This And That

On a quiet day I've dug into the Dartmouth record book and pulled up the Most Passing Yards Per Game, adding in the final score of the game for context:

Name/Year	Game	Yards	C-A	Pct	Score
Jack Heneghan ‘18	2016-Brown	440	37-53	0.698	L 24-21
Dalyn Williams ‘16	2015-Yale	435	29-53	0.547	W 35-3
Jay Fiedler ‘94	1992-Yale	419	20-31	0.645	W 39-27
Greg Smith ‘02	2001-UNH	416	37-64	0.587	L 42-38
Greg Smith ‘02	2001-Yale	407	38-54	0.703	W 32-27
Dalyn Williams ‘16	2014-Yale	388	32-47	0.681	W 38-31
Brian Mann ‘02	2002-Harvard	382	25-50	0.500	L 31-26
Dalyn Williams ‘16	2014-Cornell	381	24-34	0.706	W 42-7
Brian Mann ‘02	2002-Colgate	369	25-42	0.595	L 30-26
Brian Mann ‘02	2002-Cornell	369	37-58	0.638	L 21-19
Jay Fiedler ‘94	1993-Harvard	358	22-48	0.458	W 39-34
Greg Smith ‘02	2000-Brown	352	36-57	0.632	L 34-26
Charlie Rittgers	2004-UNH	349	28-48	0.583	L 13-12
Jay Fiedler ‘94	1992-Columbia	348	25-33	0.758	W 38-19
Jack Heneghan	2016-Yale	348	32-57	0.561	L 21-13

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A Chicago Tribune story tells of a running back who averaged an eye-popping 14.7 yards per carry last year (30 rushes for 440 yards and seven touchdowns) and has drawn interest from Dartmouth. Davion Cherwin, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior at South Elgin High School, also is being courted by Drake, Valparaiso and Grand Valley State but won't have a chance to prove himself this year until the spring, when Illlinois high schools will play football this year. Find his highlights HERE.

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Towson, the CAA team Dartmouth was supposed to play this fall, is the latest FCS team to announce it will not be playing football this spring. From a school announcement (LINK):

"With football being a high-contact sport, the student-athletes and coaches agree that potentially sacrificing a normal fall season for a shortened spring year is not the safest course of action," said Towson University director of athletics Tim Leonard. "We support our student-athletes and coaches in this decision, and we look forward to a return to the field for the 2021 season." 

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Now it is Forbes' turn to report Harvard is not expected to play basketball this winter, noting that it has three players in the transfer portal. The story mentions that Yale 6-10 standout Paul Atkinson, the Ivy League co-Player of the Year, has opted to graduate this spring and transfer, and that 18 Yale hockey players have been "impacted" by Coronavirus. (LINK)

Meanwhile the America East conference, whose members include Vermont and New Hampshire, has announced it is canceling indoor track and field this year and moving swimming and diving from winter to spring.

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While budget issues are plaguing many college athletic departments, Colby College in Waterville, Maine, has reason to celebrate, thanks again to Harold Alfond (who you might have last read about deep in this post). Forbes reports why under this headline: Colby College Defies Downturn With $200 Million Facility And A Pledge For Sports. (LINK)

The subhead from the story: While some schools are getting crushed by the pandemic, a tiny northeastern liberal arts college is unveiling “Disney World for athletes.” Caption from the story: "Colby’s new Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center is now the largest athletic facility in Division III and in the entire Northeast."

From the story:

Colby College isn’t ceding ground to the pandemic. The Waterville, Maine-based private school will christen a $200 million athletic facility today, along with a plan to keep all of its sports programs fully funded, despite a financial crisis that is leading schools across the country to slash them.

The 350,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center will serve the school’s 2,155 students and athletes as well as the local community. The center opens its doors as a nationwide downsizing has put more than 250 teams in three NCAA divisions on the chopping block, including seven sports at William & Mary, a decision that helped trigger the departure of athletic director Samantha Huge. Financially robust schools like Stanford and Dartmouth cut a combined 16 varsity programs.

Colby, like the entire New England Small College Athletic Conference, has canceled winter sports this year.

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EXTRA POINT

It's the same routine virtually every day. I'll take Griff the Wonder Dog out to do his morning business around 6 a.m., feed him and then sit for a bit to have a quick bite while I catch the news headlines on TV.

At some point when I'm not paying attention Griff wanders upstairs and into my office where he plants himself under the desk for the next several hours. As was the case this morning, I usually have to sit a little off to one side so as to not disturb him while I pull together your morning missive.