Ivy League may return to the field this fall

[bonarae]

Sorry I couldn't find the Joint Statement on the Ivy League official athletics website.... but I did see a Voy post on this:


Joint Statement From Council Of Ivy League Presidents
Planning For Return To Regular Competition Beginning Fall 2021

"At each of our campuses, we are busily planning for the fall semester. As is prudent given all the uncertainty around the course of this pandemic, we are each planning for a range of possible scenarios. But given the current steady decline of Covid-19 infections in this country, and the broad availability and uptake of vaccinations, we are optimistic that our campuses will be back to something close to normal by this fall, including in-person learning with students in residence. And this includes our expectation for the resumption of regular competitive schedules for Ivy League athletics across all sports beginning in fall 2021.

We know that this has been a challenging year for Ivy League student-athletes – as it has for our entire campuses, our country and the world at large – and we very much look forward to a return to spirited athletics competition and to the Ivy League rivalries that make our conference so special. Barring unanticipated circumstances, such as a dramatic increase in infection rates from a variant in the virus, we look forward to welcoming our teams back to intercollegiate competition this fall."

Do you think them ducking from any competition (except the Quackers this spring) for the entire academic year was part of their reputational downfall in the FCS and possibly Division I in general?

[Mocs123]

I feel bad for Ivy League players. Will the Ivy let them take advantage of the "free" COVID year from the NCAA?

[NY Crusader 2010]

I feel bad for Ivy League players. Will the Ivy let them take advantage of the "free" COVID year from the NCAA?

Yes, but won't be at an Ivy League school.

Ivies have a ridiculous rule that you can't use eligibility as a graduate student. Varsity athletes are all undergrad.

Let's see what the Ivy has in store this fall. On-field mask mandates in both indoor and outdoor venues, even for vaccinated athletes and coaches? Staggered starts at the heptagonal cross country meet? No fans allowed? No dancing allowed and cars parked a minimum of 15 feet apart from each other at the Harvard-Yale tailgate? Get ready for some over-the-top virtue signaling type of measures.

Was so great to escape that world last week on my trip to Brookings, South Dakota (even though I flew into Minneapolis, aka Seattle 2.0).

[DFW HOYA]

How soon before the Ivy adopts the NESCAC model and simply plays all games in-league, i.e., a seven game season? Increasingly, the brahmin seem indifferent to games outside its reach.

[NY Crusader 2010]

How soon before the Ivy adopts the NESCAC model and simply plays all games in-league, i.e., a seven game season? Increasingly, the brahmin seem indifferent to games outside its reach.

Don't see it happening. Too many long-standing rivalry games outside the conference.

Cornell-Colgate
Cornell-Bucknell
Brown-URI
Harvard-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-UNH
Columbia-Fordham (though this one hasn't been played in a while and would likely be as competitive as its ever been right now)
Penn-Lafayette
Princeton-Lehigh
Yale-UCONN starting up again??

Ivies have been playing roughly the same non-conference games for 40 years. Only difference is that they play the service academies a lot less frequently than they did in the 1980's and early 90's.

[acbearkat]

Don't see it happening. Too many long-standing rivalry games outside the conference.

Cornell-Colgate
Cornell-Bucknell
Brown-URI
Harvard-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-UNH
Columbia-Fordham (though this one hasn't been played in a while and would likely be as competitive as its ever been right now)
Penn-Lafayette
Princeton-Lehigh
Yale-UCONN starting up again??

Ivies have been playing roughly the same non-conference games for 40 years. Only difference is that they play the service academies a lot less frequently than they did in the 1980's and early 90's.

I think UCONN is likely to drop down to the FCS at some point. There is just no way they will ever be competitive at the FBS level as an independent.

[DFW HOYA]

I think UCONN is likely to drop down to the FCS at some point. There is just no way they will ever be competitive at the FBS level as an independent.

Two points:

1. To the rivalry list above, the die is cast and Georgetown is not going to be part of that list. 20 years in the Patriot League has not generated a single rivalry.

2. UConn may not be competitive but they still have enough of a brand name to slog through until a new FBS conference finally forms.

[NY Crusader 2010]

Two points:

1. To the rivalry list above, the die is cast and Georgetown is not going to be part of that list. 20 years in the Patriot League has not generated a single rivalry.

2. UConn may not be competitive but they still have enough of a brand name to slog through until a new FBS conference finally forms.

A new FBS conference isn't going to form but UCONN isn't dropping down -- not with a 38K seat taxpayer-funded stadium. They'll either stay indy or join MAC or CUSA if they feel they have to and/or are invited. And UCONN still at least has whatever minimal hope there is that if ACC decides to expand to 16 that they would get to the chopper when it comes to P5 membership.

And unfortunately you're right about Georgetown developing any level of FCS rivalries. Your "real rival" Villanova won't even play you, the only other DC school with DI football (Howard) won't commit to a long-term series, neither of the "Southern Ivies", Princeton and Penn, seem to have any interest. And Georgetown simply has never been historically competitive enough in the PL to generate any kind of juice. We already have the Ram-Crusader Cup but maybe a "Jesuit trophy" could be added between Fordham, Holy Cross and Georgetown? Why not?

[DFW HOYA]

The ACC has made it clear Connecticut is not welcome--for those that recall ESPN/ACC's first stab at the Big East in 2003, the ACC was sued by Richard Blumenthal, than AG of the state of Connecticut, on behalf of the university. That legal battle, and BC's fear that they would be overrun in New England, has contributed to husky non grata. The subsequent snub by the Big 12 also made it clear to that school's leadership that UConn does not have a football brand to justify an addition to a competitive conference; hence, its move back to the Big East for all other sports.

Re: Georgetown, the PL is a gilded cage. It cannot compete with the dead weight in a conference with no regional interest, and accepts an absurdly high hurdle imposed by the PL to recruit by SAT scores for talent that can't get a scholarship elsewhere. Laugh as we may about Fordham's pending fate with Nebraska, they got the deal done. Who's getting a deal done with Georgetown?

[NY Crusader 2010]

The ACC has made it clear Connecticut is not welcome--for those that recall ESPN/ACC's first stab at the Big East in 2003, the ACC was sued by Richard Blumenthal, than AG of the state of Connecticut, on behalf of th4e state university. That legal battle, and BC's fear that they would be overrun in New England, has contributed to husky non grata. The subsequent snub by the Big 12 also made it clear to that school's leadership that UConn does not have a football brand to justify an addition to a competitive conference; hence, its move back to the Big East for all other sports.

Re: Georgetown, the PL is a gilded cage. It cannot compete with the dead weight of a conference with no regional interest south of I-80, and an absurdly high hurdle imposed by the PL to recruit what's left in the pool that doesn't have a scholarship elsewhere. Laugh as we may about Fordham's pending fate with Nebraska, they got the deal done. What is said about a PL school that can do no better but to open its season with Marist and Delaware State...and Del State won't even return the game?

PL and Georgetown is basically a marriage of convenience at this point. As far as regional interest, there's none in Worcester or Boston either. Good for Fordham on the Nebraska game -- they get paid $500K to play in an iconic college football venue in front of 90,000 people, against a team that's maybe 10-14 points better than the South Dakota State team we just played.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Lehigh has Princeton and Penn scheduled for the fall. I'm hoping those games are played! I love the PL-IL association in football; great roadtrips! The Ancient 8 has become one of the top conferences in FCS. The PL needs to raise their bar.....

[DFW HOYA]

The Ancient 8 has become one of the top conferences in FCS. The PL needs to raise their bar.....

It's one of the "top" conferences if you don't travel west of Pennsylvania. And to an earlier point, IL-PL rivalries end at the Mason-Dixon line.

My list:
1. MVFC
2. CAA
3. Big Sky
4. OVC
5. Southland (trending down)
6. Southern
7. SWAC (trending up)
8. Ivy
9. MEAC (its future is shaky)
10. Big South (trending up)
11. Northeast
12. Patriot (trending down)
13. Pioneer

[acbearkat]

It's one of the "top" conferences if you don't travel west of Pennsylvania. My list:
1. MVFC
2. CAA
3. Big Sky
4. OVC
5. Southern
6. Southland (trending down)
7. SWAC (trending up)
8. Ivy
9. MEAC
10. Big South (trending up)
11. Northeast
12. Patriot (trending down)
13. Pioneer

The Southland is now in a struggle to survive, especially with Sam, SFA, Lamar, Abilene Christian and UCA leaving. There are a few Southland schools that don't play football, including Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the University of New Orleans.

[DFW HOYA]

The Southland is now in a struggle to survive, especially with Sam, SFA, Lamar, Abilene Christian and UCA leaving. There are a few Southland schools that don't play football, including Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the University of New Orleans.

Agreed. The SLC and MEAC are approaching conference realignment's version of hospice care.

[Anthony215]

A new FBS conference isn't going to form but UCONN isn't dropping down -- not with a 38K seat taxpayer-funded stadium. They'll either stay indy or join MAC or CUSA if they feel they have to and/or are invited. And UCONN still at least has whatever minimal hope there is that if ACC decides to expand to 16 that they would get to the chopper when it comes to P5 membership.

And unfortunately you're right about Georgetown developing any level of FCS rivalries. Your "real rival" Villanova won't even play you, the only other DC school with DI football (Howard) won't commit to a long-term series, neither of the "Southern Ivies", Princeton and Penn, seem to have any interest. And Georgetown simply has never been historically competitive enough in the PL to generate any kind of juice. We already have the Ram-Crusader Cup but maybe a "Jesuit trophy" could be added between Fordham, Holy Cross and Georgetown? Why not?

At best UCONN getting an ACC invite would be BB only similar to ND. No way in hell the ACC wants their football program bringing down the league reputation when they're trying to stay with the Big 10, Big 12 and PAC 12 fighting for 2nd best conference behind the glorified SEC.

As for the Ivy league returning I'm certain they'll play this fall and won't have to worry about social distancing besides the Harvard/Yale and Harvard/Princeton games. As most IVY league games are played in half empty stadiums besides those two big games. They'll probably restrict it to league only games as well to minimize student athlete exposure traveling to non league games.

[kdinva]

The Ivies need to make a final decision before Memorial Day, so teams that need to find opponents (VMI v Cornell) can do so.

[NY Crusader 2010]

At best UCONN getting an ACC invite would be BB only similar to ND. No way in hell the ACC wants their football program bringing down the league reputation when they're trying to stay with the Big 10, Big 12 and PAC 12 fighting for 2nd best conference behind the glorified SEC.

As for the Ivy league returning I'm certain they'll play this fall and won't have to worry about social distancing besides the Harvard/Yale and Harvard/Princeton games. As most IVY league games are played in half empty stadiums besides those two big games. They'll probably restrict it to league only games as well to minimize student athlete exposure traveling to non league games.

That's not how it works in the P5. There are no "basketball affiliates" at this level -- if so Gonzaga would be in the PAC 12. Football drives the apple cart and conference alignment is all based on that. To be clear Notre Dame is absolutely INVITED to the ACC in football. They are semi-ACC football members since they have a scheduling agreement (4-5 games a year I think) and obviously ND was a COVID member for 2020.

It's obviously a super long shot but IF UConn did get into the ACC, it would be in all sports including football. But that's not going to happen for a number of reasons.

And I hope the Ivy doesn't cancel non-conference games given we're scheduled to play several....IMO they'll play a full season. Most of the Ivy non-conference football games are shorter road trips than the league games.

[NY Crusader 2010]

It's one of the "top" conferences if you don't travel west of Pennsylvania. And to an earlier point, IL-PL rivalries end at the Mason-Dixon line.

My list:
1. MVFC
2. CAA
3. Big Sky
4. OVC
5. Southland (trending down)
6. Southern
7. SWAC (trending up)
8. Ivy
9. MEAC (its future is shaky)
10. Big South (trending up)
11. Northeast
12. Patriot (trending down)
13. Pioneer

This list is off. No way the OVC, Southland and SWAC are better than the IVY as a whole IMO, Sam Houston State notwithstanding. In fact, the MEAC and SWAC are both probably slightly behind the Patriot League. You also have the Big South a bit underrated.

One thing you did absolutely get right is the fact that the NEC is definitely ahead of the Patriot right now. Can't argue otherwise until Holy Cross beats Sacred Heart or CCSU in the playoffs next year (hopefully).

[NY Crusader 2010]

Off topic, but I'll put together my current FCS conference rankings -- without cheating and looking up 2019 Sagarin or Massey

1. MVFC
2. CAA
3. Big Sky
4. SoCon
5. Ivy
6. Southland
7. Big South
8. OVC
9. NEC
10. Patriot
11. SWAC
12. MEAC
13. Pioneer

[bulldog10jw]

Do you think them ducking from any competition (except the Quackers this spring) for the entire academic year was part of their reputational downfall in the FCS and possibly Division I in general?

No, but if the Ivies don't play this fall, and everyone else does, recruiting in all sports may be damaged beyond repair.

[NY Crusader 2010]

No, but if the Ivies don't play this fall, and everyone else does, recruiting in all sports may be damaged beyond repair.

There's no way the Ivy doesn't play this fall.

[ngineer]

Don't see it happening. Too many long-standing rivalry games outside the conference.

Cornell-Colgate
Cornell-Bucknell
Brown-URI
Harvard-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-Holy Cross
Dartmouth-UNH
Columbia-Fordham (though this one hasn't been played in a while and would likely be as competitive as its ever been right now)
Penn-Lafayette
Princeton-Lehigh
Yale-UCONN starting up again??

Ivies have been playing roughly the same non-conference games for 40 years. Only difference is that they play the service academies a lot less frequently than they did in the 1980's and early 90's.

Agreed. Lehigh v. Penn has a pretty long history too. Can't see that coming to an end.

[bonarae]

Ivies have been playing roughly the same non-conference games for 40 years. Only difference is that they play the service academies a lot less frequently than they did in the 1980's and early 90's.

Well... we need diversity of non-conference games to make us relevant again. xsighx

[DFW HOYA]

Well... we need diversity of non-conference games to make us relevant again. xsighx

Diversity has not been an Ivy trademark in football. Even a half-century ago, the Ivy non-conference games weren't more than a bus ride for any of them:

Brown: Rhode Island, Colgate
Columbia: Lafayette, Rutgers
Cornell: Colgate, Rutgers
Dartmouth: Holy Cross, UMass
Harvard: Holy Cross, Northeastern
Pennsylvania: Lafayette, Lehigh
Princeton: Colgate, Rutgers
Yale: Connecticut, Colgate

[Ivytalk]

At best UCONN getting an ACC invite would be BB only similar to ND. No way in hell the ACC wants their football program bringing down the league reputation when they're trying to stay with the Big 10, Big 12 and PAC 12 fighting for 2nd best conference behind the glorified SEC.

As for the Ivy league returning I'm certain they'll play this fall and won't have to worry about social distancing besides the Harvard/Yale and Harvard/Princeton games. As most IVY league games are played in half empty stadiums besides those two big games. They'll probably restrict it to league only games as well to minimize student athlete exposure traveling to non league games.
I like your comment about social distancing, Anthony! Even pre-Covid, you could drive a truck between little clusters of fans at almost all Ivy games. Full-blooded apathy is the order of the day for Ivy FB. The undergrads don’t care, and the rapidly dwindling cohort of alums who do is dying off faster than you might think. I feel badly for the athletes, but their woke classmates would rather attend a SJW flavor-of-the-week protest than watch FB in person.

[The Boogie Down]

I like your comment about social distancing, Anthony! Even pre-Covid, you could drive a truck between little clusters of fans at almost all Ivy games. Full-blooded apathy is the order of the day for Ivy FB. The undergrads don’t care, and the rapidly dwindling cohort of alums who do is dying off faster than you might think. I feel badly for the athletes, but their woke classmates would rather attend a SJW flavor-of-the-week protest than watch FB in person.

Not sure how "wokeness" or 'SJW's" are catching the blame for no one caring about Ivy football. Especially since even Ivy football doesn't care about Ivy football. Maybe play more than 10 games? Maybe join the rest of the FCS world in a post-season? Maybe try being less insulated than the Ivies (like the post directly above featuring 1971 OoC schedules clearly shows) have been for over 50 years now? Maybe even break from the bubble enough to punch up against an P-5 the way even some PL schools are now doing? Maybe try ANYTHING aside from the same bland, tasteless, spice-free recipe all Ivies have been following since 1956?

Guessing places like Ann Arbor, Athens and Austin (just to start with the A's) have more than their share of woke SJW's too. But when their respective football programs care about football, then you get, for the most part, good football and fan interest.

[bonarae]

I like your comment about social distancing, Anthony! Even pre-Covid, you could drive a truck between little clusters of fans at almost all Ivy games. Full-blooded apathy is the order of the day for Ivy FB. The undergrads don’t care, and the rapidly dwindling cohort of alums who do is dying off faster than you might think. I feel badly for the athletes, but their woke classmates would rather attend a SJW flavor-of-the-week protest than watch FB in person.

Maybe as apathetic as the NESCAC or even PFL folks? xsmhx

[Go Green]

I like your comment about social distancing, Anthony! I feel badly for the athletes, but their woke classmates would rather attend a SJW flavor-of-the-week protest than watch FB in person.

Crowds have been declining at Ivy games since the 1970s.

There's a reason why everyone (except Yale) was relegated to I-AA in 1981. It begins with an "a."

[Ivytalk]

Crowds have been declining at Ivy games since the 1970s.

There's a reason why everyone (except Yale) was relegated to I-AA in 1981. It begins with an "a."
I’d like to see a statistical comparison of the relative rates of decline in attendance among the FCS conferences. I’ll bet the Ivies are at or near the top....or, more accurately, bottom.

[UAalum72]

I’d like to see a statistical comparison of the relative rates of decline in attendance among the FCS conferences. I’ll bet the Ivies are at or near the top....or, more accurately, bottom.



Total 2019
Teams Games Attend. Avg. Change
In Avg.
1. Southwestern Athletic 10 52 793,835 15,266 26
2. Mid-Eastern# 9 47 459,743 9,782 -33
3. Big Sky 13 78 736,614 9,444 -156
4. Colonial 12 74 660,808 8,930 -353
5. Missouri Valley Football 10 66 589,249 8,928 -936
6. Ivy 8 41 316,307 7,715 607
7. Ohio Valley 9 54 413,403 7,656 149
8. Southern 9 53 370,932 6,999 -612
9. Southland 11 64 436,917 6,827 -334
10. Patriot 7 35 157,279 4,494 282
11. Big South# 7 42 176,659 4,206 592
12. Pioneer 10 60 163,615 2,727 43
13. Northeast# 8 41 97,204 2,371 28
Independent 1 6 50,040 8,340 408


2003 (oldest year on the NCAA site)
13. SW Athletic (I-AA).........10 48 579,976 12,083 Up 1,133 Up 120,065
14. Southern (I-AA)#............9 54 563,433 10,434 Up 647 Up 44,712
15. Ivy (I-AA).......................8 42 431,729 10,279 Up 919 Dn 26,893
16. Gateway (I-AA)...............8 50 *509,725 *10,195 Up 835 Up 51,103
17. Big Sky (I-AA).................8 49 495,861 10,120 Up 484 Up 42,976
18. Southland (I-AA)#...........6 33 331,628 10,049 Up 373 Dn 16,725
19. Mid-Eastern (I-AA) ..........9 39 388,800 9,969 Up 705 Dn 65,147
20. Atlantic 10 (I-AA) ..........11 66 535,253 8,100 Up 841 Up 46,439
21. Ohio Valley (I-AA)#.........9 48 343,855 7,164 Up 12 Up 36,327
22. Div. I-AA Indep.#............7 41 244,645 5,967 Up 846 Up 34,691
23. Patriot (I-AA)..................8 49 *277,167 5,656 Up 445 Up 42,692
24. Big South (I-AA)# ...........5 29 136,101 4,693 Dn 1,223 Dn 17,710
25. Pioneer (I-AA) ................9 54 *210,949 3,906 Up 574 Up 44,367
26. Northeast (I-AA) .............8 37 *89,255 *2,412 Up 357 Up 4,983
27. Metro Atlantic(I-AA)# ......6 33 62,007 1,879 Dn 243 Dn 5,883


Not directly comparable, different teams, fewer neutral-site games that averaged about 32,000. I-AA home games averaged 7,739 for 121 teams in 2003, 7,281 for 124 teams in 2019, down about 6%.

Ivy League per-game is down almost 25%. I once went thru their archives and while they averaged over 20k as late as 1970, by 1981 it was down to about 12K. So they can't blame demotion to I-AA for the decline

BTW FBS average for the same period is also down, over 8% per game. Total FBS attendance is up 1.7 million for 13 more teams.

[Houndawg]

No, but if the Ivies don't play this fall, and everyone else does, recruiting in all sports may be damaged beyond repair.

The Ivys should be D2 or NAIA and play with themselves.

[NY Crusader 2010]

The Ivys should be D2 or NAIA and play with themselves.

Ivies will never leave NCAA Division I because they fully participate in championships in all sports across the board....except FCS football.

[bulldog10jw]

The Ivys should be D2 or NAIA and play with themselves.

Scheduling teams that want to play the Ivies is not a problem

[DFW HOYA]

Ivy attendance averages, 1995 vs./ 2019 (most recent attendance season)

Outside of Harvard, the gains came from the smallest programs by attendance and the steepest declines came from those with more robust attendance.

Brown: 2,820 in 1995, 3,789 in 2019 Up 34%
Columbia: 4,868 in 1995, 5,376 in 2019 Up 10%
Cornell: 7,855 in 1995, 4,295 in 2019. Down 45%
Dartmouth: 5,797 in 1995, 5,596 in 2019 Down 3%
Harvard: 8,786 in 1995, 10,812 in 2019 Up 23%
Pennsylvania: 16,099 in 1995, 8,427 in 2019 Down 48%
Princeton: 10,418 in 1995, 7,225 in 2019 Down 31%
Yale: 20,343 in 1995, 12,133 in 2019 Down 40%; this included the H-Y Game both seasons

[Sader87]

Ivy attendance, from personal experience, started dropping by the late 70s and took a real nose-dive by the 90s and 00s...Holy Cross games at Harvard, Dartmouth and Brown in the early/mid 70s routinely would be decent crowds of 10-20+K or so...by the 21st C, outside of some night HC-Harvard games, those games don't sniff 10K.

[bonarae]

Scheduling teams that want to play the Ivies is not a problem

For Yale only... xrulesx

[Go Green]

Ivy attendance averages, 1995 vs./ 2019 (most recent attendance season)

Outside of Harvard, the gains came from the smallest programs by attendance and the steepest declines came from those with more robust attendance.


Pennsylvania: 16,099 in 1995, 8,427 in 2019 Down 48%

Yale: 20,343 in 1995, 12,133 in 2019 Down 40%; this included the H-Y Game both seasons

For a good number of years this century, many suspected Yale and Penn of playing games to inflate their attendance numbers.

When both programs got new Athletic Directors in the mid-2010s, the reported attendance seemed more in line with eyewitness estimates. And yeah- those numbers were a lot lower than numbers reported a few years earlier....

And if you want to stick it to Princeton, compare the attendance from 1998 to today. 1998 was the year that their new stadium opened and drew quite well. Needless to say, the novelty has worn off. :)

[ngineer]

A real shame. I remember about 20 years ago when Lehigh played Penn at Franklin Field in a battle of two nationally ranked teams that went down to the wire. Must have been close to 20,000 in the old stadium that night and the atmosphere was electric. I don't think we'll ever see that type of interest, again.

[DFW HOYA]

Penn vs. Harvard, 1984. Note the crowd size.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_yW-zdn3i4

[NY Crusader 2010]

A real shame. I remember about 20 years ago when Lehigh played Penn at Franklin Field in a battle of two nationally ranked teams that went down to the wire. Must have been close to 20,000 in the old stadium that night and the atmosphere was electric. I don't think we'll ever see that type of interest, again.

Holy Cross-Harvard under Friday Night Lights in Cambridge drew 21,000 in September 2008. Even that seems like eons ago.

[DFW HOYA]

Holy Cross-Harvard under Friday Night Lights in Cambridge drew 21,000 in September 2008. Even that seems like eons ago.

I caught that game in the evening and the Georgetown-Yale game the following afternoon (it drew 12,771).

[Go Green]

I don't think we'll ever see that type of interest, again.

After the 8,000-something crowd that went to undefeated Dartmouth against undefeated Princeton in 2018, I fear you may be correct... :(

[bonarae]

Meanwhile...

Memorial Day has come and gone and still no update from the Presidents. Maybe by the end of this new month, they will decide for this fall. xdontknowx

[DFW HOYA]

If the Ivies move to intra-conference play only, they need to give their non-conference opponents time to reschedule, perhaps among each other as a fallback:

Week 3 (Sep. 18): Valpo, Holy Cross, Marist, Lehigh, URI, Bucknell, Georgetown, VMI
Week 4 (Sep. 25): Lafayette, Sacred Heart, Georgetown, Stetson
Week 5 (Oct. 1): Bryant, Bucknell, Holy Cross, (Yale opponent TBA)
Week 6: (Oct. 8): Colgate, CCSU, Monmouth, Lehigh
Week 7: (Oct. 15): Connecticut, Colgate, Lafayette, New Hampshire

[NY Crusader 2010]

Axing non-conference games would be ridiculous. Ivy non-conference games more often involve LESS travel than the conference games.

[NY Crusader 2010]

After the 8,000-something crowd that went to undefeated Dartmouth against undefeated Princeton in 2018, I fear you may be correct... :(

And I think it was beautiful weather too. 20 years prior, the attendance would've been more than double that.

[Go Green]

And I think it was beautiful weather too. 20 years prior, the attendance would've been more than double that.

The forecast was actually for rain. There might have been a drizzle early in the game. But for the most part, the weather was fine.