Career Blocker?

This ain't Ole Miss anymore, coach


Every coach wants his players' undivided attention.

And in practice, film sessions, team meetings, and of course during the games, he should get it.

But in Ivy League football, there's just no way a coach can expect his players to make football the 100% top priority all the time.

That's what the BCS world is for.

In the real college world of the Ivies, the course work is just too tough and the goals for just about every player in the league go far beyond football.

Everybody knows that, right?

That's why when I first got reports of what Cornell's Kent Austin has done in Ithaca, I was incredulous. But then I got more sources telling me the same thing.

Nobody can or will go on the record with this, but Coach Austin has reportedly forbidden his players to pursue many internships and other non-football activities this summer. Some degree of player dissension has also reportedly ensued.

I expect to get some denials in the comments section and maybe even privately after I publish this.

But if this is true, (and I believe it is, and wouldn't publish it if I didn't), it's a big mistake by Austin and one that shows that he doesn't quite get the purpose of the league.

I thought the chilly reception Princeton OC James Perry received from his new Tiger players last year was a bad omen, and indeed the team finished 0-7 in the Ivies.

Now this is the kind of mistake that could hurt Cornell even more... perhaps for years to come.

It's just another strong reason why recruits need to remember Columbia's LOCATION. There really isn't any kind of job or career you can't find in abundance in New York City.

And Columbia and its alumni work very hard to make sure its student athletes get as much access to those opportunities as the rules allow.

... and I thought Kent Austin was going to be the best new Ivy football coach to come around in a long time.

Maybe that initial prediction will still come true.

But this isn't a good development.