From The Archives

Seaver Peters in his Alumni Gym office (Dartmouth photo)

In 2001 former Dartmouth Athletic Director Seaver Peters '54 sat for an oral interview regarding his time at the college. A Big Green hockey player as an undergraduate, Peters served as Dartmouth athletic director from 1967-1983.

The full, 45-page interview is available HERE. This excerpt features Peters talking about legendary football coach Bob Blackman:

Blackman was smart. But he was always in the gray area. You'd find him—you couldn't practice out of season at Dartmouth in football. No spring practice, which they happen to now have. But he would be in the double squash court with his backs, or he'd be out on the—we built him a house on the Lyme Road, he'd be out there. Always something to think he could get an edge. 

Now let me be clear to say, or repeat, he was very smart, almost brilliant; he showed the League how to recruit— Dartmouth made a commitment, and no two ways about it, a very strong commitment. I always wanted to be strong in Ivy football, so made a commitment of resources, and he recruited nationally and did a masterful job, masterful job. 

Well, the Ivies generally recruited much like I was recruited. You know, maybe a letter or two, maybe a visit. But he came here, he sent out letters nationally—I'd say 10,000 letters a year—and outlined what it took, generally speaking, what it took to get into Dartmouth, why Dartmouth is a natural place to go, etc., etc., and what the criteria generally would be. And then a reply card, “You got anyone you think might fit the bill, let us know and we'll be sure to . . . “ So they did. 

And so we literally recruited nationally, and put a lot of pressure on Admissions. Admissions was receptive; I think they were told to be. But I remember, Blackman had more fights with Admissions, and sometimes we'd lose to Harvard, and he'd say, "I'm sick of losing to Harvard with kids that were turned down by Dartmouth," all this kind of thing. But he was masterful. 

Again, to access the entire PDF, click HERE. 

Read a remembrance of Seaver Peters after he passed away in 2020 HERE.

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Two Ivy Leaguers were named to the 2024 FCS Football Central Preseason All-American Team. Chosen to the second-team offense was Penn wide receiver Jared Richardson. Chosen to the second team for his play in the secondary was Brown defensive back Isaiah Reed.

Find the full FCS Football Central Preseason All-American Team HERE.

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EXTRA POINT
The Jeopardy! round $200 clue last night: College in New England. Here is a screenshot of the clue:

Reigning champion Isaac Hirsch got it right. He also was the only contestant to buzz in on the $600 clue: "In 1800 7 students enrolled at Middlebury College in this state; in 2024, 2,800 undergrads were roaming around." His response: "What is Connecticut?" He's clearly not a Midd kidd, or he'd have said Vermont. ;-)