OK, first things first.
If you trying to interest people in buying Dartmouth football season tickets, you can push a "no interest monthly payment plan," or the chance of being one of three winners of a Big Green football hat or polo. But if it's me, what I'm doing is splashing this short video everywhere I can. If you aren't sure Ivy League football is exciting, this may change your mind:
Plays were made last seasonđź‘€#TheWoods #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/51F6UgO53Y
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) June 5, 2025
(I had to click the left video to bring up the Xweet, and then click it again to run all the plays.)
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Another honor is in for Dartmouth senior offensive tackle Delby Lemieux. An SI story headlined Top 10 Returning FCS Offensive Tackles In 2025 lists the Big Green standout as the second-ranked player in the country at his position. From the story (LINK):
Lemieux made his mark as a sophomore in 2023, starting the final seven games and earning All-Ivy League honors. He followed up his breakout campaign with an All-American season, which also saw him earn first-team All-Ivy League honors. He became the first Dartmouth player to earn AP All-American honors since 2021.
In over 300 pass-blocking snaps, Lemieux did not allow a sack and only allowed nine quarterback pressures. He was PFF's No. 7-graded offensive tackle, ranking No. 1 in the Ivy League. He showed his development as a run blocker, finishing with the fourth-highest run-blocking grade in the FCS.
The Ivy League is well-represented in the tackle rankings with Yale's Michael Bennett ranked fourth, and Penn's Netinho Olivieri fifth. Columbia's Noah Jordan and Harvard's Derek Osman (son of former Dartmouth lineman Andy Osman '85) received honorable mention.
An earlier HERO Sports story had Lemieux as the top returning offensive lineman in the nation, regardless of position. (LINK)
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Ask and ye shall receive.
I don't know if the BGA special correspondent subscribes to Lindy's College Football Magazine or simply spent a little time flipping through its pages at a local Weis Market, but much thanks for sending along the venerable publication's Ivy League and Patriot League prognostications.
Ivy League
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Dartmouth
4. Columbia
5. Princeton
6. Penn
7. Brown
8. Cornell
Patriot League
1. Richmond
2. Lehigh
3. Holy Cross
4. Lafayette
5. Bucknell
6. Fordham
7. Colgate
8. Georgetown
Dartmouth 2025 opponents in addition to Fordham:
CAA
3. New Hampshire
NEC
1. Central Connecticut
Green Alert Take: I can't speak to the Patriot League prediction (apart from agreeing with Richmond at the top and Georgetown at the bottom) but the Ivy League looks reasonable enough. If I have a quibble it's placing Yale so high with no returning quarterback and, judging by the message boards, a whole lot of concern about who is going to play the most important position in the game.
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On the subject of the Patriot League, news many expected to be coming at some point broke yesterday with Villanova announced as the conference's newest member, joining Richmond and William & Mary in moving over from the CAA.
Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel in a conference release (LINK):
The addition of Villanova as our 10th football member represents a significant and exciting moment for the Patriot League. Villanova has consistently demonstrated excellence on the field, establishing itself as a premier FCS football program while also upholding a strong commitment to academic achievement. Combined with the recent additions of Richmond and William & Mary and the continued strength of our current members, this expansion solidifies the Patriot League's standing as one of the strongest in the FCS.
Villanova will play this fall in the CAA and then compete for the Patriot League championship starting in 2026. FootballScoop offers a little history lesson (LINK):
The conference did not begin offering athletic scholarships until 1998, and began offering football scholarships in 2013. Consisting entirely of private schools in the Northeast, the Patriot League was basically the Diet Ivy League. (In fact, the Patriot League was founded at the behest of the Ivy League, who was looking for more like-minded schools to play after expanding its schedule in the 1980s.)
Decades later, the distance between the CAA and the Patriot League are closer than they've ever been.
Green Alert Take: The Diet Ivy League? I like that.
More from the Patriot League release:
With the expanded membership beginning in 2026, eight of the 10 programs have finished ranked in the Stats Perform and AFCA FCS Coaches Poll since 2015. During that span, the 10 programs have combined to win 17 games in the FCS Playoffs, advancing to the quarterfinal round eight times, including two apiece by Colgate, Richmond and Villanova. Holy Cross and William & Mary have both advanced to the quarterfinals once.
Green Alert Take: I don't know if the Ivy League presidents were aware of how the Patriot League was going to reshape itself when they voted to let the Ancient Eight compete in the NCAA playoffs, but it's a good thing they did. Vote in favor of the playoffs, that is. The addition of three academically oriented and successful programs surely makes the PL that much more competitive for athletically talented recruits also looking at the Ivies.
Green Alert Take II: Expansion of the Patriot League is going to make scheduling even more problematic for the Ivies. Per the release, the intention is for the Patriot schools to play a full round-robin schedule.
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EXTRA POINT
Still looking for something to do outside of the Upper Valley while visiting Hanover? Last winter we shared a look at the Ice Castles up in the White Mountains (LINK), and just the other day this space posted a couple of photos from our afternoon trip across the border to Quebec (LINK).
Here's another New Hampshire day trip to consider: Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch. Hard as it is to believe, given that we lived in New Hampshire from before our kids were born until a handful of years ago, we'd never made the trip. It's only about 60 miles from Dartmouth, and while it's a little costly for a hike, it's well worth it. Here's a shot I took yesterday:
Check out the Flume Gorge information page by clicking the photo.