BGA Overtime

BGA (Dec. 19) – Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle took the question head-on. Has the Ivy League’s refusal to allow its football teams to participate in the FCS playoffs driven off some potential recruits? “Definitely,” he said in a media availability Thursday, one day after learning that the Ivy League had finally reversed course on its postseason ban. “I've been here long enough, and there have been players who that was a big deal for them. It’s a big deal having the opportunity to play for a national championship, or play in the playoffs.” That sense has been reaffirmed since the surprising news went about as viral as Ivy League football news ever will. “Obviously it’s going to be huge for us in recruiting,” McCorkle said. “You can already sense it, and feel it in 24 hours. Just looking on Twitter, the pages of guys that we’re recruiting, they're posting that stuff.” But the Ivy teams aren’t the only beneficiaries of the Ancient Eight being able to go to the postseason. There’s ...

This story first appeared in the Dartmouth's Peak Magazine in 2018. It is reproduced here in recognition of Don Dobes being named the 2024 FCS assistant coach of the year. I had been asked by the magazine editor to spend a week embedded with the defensive staff and when I explained how difficult that would be we settled on writing about one defensive coach. As you'll see, we picked the right one. I could never thank Coach Dobes enough for the help he gave me in writing this story. Editor's note: The story is posted here without re-editing, something that is soooo tempting. DON DOBES is in his fifth year as defensive coordinator for the Dartmouth football team and his 25th year of coaching in the Ivy League. A 1979 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, where he earned all-conference and academic all-state honors. Dobes recently gave PEAK an inside look at what game week is like for a football lifer and his defensive staff. SUNDAY, OCT. 19 SIX DAYS UNTIL KICKOFF Sunday, it is the p...