Back to Bucknell?
More Honors for Kennedy
Andrew Kennedy has been named to yet another
All America team.
Fordham's Fire
The discussion going on in the comments section about Fordham deserves a better airing here in the main section.
Fordham’s decision to go with athletic scholarships for football certainly hasn’t paid off yet, but will it ever lead the Rams into national prominence like Notre Dame or Boston College?
With Fordham’s current football facilities, that hardly seems possible. But there is a little hinting here and there that the Rams would someday like to reclaim Yankee Stadium as its unofficial home for football if the program truly does take a few steps up.
Fordham actually has a beautiful campus and a good academic reputation, but few people outside of New York really even know about it.
Hell, lots of people in the New York area don’t know much about the school if anything.
And maybe that’s the point.
Win or lose, Fordham would enter the discussion at least in the New York area if the local news and sports media simply mentioned the school’s name more often.
There’s no faster track to getting mentioned on the evening news or ESPN than playing a sporting event, especially if it’s against a school like Notre Dame or Boston College.
More Possibilities
I like the idea of bringing Bucknell back to the schedule sometime soon. It seems the Lions stopped playing the Bison as soon as they stopped becoming a very competitive team. That’s just our luck!
And what about some schools like Maine, (only 8 hours away… not too bad), and the very nearby Wagner?
Your thoughts on Bucknell?
posted by Jake @ 5:51:00 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
If Columbia wants to attract players and compete for the Ivy title, it can't clutter the schedule with under performing or otherwise questionable football schools (regardless of academic standing) while Penn plays the likes of Villanova to a close game.
I hope the Patriot League activity (can't really call it a vote) gave the Ivy Presidents at least pause for reflection. Ivy football shouldn't be locked away in a time capsule sealed at the formation of the AA division.
A few token concessions might actually enhance the stature of the League without compromising the mission of the institutions.
Schedule one or two more games and participate in the FCS playoffs. This has two benefits. It allows football players at Ivy schools to enjoy a full schedule and compete for national titles just like their fellow Ivy student athletes in other sports. There are probably external recruiting benefits, but I'll accept intra League consistency in athletic policy as a first step.
Word was that the CU coach at the time dropped Bucknell because the Bisons ran the wishbone almost exclusively and it was a time consuming pain to have to prepare for it. No one else on the schedule played that offense, so the coach felt it was a major waste of practice time with no benefit for the rest of the season. Bucknell ran the wishbone probably to cover weak O-line recruiting, and they did very well with it. Not sure what they're running now.
LionFan
If a Penn recruiter (or plug in any Ivy school) could walk into a kids home and tell them they went to back to back FCS playoffs, let alone might have gone far in the playoff scheme, they could significantly enhance their roster with very good players. I truly believe it would help tremendously. Other FCS schools definitely use it against us in recruitment. Schools like Penn would also be even stronger by plucking Ivy recruits from weaker programs that stand small chance of winning league and going to the playoffs.
Playoffs are a bad idea for an Ivy school. We have finals in December. The players need a few weeks off to get ready. Basketball is different; it puts less of a demand on the players, and finals are still weeks away when playoffs are over. As far as Fordham, I think it's got a decent law school. I don't think it is very strong on the undergraduate side. It is also woefully under-endowed. We have much more in common with Georgetown.
Playoffs are necessary at this point. Students still would have time to prepare for finals, unless they made it all the way to the national championship, in which case I'm sure finals could be re arranged. It's time to start putting an emphasis on football like Penn and other FCS schools
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