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Last week this space noted that if Dartmouth and Towson were still playing this fall the Big Green would not have to face a talented FCS quarterback who was transferring into the Maryland school because he was doing an about-face and is headed to Washington State.
Joining him in looking elsewhere for this fall is preseason All-America kick returner/running back Shane Simpson, who has entered the transfer portal and hopes to be playing the sixth season he was awarded by the NCAA somewhere else this season. He has 4,751 career all-purpose yards.
Green Alert Take: It's not at all surprising that seniors whose final seasons have been called off are entering the portal. It would be a shock if they are not joined at some point by a healthy group of Ivy Leaguers who hedge their bets against either an unfulfilling spring season or no spring season at all.
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When I first saw this cloth facemask under a North Dakota State helmet I honestly thought it was a joke in poor taste. Apparently it's not. Nor was it pulled together by an enterprising sixth-grader. From a story out of Fargo, N.D. (LINK):
North Dakota State's football program has been first in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the last decade.
Now the university is first in another area: personal protective equipment. Head coach Matt Entz told Dom Izzo on his Hot Mic radio show on 970 WDAY-AM Thursday that the university has purchased cloth facemasks that attach to the helmet. It's all about addressing the COVID-19 pandemic that has already shut down six of the 13 conferences in the FCS.
"We have done some modifications that we believe can help mitigate the spread of the virus when you are playing football," Entz said. "We were one of the first universities in the country to purchase these facemasks that can attach to the helmet."
Green Alert Take: I take it back. I'm still not sure if that's a joke or not. And that's really sad.
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Craig Haley over at STATS offers up some sobering numbers (LINK):
The pandemic has led to more than 1,800 (football) games being canceled or postponed across all three NCAA divisions. Junior colleges won't play until the spring semester, provided conditions are safe.
And this:
There are 127 FCS programs, and about 75 are still in the mix for having a fall season. If there is one, regional games and conference-only schedules will be the norm, and there may not be FCS playoffs.
And his bottom line:
As July advances into August, the unpopular decision to shut down the FCS season feels inevitable.
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Barry Harwick, Dartmouth men's cross and distance coach for 28 years has announced his retirement. (LINK) He becomes the second longtime Big Green coach to step down during the offseason, following men's ice hockey coach Bob Gaudet, who had been behind the bench for 23 years.
Green Alert Take: Barry will be missed. He and wife Marcia have kids who are about the same as ours and we've become friends over the years. We spent more than a few Halloween dinners at their house when we brought our kids from the Hanover hinterlands into town to join their boys and friends for trick-or-treating in town.
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The Dartmouth has a story headlined '24s make final plans for gap years that details the confusion regarding whether incoming students could put off their freshman year. It includes thoughts from several members of the class. (LINK)
The story ends this way:
(Director of admissions Paul) Sunde did not respond to a request to share the number of students admitted to the Class of 2024 who would be postponing their enrollment.
Green Alert Take: That's going to be a very interesting number. I wonder how many fall (and winter) athletes are taking the year off?
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The D has another story under the headline, Hanover businesses report nearly 2,000 jobs saved by Paycheck Protection Program (LINK).
Among the popular eateries that got help from the government were Molly's in downtown Hanover and Jesse's just up Route 120. BGA is not on the list ;-)
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EXTRA POINT
While Molly's and Jesse's and other Hanover-area staples are weathering the storm, BGA Premium is not . . . for this year at least.
On Thursday I found a subscription in our P.O. box with the 2020 fee and a little other help as well. Yesterday I slid it into an envelope and dropped it in the mailbox to return it with a thank you note.
Parent and family subscriptions to BGA come and go each year but there is another group of loyal subscribers I hear from every year who have helped BGA survive. While family members might check out the daily practice reports I suspect some of the longtime BGA Daily readers only visit the premium site once the fall rolls around.
I'm thinking this particular subscriber is one of those and did not realize there will be no new content on the site this fall or until preseason kicks off – whether it is late this winter or next fall. (Note: There will likely be some change in BGA format with my access to players and coaches expecting to be restricted in the pandemic era.)
While I had a note in red type on the sign-up pages of BGA Premium putting a hold on subscriptions, I'm going to guess that the gentleman who sent the most recent renewal did what some do each year and simply addressed an envelope and sent it along without visiting the site. To avoid any further confusion, with great regret I went onto the BGA Premium site yesterday and took down the signup pages and hopefully made clear the status of the site.
And there you have it. For the foreseeable future – and I'll admit here I'm a skeptic about spring football – BGA Premium is officially on hiatus.
For some reason that even I can't understand this page will keep being updated. Whether it lives up to the title BGA Daily is to be determined. If I can find or create content, it will be here for you. If there isn't any news, there may be some days when the site goes dark. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, thanks to all the BGA Premium readers who have given me 15 good years and to all the daily readers who have kept me going.
