Season-opening Dartmouth opponent Valparaiso has released its 2021 schedule and there's a pretty good chance the Crusaders will be licking their wounds when the Big Green comes to town on Sept. 18. That's because Valpo visits FCS Juggernaut North Dakota State a week before welcoming the Ivy Leaguers.
Valparaiso 2021 Schedule
Sept. 4 at Indiana Wesleyan
Sept. 11 at North Dakota State
Sept. 18 Dartmouth
Sept. 25 at Drake*
Oct. 2 Marist*
Oct. 9 at St. Thomas*
Oct. 23 Dayton*
Oct. 30 at San Diego*
Nov. 6 Presbyterian*
Nov. 13 Butler*
Nov. 20 Morehead State*
* Pioneer Football League game
Valparaiso had one of its best seasons in recent memory this spring, finishing with a 4-2 record that featured a 20-19 home win over perennial PFL champion San Diego.
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New Hampshire, which Dartmouth will visit on Oct. 16, has a couple of very challenging games in the lead-up to the contest with the Big Green. The Wildcats will travel to FBS opponent Pitt on Sept. 25 and play host to powerhouse James Madison the next week. They will have a much-needed bye before Dartmouth comes to town on Oct. 16.
New Hampshire 2021 Schedule
Sept. 4 at Stony Brook*
Sept. 11 Towson*
Sept. 18 at Lafayette
Sept. 25 at Pitt
Oct. 2 James Madison*
Oct. 16 Dartmouth
Oct. 23 at Elon*
Oct. 30 Richmond*
Nov. 6 Albany*
Nov. 13 at Rhode Island*
Nov. 20 Maine*
* CAA game
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Sacred Heart, which Dartmouth will host on Sept. 25 in its home opener, has not yet released its schedule. The Pioneers, who won the NEC championship this spring and then gave Delaware a tough game in the NCAA playoffs, show up on the Morgan State schedule for Sept. 18 and the Dartmouth schedule one week later. The rest of the schedule has not been announced.
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An NJ.com story about the New York Giant includes a segment about "players in danger of getting cut," and you can probably guess why it's linked to HERE.
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Dartmouth will hold its second official football practice of the spring at 5 p.m. today and as always there will be coverage tonight on BGA Premium. A story should be on the site by 11 p.m.
As a welcome-back-to-football, I've taken password protection off spring coverage on BGA.
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Dartmouth has named a new women's basketball coach to replace Belle Koclanes, who stepped down this winter after seven years, a 77-117 (.397) overall record and a 34-64 (.347) Ivy League mark.
From a Dartmouth release (LINK):
(Adrienne) Shibles, just the fifth Big Green head coach in the program's 48-year varsity history, comes to New Hampshire from Bowdoin College, where she spent the past 13 years as the Polar Bears head coach. Since taking over the program prior to the 2008-09 season, she led Bowdoin to a record of 281-67 (.807) and qualified for the NCAA Tournament 11 times, reaching the Sweet Sixteen eight times (including five of the last six seasons) and the Final Four twice.
Shibles is a 1991 Bates College graduate.
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EXTRA POINT
The note in this space last week about the Godfather's fictional Michael Corleone attending Dartmouth with every intention of staying out of the family, uh, business, actually rang a bell for me.
One Friday afternoon in my senior year of college a friend asked if I could give him a ride home. When we got to his town I was a little surprised when he told me to pull over at what I seem to recall were a couple of pretty imposing stone pillars on either side of a tree-lined driveway. He thanked me, hopped out and disappeared up the driveway.
There was no view of the house from the road, but because it was a pretty well-to-do community I didn't think all that much of it.
It was only when I was back at school on Monday and telling another friend about driving the first fellow home that I learned a little more about the house behind the pillars and the man who owned it, who happened to be my friend's grandfather.
Turns out the house was featured prominently in a spread in Look or Life magazine, I can't remember which. My friend, who lived in another house on the property, had a different last name than his grandfather, whose name I've never forgotten and some of you would recognize. A Google search yesterday brought up old newspaper stories with pictures of the house, which at one time was infamous. It's fair to say I'm glad my friend didn't invite me in for cookies and milk ;-)
It is all these years later and I've lost track of my friend. By this point I imagine you are probably a little curious but I'm not about to name names. I'm totally serious when I tell you using his name here would make me a little nervous because, honestly, don't know if my friend went the Michael Corleone route and ended up joining the family, uh, business.
