Ouch

The local Valley News has a column in the aftermath of Dartmouth restoring the five teams it cut last summer under the headline Damage to restored Dartmouth programs may prove irreparable. Sports editor Greg Fennell takes Athletic Director Harry Sheehy and Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon to task, writing:

When we talked the night of the July eliminations, Sheehy told me across-the-board cuts had been done twice prior to his arrival in 2010. He felt Dartmouth couldn’t repeat that and “run a vibrant Division I program.”

Why not? In a department of team sports, why did its leader not see value in spreading the pain across all teammates rather than leveling it on a select few?

In bringing back all five varsity programs — the others being men’s lightweight crew, men’s golf and men’s swimming and diving — Hanlon and Sheehy are seeking a do-over. They’ll find the damage they’ve caused will make it difficult to impossible.

And . . .

(W)ho among the coaches or athletes sent packing in July would want to rejoin a school that held them in such meager regard? Who will believe the promises of a school president who, with one hand, is reviving two golf programs and, with the other, treats their home course as something to develop rather than something to play?

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New York Giants-centric website Big Blue Interactive took a look at the entire roster during the week and concluded a paragraph-long capsule on Dartmouth grad Niko Lalos '20, this way (LINK):

He has good size for the position, but is not a dynamic athlete. Over-achiever who plays hard.

Green Alert Take: It gets a little tiring hearing the athletic ability of Ivy Leaguer after Ivy Leaguer being questioned. And it's not at all surprising to see the "over-achiever" label show up. The only real surprise is that Lalos wasn't described as "smart."

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How will college football preseason roster limits be affected by the potential return of all of this year's seniors, as well as the four classes following them?

The NCAA Division I Committee for Legislative Relief Blanket Waivers "approved a blanket waiver to permit NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) institutions to exclude certain returning football student-athletes from counting in the 110-person preseason limit on the number of participants during the 2021-22 academic year." (LINK)

From the NCAA post:

For the 2021-22 academic year, an institution may exclude football student-athletes from counting in the 110-person preseason limit on the number of participants, provided:

The student-athlete would have exhausted eligibility during the 2020-21 academic year but for the August 21, 2020, NCAA Division I Board of Directors action to permit institutions to self-apply season-of-competition and extension of eligibility waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic; and,

The student-athlete returns to the same institution for the 2021-22 academic year.

In granting the request, the academic and membership affairs staff noted:

This is a one-time waiver request, applicable only for the 2021-22 academic year; and the unique and extenuating circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Green Alert Take: Given that Ivy League regulations are frequently stricter than those of the NCAA, it will be interesting if the entire Ancient Eight adheres to the NCAA guidelines.

Also approved during the week by the NCAA:

At the recommendation of the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee, the NCAA staff approved a blanket waiver to permit football coaches, including volunteer coaches, and full-time institutional staff members at NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) institutions to initiate telephone calls at their discretion to an individual (or the individual's family members) beginning February 1 of the individual's junior year of high school through the conclusion of the COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

In granting the request, the academic and membership affairs staff noted:

This is a one-time waiver request, applicable during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period; and . . . 

The unique and extenuating circumstances associated with the COVID-19 pandemic including the prohibition on official and unofficial visits during the COVID-19 temporary recruiting dead period.

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Following up on yesterday's Longest Rushes from Scrimmage on yesterday's BGA Daily, today features the Longest Pass Plays in Dartmouth History:

Yards	Quarterback	Receiver	Opponent	Year
98	David Gabianelli	Craig Morton	Columbia	1986
93	Eddie Chamberlain	Elbert Camp	Cornell	1935
90	Josh Cohen	Jason Raiti	Cornell	2005
85	Mike Brait	Tom Fleming	Princeton	1975
84	Mark Johnson	Craig Morton	Harvard	1988
79	John Clayton	Hal Fitkin	Columbia	1948
79	Mickey Beard	Bill Calhoun	Princeton	1965
79	Frank Polsinello	Mike Viccora	Penn	1983
78	Jack Heneghan	Drew Hunnicutt	Sacred Heart	2017
77	Greg Patton	Michael Reilly	Brown	2009
75	David Gabianelli	Craig Morton	New Hampshire	1986
75	Tom Bennewitz	Tim McManus	Cornell	2007
75	Jared Gerbino	Drew Estrada	Yale	2019
73	Rick Stafford	Jack Daly	Holy Cross	1982
73	Charlie Rittgers	Bob Murphy	Cornell	2004
70	Mike Brait	Tom Fleming	Princeton	1975
70	Jon Aljancic	Zach Elis	Columbia	1996

Green Alert Take: It's no surprise that Craig Morton shows up three times on this list. After he averaged a mind-blowing 34.2 yards per reception on 21 catches (with nine touchdowns) for the freshman team in 1985 I remember then head coach Joe Yukica almost giddily telling me that he was going to send Morton deep early against Holy Cross in 1986, and that the Crusaders had "no idea" how fast he was. Turns out he was right. The result was a 64-yard TD strike, the only Dartmouth score in a 48-7 loss.

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EXTRA POINT
Our indoor-outdoor thermometer showed 5.6 below zero when I took Griff The Wonder Dog out this morning. As I bundled up I found myself thinking about the Scandinavian saying, "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes."