewhere even colder than Hanover next fall. Find a story about how it happened here. Find his bio and other information on his website.

Here's an eye opener for you. Spring practice at Texas State begins ... Monday. No kidding. Find a release here.

In case you are wondering, Dartmouth spring ball is tentatively scheduled to begin two months from yesterday.

S'No Problem

The rise and fall and rise of the Dartmouth snow sculpture is chronicled on this page with short video clips. ...

The folks at Versus are conducting a survey to assess interest in college football, which is of interest because this is one of the rare networks that actually realizes the Ivy League exists. I took the survey and it's painless. You can find it here.

Versus, you will recall, broadcast the rain-soaked Dartmouth game at Columbia last fall as par of a five-game Ivy League package.

A running back taunts the defense at the 5-yard line on the way in for a touchdown and the TD is disallowed? Dartmouth wearing its "all-green" ensemble next fall at Harvard while the Crimson wears its classic, uh, Crimson shirts and gold pants? Both could happen if the NCAA football rules committee has its way. Find a story here.

From the Things You Never Knew You Had To Worry About And Now You Don't department, the Daily Dartmouth writes that the NCAA says not to be concerned about VitaminWater containing banned substances. Well thanks.

More Early Decision recruits from sports not named football ...

Men's Lacrosse

• Ryan Alexander, G, Rockville Center, N.Y. (South Side)
• Frazier Cavness, A, Denver, Colo. (Kent Denver)
• Chris Costabile, A, Sykesville, Md. (Mt. St. Joseph)
• Nikki Dysenchuk, M, Darien, Conn. (Darien)
• Pat Flynn D, Mountain Lakes, N.J. (Mountain Lakes)
• Anthony Fulham, M, Buffalo, N.Y. (Canisius)*
• JP Gary, M, Mamaroneck, N.Y. (Rye Country Day)
• RC Willenbrock, M, Englewood, Colo. (Cherry Creek)*

* Also expected to play football

Women's Lacrosse

• Courtney Bennett, M, Darien, Conn. (Darien)
• Hana Bowers, M, Old Greenwich, Conn. (Greenwich)
• Ellie Clayton, M, Hingham, Mass. (Thayer Academy)
• Casey Griffin, A, Hingham, Mass. (Noble and Greenough)
• Kyra Hansson, D, Wilton, Conn. (Wilton)
• Kelsey Johnson, M, Hingham, Mass. (Thayer Academy)
• Katharine Pujol, A, New Canaan, Conn. (Pillips Exeter)
• Julia Szafman, G, West Hartford, Conn. (William Hall)

Time To Push For Playoffs

I was told a few months ago that the Ivy presidents felt the ideal candidate to be the next executive director of the Ivy League would be someone who could enhance the conference's ability to hold a leadership role in the NCAA. With her background in the governing body of college sports, it would seem that Robin Harris fits bill.

Here's the catch: Other schools aren't going to be eager to follow you if you are determined to take them where they have no intention of going.

That being the case, a good first step for Harris would be to encourage the Ivy presidents to get in step with the real world and show that schools can maintain lofty standards for their student-athletes and still compete – and compete successfully – in the NCAA football playoffs. Maybe, just maybe, schools around the country would listen a little more closely to what Harris and the Ivy League have to say if the Ivies were in the game instead of preaching from the sidelines.

An aside: I can't wait to hear Harris' explanation for why football is the only Ivy League sport not allowed to go to the NCAA playoffs. Jeff Orleans – who will retire this spring – always seemed to be left dangling in the wind when that question came up for one undeniable reason: There's no justification for the ban. Period.

Should the football playoff ban come to an end, could a postseason Ivy League basketball tournament be in the offing? Stop the presses. One of the sons of Princeton basketball – coach and former Tiger star Sydney Johnson – actually had a few good things to say about a tournament in a New York Times blog.

Oh yeah, in case you are a lawyer-type, here's Harris' profile on Martindale.com

Have you been following the football recruiting news? Of course you have, or you wouldn't be here. Sites like Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN are fun to look at and offer some good information about what schools kids are considering. But as Dave Coulson over at The Sports Network says, take their ratings with a huge shaker of salt. Coulson writes:

Sites such as Rivals use a star system to rank players, much of it based on what schools are recruiting those athletes. For example if USC or Florida is recruiting a kid, he automatically must be a four- or five-star player. But as soon as he commits to Delaware or McNeese State, these rating services suddenly downgrade him to a two- or three-star athlete.

Speaking of recruiting, the morning papers have stories about a couple of kids who thought about Dartmouth (and other Ivy schools) only to land elsewhere. Cleveland.com writes that Ohio defensive lineman Torry Treu "considered Yale University, Dartmouth College and Williams College," before choosing Davidson. ... Dan Judge, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback from Haverford School in Pennsylvania, "considered Harvard, Penn, Dartmouth, Princeton," before choosing Richmond according to this story.

After signing with the FCS national champion, the Pennsylvania high school quarterback told the paper, "When I looked places like Harvard and Penn, they had a great academic program; but at Richmond, not only did they have a great academic program, but also a great atmosphere and a great athletic program."

Ouch.

Remember how Florida State was trying to jettison a game against Maine in order to pick up an ESPN paycheck? The Seminoles got their wish – and Maine will still be getting a $450,000 check according to the Bangor News. Now the Black Bears are reportedly trying to schedule a game against Syracuse. There's no truth to the rumor they are hoping shortly after they sign a contract that ESPN offers the 'Cuse big bucks to play against Penn State on the same date, and that the Black Bears can parlay that into another big check without ever stepping on the field.

The economic meltdown has given us some insights into how the other guy lives. An AP story notes that the Miami Hurricanes will take charter buses instead of flying to games at Central Florida and South Florida this year. Riding the hounds for 3-4 hours for each game will save Miami $140,000. According to the story, it has been at least 10 years since Miami took a bus to a road game.

A Daily Dartmouth columnist takes a long time getting to his point – in the business they call it "burying the lede" – before calling on Dartmouth to cut the swimming/diving and equestrian teams to help the budget crunch.

An Alert reader who absolutely would have used the innovative A-11 offense when he was coaching youth football laments that the attack is being legislated out of existence in some precincts. The A-11 makes almost every player an eligible receiver. Find a story here.

And finally, the Daily Dartmouth reports that the snow sculpture on the green has collapsed and been bulldozed over with days to go until Winter Carnival. Intended to be a model of the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, the sculpture literally fell victim to a couple of days of warm weather and rain. Lest the old traditions fail, the Outing Club and Snow Sculpture Committee are hoping to get an emergency replacement sculpture finished in time. It will be a mountain with twin peaks split by a river that will also be a slide.

Oops, one more. This will probably be fixed by the time you read this, but check out the lede from a Dear Babs column from the Kansascity.com:

Dear Babs,

What makes an Ivy League college education so advantageous? Should I only search for college in the Ivy League?

- Ivy Curious

Dear Ivy C.,

The name "Ivy League" refers to an athletic conference of seven private colleges in the United States. Harvard University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University have been playing each other in basketball, football and rowing for over a century. Beyond college sports, these seven schools were amongst the first colleges in this country, and (excluding Cornell, which was established in 1865) they have been building their reputation since before the Revolutionary War.

Notice anyone missing?

They aren't going to like that in Morningside Heights ;-)

New Ivy Executive Director Announced

The Ivy League has announced the hiring of Robin Harris, Senior counsel and co-chair in the Collegiate Sports Practice at Ice Miller, LLP, as the next executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, succeeding the retiring Jeff Orleans. From the release:

Harris joined Ice Miller, LLP in 2002, after serving for nine years in increasingly
responsible roles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ending
her tenure at the NCAA as associate chief of staff for Division I. In that
role, she provided advice and guidance to the NCAA president, Executive Committee,

Division I Board of Directors, Division I Management Council and other committees
in nearly all athletic governance areas, including academic standards, amateurism,
championship policies, diversity, gender equity and Title IX, legislative proposals,
membership requirements, strategic planning, student-athlete welfare and studies
regarding basketball and football concerns.

Harris graduated from Duke and Duke University School of Law.

Read All About It

Jack DeGange, the former Dartmouth director of sports information and unofficial historian of the Big Green athletic program, is offering Green Alert readers a good deal on the book he co-wrote with David Shribman, Dartmouth College Football: Green Fields of Autumn. He's offering the 128-page pictorial history of the program for $17, including shipping and handling. It originally sold for $19.99. Here's how the book was promoted when it was released in 2004:

Notre Dame and Nebraska may have their claims, but Dartmouth's football tradition is special, perhaps unrivaled. Football, above all, is an emotional game, and nowhere is that spirit more vibrant, more enduring, more a part of the collegiate experience than in Hanover, New Hampshire. Since 1881, Dartmouth has established its place in the annals of college football, rising to national-championship heights and, during the past half-century, ranking as the Ivy League's most successful program. Dartmouth College Football: Green Fields of Autumn captures the colorful tradition of Dartmouth football. On a campus that President Dwight D. Eisenhower described as "what a college ought to look like," football is at the center of an autumn rite that has left its mark on the game. Dartmouth teams have played in stadiums across the continent, produced Hall of Fame performers, and sent players to the NFL and to the nation's CEO ranks. It is a legacy that continues with each crisp New Hampshire autumn.

Author Bio: Pulitzer Prize-winning editor David Shribman saw his first Dartmouth football game at age eight and began writing about Big Green football as student assistant to Jack DeGange, former Dartmouth sports information director and an observer of Ivy League football for more than four decades.

Jack is also offering Dartmouth College Hockey: Northern Ice, published in 2005, for $17, again including shipping and handling. The book was promoted this way:

In 1905, facing capricious weather on a primitive outdoor rink, Dartmouth's first hockey team took to the ice. In 1974, two years after coeducation came to the Hanover campus, Dartmouth women—fired with more competitive spirit than actual hockey experience commandeered the used equipment of their male counterparts and intramural skaters and became one of the college's most successful athletic teams. Dartmouth College Hockey: Northern Ice portrays two programs that have followed parallel paths to distinction in intercollegiate hockey. Rupert Thompson Arena, one of the nation's premier collegiate ice facilities, is home to the men and women of Dartmouth who have won numerous championships and earned All-American and Olympic acclaim, contributing to Dartmouth's rich tradition of athletic achievement.

Make checks payable to Jack DeGange (no credit cards) and mail to:

Jack DeGange
52 Farr Road
Lebanon, NH 03766

For more information, contact jack(dot)degange(at)valley(dot)net

Today's Daily Dartmouth has more details on the college's budget plan, which will result in a $47 million reduction. The article says, "varsity athletics will also not see any major cuts," and confirms that varsity teams will not be cut.

From the story:

(College president Jim) Wright ... said he did not believe cutting a team should be a budget-driven process, citing the controversy following the 2002 decision to cut the swim team, which was later reinstated.

“You’re saying to some subset of students that the work you do for your team is not as useful as other teams,” Wright said.

The Daily D reported that the college "will make 30 to 35 fewer courses available each year by not offering classes normally taught by professors currently on sabbatical." Also, Cafe North will close, the Courtyard Cafe in Hopkins Center will not be open in the summer and, perhaps most surprisingly, "food operations at the Skiway will be discontinued."

Finally, another in a list of early decision recruits for Dartmouth teams drawn from media reports. (Remember, this is early decision only.)

Baseball

• Zach Bellenger, INF, Grapevine, Texas (Carroll)
• Ennis Coble, INF, Atlanta (Chamblee)
• Kyle Hunter, LHP, Palm City, Fla. (South Fork)
• Michael Johnson, LHP, Georgetown, Mass. (Brooks School)
• Chris O'Dowd, C, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. (Regis Jesuit)
• Matt Peterson, INF, Berkeley, Calif. (The College Peparatory School)
• Chad Piersma, C, Sioux City, Iowa (Sioux City North)
• Spencer Venegas, RHP, Costa Mesa, Calif. (Mate Dei)

Department Loses Two To Layoffs

Dartmouth has announced it will be laying off 60 workers and reducing hours for 28 more. The athletic department has lost two positions: assistant manager of the ticket office and fitness center coordinator. The Daily Dartmouth has a story about the college-wide layoffs here.

Penn has "released" its 2009 football schedule with the only change from 2008 being a home game against Bucknell replacing Georgetown. ... It's hard to think there could be anything more anticlimactic than Dartmouth releasing its 2009 schedule ... which for the 10th year in a row will of course feature non-conference games against Colgate, New Hampshire and Holy Cross.

That Sunday breakfast fundraiser to benefit the family of a high school coach whose two-year-old sun was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident raised $10,000. Among those helping serve was Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens.

The official release of the full recruiting classes is still months away, but Dartmouth's early decision classes have been locked up for a while. Here are two of them:

Men's Basketball
Garrett Brown, 6-2 guard, Angleton, Texas (Angleton)
Josef Brown, 6-9 forward, Houston, Texas (Wheatley)
Mbiyimoh Ghogomu, 6-5 forward, Friendswood, Texas (Clear Brook)
RJ Griffin, 6-3 guard, Middletown, Del. (Charter School/Hun School)
Matthew LaBove, 6-9 forward, Lancaster, Mass. (St. John's)

Women's Basketball
Kelsey Byrd, 5-10 guard, Saratoga, Calif. (Valley Christian)

Saw this list of all-time Dartmouth captains deep in the bowels of the Dartmouth website and thought you might find it interesting:

1881 Clarence Howland ’84
1882 Clarence Howland ’84
1883 Clarence Howland ’84
1884 Wheelock V. Towle ’85
1886 William Odlin ’90
1887 William Odlin ’90
1888 William Odlin ’90
1889 William Odlin ’90
1890 Frank W. Lakeman ’92
1891 Edward K. Hall ’92
1892 Walter A. Allen ’93
1893 Edwin E. Jones ’94
1894 Charles S. Little ’91
1895 Walter E. McCornack ’97
1896 Walter E. McCornack ’97
1897 John B. C. Eckstorm ’98
1898 Frederick J. Crolius ’99
1899 Joseph Wentworth ’00
1900 Frank W. Lowe ’01
1901 John C. O'Connor ’02
1902 Victor M. Place ’03
1903 Myron E. Witham ’04
1904 John W. Knibbs ’05
1905 David J. Main ’06
1906 John B. Glaze ’08
1907 John B. Glaze ’08
1908 George F. Kennedy ’09
1909 Clarke W. Tobin ’10
1910 John J. Ryan ’11
1911 Edward J. Daley ’12
1912 Ray L. Bennett ’13
1913 Robert N. Hogsett ’14
1914 Lawrence A. Whitney ’15
1915 John B. McAuliffe ’16
1916 Bernard O. Gerrish ’17
1917 Hubert B. McDonough ’18
1918 Kenneth C. Bevan ’19
1919 Jackson C. Cannell ’19
1920 James E. Robertson ’20
1921 James E. Robertson ’20
1922 Charles F. Burke ’23
1923 Cyril G. Aschenbach ’23
1924 Henry B. Bjorkman ’25
1925 Nathan K. Parker ’26
1926 Newman M. Horton ’27
1927 Robert B. MacPhail ’28
1928 Richard W. Black ’29
1929 Ellsworth Armstrong ’30
1930 Harold Andres ’31
1931 Stanley W. Yudicky ’32
1932 William J. Hoffman ’33
1933 Philip J. Glazer ’34
1934 George F. Hill ’35
1935 John J. Kenny ’36
1936 Gordon P. Bennett ’37
1937 Merrill N. Davis ’38
1938 Robert F. MacLeod ’39
1939 Charles Miller ’40
1940 Louis A. Young ’41
1941 Charles Pearson ’42
1942 Edward R. Kast ’43
1943 Game Captains
1944 Game Captains
1945 Meryll M. Frost ’44, Carl McKinnon ’46
1946 H. Thomas Douglas ’44
1947 Judson Hannigan ’46
1948 Dale L. Armstrong ’46
1949 Herbert Carey ’50
1950 Paul R. Staley ’51
1951 William T. Vesprini ’52
1952 Peter B. Reich ’53
1953 C. Bayard Johnson ’54
1954 Louis C. Turner ’55
1955 Leo C. McKenna ’56
1956 Robert M. Rex ’57
1957 Joseph R. Palermo ’58
1958 Alvin M. Krutsch ’59
1959 William E. Gundy ’60
1960 Kenneth DeHaven ’61
1961 James M. Lemen ’62
1962 William H. King ’63
1963 Scott H. Creelman ’64
1964 John F. McLean ’65
1965 Thomas E. Clarke ’66
1966 William A. Calhoun ’67
1967 Stephen N. Luxford ’68
1968 Randolph E. Wallick ’69
1969 John S. Ritchie ’70 , Ernest J. Babcock ’70
1970 J. Murry Bowden ’71, Robert W. Peters ’71
1971 Stuart O. Simms ’72, Wayne R. Young ’72
1972 Robert L. Norton ’73, Frederick R. Radke ’73
1973 Thomas C. Csatari ’74, Herbert J. Hopkins
1974 Thomas W. Snickenberger ’75, Brian F. Wroczynski ’75
1975 Thomas J. Parnon ’76, Reginald Williams ’76
1976 Kevin E. Young ’77, Patrick M. Sullivan ’77
1977 Curtis P. Oberg ’78, James C. Vailas ’78
1978 Eugene F. Teevens ’79, Joseph J. Nastri ’79
1979 Thomas R. Marek ’80, H. Cody Press ’80
1980 David D. Shula ’81, Jerome Pierce ’81
1981 Kent C. Cooper ’82, George M . Thompson ’82
1982 Sean T. Maher ’83, David B. Neslund ’83
1983 David A. Fuhrman ’84, Francis J. Polsinello ’84
1984 Donald L. Pomeroy ’85, Richard M. Weissman ’85
1985 Robert E. Brown ’86, Leonard J. Fontes II ’86
1986 David A. Gabianelli ’87, Russell L. Gardner ’87
1987 Matthew J. Drury ’88, Brett H. Matthews ’88
1988 David S. Gazzaniga ’89, R. Paul Michael ’89
1989 Mark P. Johnson ’90, Kevin R. Luensmann ’90
1990 Peter W. Chapman ’91, Richard A. Joyce ’91
1991 Michael J. Bobo ’92, Salvatore C. Sciretto III ’92, Harry F. Wright Jr. ’92
1992 Gregory W. Hoffmeister ’93, George T. Neos ’93, Michael C. Phillips ’93
1993 Jay B. Fiedler ’94
1994 Hunter D. Buckner ’94, O. Josh Bloom ’95
1995 Taran L. Lent ’96, Peter Oberle ’96
1996 Mark Abel ’97, Brian A. Larsen ’97, Gregg P. Smith ’97
1997 Lloyd S. Lee ’98, Zachary C. Walz ’98, William A. Harper ’98
1998 Jonathan D. L. Gibbs ’99, Kyle L. Rogers ’99, Adam K. R. Young ’99
1999 Reginald Belhomme ’00, Thomas P. Reusser ’00, Kyle J. Schroeder ’00, Caleb M. Moore ’01
2000 Caleb M. Moore ’01
2001 Matthew G. Mercer ’02
2002 Kevin M. Noone ’03
2003 Casey R. Cramer ’04, Clayton E. Smith ’05
2004 Ryan A. Conger ‘05, W. Christopher Dodds ‘05, Christopher Little ‘05, Clayton E. Smith ‘05
2005 Joshua L. Dooley ‘06, Anthony T. Gargiulo ‘06
2006 Preston J. Copley ‘07, Michael A. Rabil ‘06
2007 Justin J. Cottrell ‘08, Jared Z. Dowdakin ‘08, Taylor T. Layman ‘08, Ian J. Wilson ‘08
2008 Andrew Dete ‘09, Alex Rapp ‘09, Milan Willams ‘09
2009 Peter Pidermann '10 and Tim McManus '11

News From The Big Island

Incoming lineman Elliot Kastner of Hawaii has won the Big Island Interscholastic Federation wrestling title at the 285-pound class in commanding fashion. Kastner recorded three pins in three matches and needed just 30 seconds, 31 seconds and 48 seconds to accomplish the feat. Next on tap for the 12-1 wrestler will be states, in two weeks.

Kastner is slated to play on the defensive line at Dartmouth. For a little more information on him, check out this page. Scroll down the right side and he's third from the top. ... Most internet video is hard to watch because it is of poor quality and shot from a distance. Not so this clip of a Kastner sack, which is clear as water.

While Kastner is coming to Dartmouth, Texas quarterback Nyk McKissic is still weighing his options. Wherever he ends up, he'll be missed by Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas. A MaxPreps story about the nation's Top 100 high school teams had 13-2 Stony Point pegged at No. 41, and says its "movement" in next year's preseason poll will be "down." The reason? Largely because, "A strong senior class, led by DE Tevin Mims and QB Nyk McKissic, graduates leaving some big holes to fill."

Hanover High School football coach Mike Ivanoski helped organize a fundraising breakfast Sunday for the family of a high school coach from another part of the state whose young son was critically injured in a snowmobile accident. We went to the breakfast before the nearby state high school indoor track championships and discovered one of the servers was none other than Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens. (I chuckled as I walked through the door because when I saw the yellow bicycle with the plastic bag on the seat parked in a snow bank I knew he'd be inside helping out somehow.)

The blog for a website called Collectable Ivy has post about Harvard football game programs centered around snapshots of "Bob Kennedy" and "Edward Kennedy" that appeared in Crimson game programs. Included is a picture of a young RFK from the 1947 game against Dartmouth. (Link) ... The Collectable Ivy site, by the way, has Dartmouth programs for sale here and Dartmouth memorabilia (including Winter Carnival posters) for sale here.

The New York Times got a few thoughts from former Dartmouth quarterback and Continental Basketball Association team owner Jay Fiedler on the problems with the CBA.

What will looming budget cuts mean to Dartmouth athletics? A Daily Dartmouth story suggests team travel will be one area that will get a hard look. ... Oh, and from another story in the Daily Dartmouth:

The College’s Board of Trustees approved a 4.8 percent increase in tuition and a 13 percent increase in financial aid for the 2009-2010 academic year during its meeting in New York City this weekend.

and ...

For the 2008-2009 academic year, tuition had increased by 4.9 percent.
“We did not try to balance the budget based on charging more tuition,” College President James Wright said. “We recognize the burden that it places on people, and we are not in a position to try to minimize what we charge, so this struck us as a figure that would perhaps be the best one to use.”

With tongue at least partly in cheek, a Columbia Spectator columnist suggests one way to increase support for the school's athletic teams is to do away with the venerable Lion. What do you think of the Columbia Cassowaries? (In case you are wondering, it's a bird.)

Dartmouth football has done a good job since Buddy Teevens has been back at organizing Dartmouth Football Career Day, which the media guide says brings, "Big Green alumni and current players together to discuss business and professional opportunities." The Yale Daily writes about a program down in New Haven entitled Student-Athlete Career Night.

And finally, that certain Hanover High junior finished second in the state and tied her PR yesterday in the 1000 meters at the New Hampshire indoor track championships at Leverone Field House. She also posted a PR in her leg of the state championship 4x400 relay, earning a spot on the all-state team. After qualifying for New Englands last winter in the 3000, she qualified this year in both the 1000 and the relay. New Englands will be at Boston's Reggie Lewis Center in early March.

Catching Up With JJ

Go figure. I was watching a YouTube video of an incoming (or would-be) recruit and off to the right was a "Related Video" featuring a familiar name. Turns out it was of Jarrail Jackson, the former Oklahoma Sooner receiver and current Dartmouth assistant catching touchdown pass after touchdown pass with the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in the indoor game. Find JJ's OKC highlight video here and his Dartmouth bio here. ...

If you haven't read it already, there was a very well done look at new Yale football coach Tom Williams in Yale Daily News last week.

Junior defensive back Muhammed Abdul-Shakoor enjoyed another solid performance with the Dartmouth indoor track team yesterday, running 6.91 in the 60-meter dash, the third-fastest time in school history.

Someone who keeps up on this stuff pretty closely commented the other day that Dartmouth seemed to be in recruiting competition with the service academies even more than usual this year and it's true. Another high school senior on both Dartmouth and Air Force radar this year was 6-foot-4, 250-pound Evan Kaufman. A Kansan who had offers from the Big Green and Penn, and visited West Point, Kaufman chose to go to Colorado Springs. Find a story here.

Former Dartmouth and Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler, who is an owner of the East Kentucky Miners basketball team, is trying to resurrect the Continental Basketball Association. The CBA recently suspended operations for this season. Fiedler told the Albany Times-Union:

"It's easy to say and this is just a start. Now we have to go out and do it. The CBA now isn't what it used to be in the 1980s."

Speaking of hoops, the Dartmouth men's basketball team won another Ivy League squeaker last night in Hanover, knocking off Yale, 57-54. At 4-2 in the Ivies, the Big Green is off to its best start in the conference since 1998-99. The student attendance was well down from the night before but the overall attendance was up. A little.

And now, it's off to the New Hampshire state indoor track championships at Leverone Field House where that certain Hanover High School junior is seeded second in the 1000 – behind a Dartmouth recruit.

UNH-Dartmouth Set

There were whispers. Then it was quiet. Murmurs from somewhere else, then quiet again. A few weeks ago the whispers picked up from a few different directions and they were all saying the same thing: High-level talks were going on to get the New Hampshire football game off the schedule this fall. Were those talks real? They may have been, but apparently they were to no avail.

UNH released its 2009 football schedule yesterday and it looks like this:

Sept. 5–ST. FRANCIS (Pa.)
Sept. 12–at Ball State
Sept. 26–DARTMOUTH
Oct. 3–at Towson
Oct. 10–VILLANOVA
Oct. 17–at Massachusetts
Oct. 24–at Hofstra
Oct. 31–NORTHEASTERN
Nov. 7–RHODE ISLAND
Nov. 14–at William & Mary
Nov. 21–MAINE

Crafty scheduling, I'd say. The Wildcats have sandwiched their annual FCS game between a pair of winless teams. St. Francis was ranked No. 242 of 245 ranked teams in the nation last fall in USA Today's Sagarin ratings after going 0-11. Dartmouth was ranked No. 223 after going 0-10.

I think I missed this earlier but Kijuan Ware, who coached at Dartmouth in 2004-05 and served as a "coaching intern" at Notre Dame last fall, has been added to the staff at Miami University in Ohio. (I've always been bothered by the "Miami of Ohio," thing. Nobody says, "Miami of Florida.") Here's his profile on the Miami site.

Kijuan is a good guy and I've always thought he had a bright future in coaching. An aside: Also on the staff will be Pete Vaas, the former head coach at Holy Cross.

You've read my whining in this electronic neighborhood about the lack of attendance at Dartmouth men's basketball games, so it's only right I share a little good news on that front. No, they didn't sell out last night's game against Brown. In fact, the attendance for the 63-61 overtime win that lifted Dartmouth to 3-2 in the Ivies was listed at just 966, which seems a little low to me. It's the nature of the "crowd" and the back story that is the good news.

Dartmouth punter Brian Scullin and former teammate Cole Springer used a Blitz blitz (translation: Email blitz) to drum up student support for a "Black Out Night." I'm not sure that's what they called it because I never saw their email(s) but that's what it was. The student side (where we sit) had more students than I can recall in a long, long time, with most of them wearing black.

The section opposite the Dartmouth bench was particularly packed and loud, and by midway through the second half or so, was on its feet chanting, singing, cheering and booing. Eventually our whole side was on its feet roaring. Even the "wine and cheese" side of the stands got on its feet for the final seconds, as hard as that is to believe for anyone who has watched a game at Leede Arena.

When the game was over coach Terry Dunn streamed across the court to personally thank the students. Then it was the players' turn to go over and clap, slap high fives and celebrate.

Amusingly, Dartmouth security lined up at regular intervals in front of the stands at game's end ostensibly to stop the crowd from "storming the court." Maybe someone should have told them that while there was an abundance of excitement in the building, no one was going to cut down the nets after a win over a team that is 0-5 in the Ivy League, no matter how exciting it was.

Chosen for the basketball promotions were Scullin, who won a prize bag after hitting a layup, foul shot and 3-pointer in an allotted amount of time (he got a little grace from the scorekeeper), former quarterback Josh Cohen, who came up empty when he missed all his 3-pointers in a version of round-the-world, and receiver Kyle Battle, who narrowly missed a pair of half-court shots that would have brought free books for a term.

The Big Green returns to action tonight against Yale, which has far and away the loudest and most aggressive student section in Ivy League basketball. Hopefully a good number of the Dartmouth students who turned out last night got hooked for a least another game and will be back at Leede Arena.

Now if only the students would turn out and cheer like that for a football game or two next fall ...

In The News

Several more news reports ...

The Ahwatukee Foothills News has a story and "signing" photo of Dartmouth-bound Cole Pembroke. From the story:

Pembroke, who carries a 4.4 weighted GPA, led the Thunder to the state championship game as a junior starting at quarterback. This past season, he switched to safety and had 53 tackles, second on the team.

The Tulsa World writes about Cascia Hall's Danny Husband heading to Dartmouth. From the story:

A three-year starter on the offensive line, Husband also played defense, logging 131 career tackles and 18 sacks. He was recruited to play outside linebacker or defensive end in college.

“Danny was one of the best all-around football players in the last 10 years at Cascia … equally good on offense or defense,” Commandos head coach Joe Medina said.

The Tulsa World also has a photo and story on Husband's teammate Sam Clancy heading to Hanover. From the story:

Sam Clancy never lost a game as Cascia Hall’s starting quarterback.

He was 27-0, throwing for 3,064 yards and 48 touchdowns over two seasons while leading the Commandos to back-to-back state titles.

For Your Viewing Pleasure ...

Just stumbled across a highlight video of Dartmouth-bound receiver Steven McCormack of Seven Lakes High School in the Houston suburbs and a "stats" video that lists him at 5-foot-11, 175, with a 4.36 time in the 40. Times in the 40 are wildly inconsistent so your mileage with the stopwatch may vary, but it's safe to say he's pretty quick. ... McCormack also kicks.

California Receiver Chooses Dartmouth

Hawaiian lineman Elliot Kastner is the focus of attention earlier this week on signing day.

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Scout.com is reporting Corey Vann, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound wide receiver from Harvard-Westlake in California is headed to Dartmouth. Find a video that shows him in action here.

Vann caught 46 pass for 627 yards and nine touchdowns last fall. He averaged 13.6 yards per catch with 10 caches for 104 yards in a 21-21 tie with Lynwood and six grabs for 120 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-13 win over Chaminade. ... Find a series of photos of Vann here.

From an LA Times Insider story on the Lynwood game:

But the story of the game was Berman’s favorite target -- senior Corey Vann, who had 10 catches for 104 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter because of leg cramps.

Listed in the Harvard-Westlake game-program at 6 feet 1 and 160 pounds, Vann may not have ideal size or blazing speed but he gave Lynwood's secondary big-time problems every time a pass was thrown his direction.

With Levy lining him up in a variety of formations, Vann was unstoppable throughout the first half. Even when Lynwood moved Samuels over to defend him in single coverage, Vann still found a way to get open.

It would not be a reach to think that if Vann had stayed in the game, he could have finished with 20 catches.

Vann made the All CIF Southern Section Football Selections Northwest Division first team. ... For an impressive list of Harvard-Westlake graduates currently playing college sports (including Dartmouth basketball guard Jabari Trotter) click here.

UPDATE: The known ecruiting as of Friday morning can be found here.

They haven't forgotten. A blogger unhappy with coach Doug Marrone at Syracuse had this to say:

SU’s decision to hire Marrone has left me convinced that they no longer care about football. At this point, all that’s left for them to do is hire away Dartmouth’s Dean of Admissions.

Ouch.

The Daily Dartmouth follows up on a pledge not a to cut any varsity sports at the college in the face the economic downturn. From the story:

As the College faces a shrinking operating budget for the next fiscal year, the Dartmouth athletic department must scale back and assess its priorities, picking and choosing where to make cuts and where to maintain funding.

“We’re not any different from other institutions,” Harper said. “The College is looking to trim costs all around. We rely heavily on soft money and endowments, and those have been significantly down.”

Harper said the cuts will be discussed when the administration meets with the Board of Trustees this weekend.

Another Floridian Coming North

Add Alex Douglas, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound strong safety/outside linebacker from Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Fla., to the list of Dartmouth recruits. Douglas, who averaged 6.9 tackles per game this year and also blocked a field goal, chose Dartmouth over an opportunity to go to Air Force.

Find video of Alex here and here. There's also a year-old recruiting information form here. His signing was reported in the St. Augustine Record.

UPDATE: The know recruiting last as of Thursday at 3:15 p.m., can be found here.

Former Assistant Heads To Mississippi State

Scott Sallach, the former Dartmouth assistant who left Princeton for Elon a few weeks back, apparently will wind up instead as an assistant at Mississippi State. Find a story here.

There's a story in the Clarion Ledger on the hiring by coach Dan Mullen. It says:

... (I)t’s unclear where or how Sallach fits into Mullen’s staff, which would have seemed to have been finalized with a pair of hires two weeks ago.

MSU spokesman Joe Galbraith said Mullen wouldn’t comment further on the hiring Sallach. Galbraith said he has been on staff at MSU since Monday but wouldn’t clarify if he was part of the on-field or administrative staff.

A later release says he will coach tight ends.

One That Got Away

A story about highly regarded but Navy-bound running back Bo Snelson in The Citizen of Pasadena, Texas, includes this quote from his father and coach:

“It really came down to the Naval Academy and Dartmouth,” John Snelson said. “Both the recruiting director and the head coach at Dartmouth made a very big impression on him. They’re quality people. But the Naval Academy speaks for itself.”

Chris Jackson is another student-athlete who narrowed his choices down before choosing Air Force over Dartmouth (or TCU).

The Day After

Carmel Catholic (Mundelein, Ill.) linebackers Ryan Hrabak, left, and Tommy Patek, center, "sign" with Dartmouth Wednesday. Teammate Jake Sinkovec is headed to Boston College. (Courtesy photo)

Signing Day is over, but the names will continue to trickle in as they appear in the media. Scroll down the page for info on a few previously uncommitted recruits.

UPDATE: Honolulu Advertiser confirms Kastner is heading to Dartmouth.

Still nothing official from Hawaii on lineman Elliot Kastner, who was reported to be signing with Dartmouth yesterday, but do check out his web page with highlight videos, stats and more.

Across the state, the University of New Hampshire recruiting class includes just one player who grew up in the state, but another of note who prepped in the state. Kevin Gangelhoff is from that noted football powerhouse Denmark. (Being the son of a Dane I can joke like that ;-). The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker played for an old friend the last two years at Kimball Union Academy just 25 minutes or so from Dartmouth. From the Manchester Union Leader:

"As he's learned the game and learned how to play lower and roll his hips and things like that, he's become very physical," said John Lyons, the former Dartmouth coach now at KUA. "He has real good body control for a kid that big."

While Dartmouth athletic director Josie Harper was pledging that no sports will be cut because of the current economic climate, the Columbia Campaign for Athletics is forging ahead. A story in the Spectator says:

"... (T)he Columbia Athletics Department is making headway in the Columbia Campaign for Athletics—the $100-million fundraising campaign launched in October 2007. According to Dianne Murphy, director of intercollegiate athletics and physical education, the campaign has already netted the department just over $53 million since its inception."

Dartmouth women's basketball guard Koren Schram is one of 10 finalists nationwide – and the only Ivy Leaguer – for 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Find the Dartmouth release here. To learn more about her and/or vote for her, click here. (You can vote once a day, so vote early and often ...)

Speaking of academic achievers, Colgate tailback Jordan Scott has made headlines on and off the field and now he's made some in the classroom. The senior NFL hopeful and English major has been selected to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

The Dartmouth Outing Club, the oldest of its kind in the country, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Learn about the club and the celebration here.

The Columbia Spectator has a look at something unusual that has been going on out at Brigham Young University. Failing to gain varsity recognition, the school's perennially successful men's soccer club punted and went in another direction completely. Interesting stuff.