The Ivy League Does The Right Thing

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 excitement across the FCS as arguably the most storied schools in the subdivision at long last come to the party.

“It's going to bring a lot more attention nationally,” McCorkle said. “You're going to involve a whole new set of alums from a league that has rich tradition and history. I just really think this will bring so much more energy to the FCS.”

Unlike this year’s inaugural FBS playoff, which includes 12 teams, the FCS playoff features a 24-team bracket. Eight first-round games lead to matchups against the top eight seeds, which all receive byes.

Beginning next fall, the Ivy League will be one of 11 conferences that will receive an automatic bid, with 13 at-large teams rounding out the field. Not surprisingly, given that the Ivy presidents only voted earlier this week to approve postseason play, the process to decide who will get the automatic bid in the case of a tie at the top of the Ivy League standings has yet to be worked out.

While Harvard would have been expected to get the nod this fall for beating fellow champions Dartmouth and Columbia, McCorkle thinks there will be years when a second Ivy team draws consideration for an at-large berth.

“I hope so, I really do,” he said. “(T)here have been opportunities in the past few years that I think two teams from our league could have made a pretty good statement in the playoffs. I hope that ends up happening.

“How that can happen, we're still trying to figure that out. We haven't had a real, true discussion about that as coaches and as athletic directors in the Ivy League.”

Concerns about upstaging The Game have long played into opposition to the postseason in Cambridge and New Haven, but coaches and players at the other six Ivies have been frustrated by the playoff ban almost since the championship tournament began in 1978. Every few years there would be an initiative aimed at allowing the Ivies to go on to the postseason, but they always failed until this time.

“I think the Student Athletic Advisory Committee was a big, big part of that,” explained McCorkle. “I think (it was) their ability to prepare themselves, put this proposal together, and present it to the presidents and to the athletic directors. They did a phenomenal job across the board.”

Graduating Dartmouth quarterback Jackson Proctor was one of 17 athletes from a dozen Ivy League sports who helped finally get the ball across the goal line after about a year of hard work.

“It wasn’t just football players,” said McCorkle. “There were other athletes that were a big part of this. And I think the students did a very good job. They were very organized and did a phenomenal job preparing and presenting it to the presidents.”

Recent changes in the Ivy League presidential ranks and strong backing by the conference athletic directors also played into the decision.

 “But I think that the main thing was the students,” said McCorkle. “It was student-driven. And that was the thing that I think it really was able to sell it, and promote it, and get it passed.”

McCorkle knew the proposal was on the presidents’ agenda. What he had no way of knowing was what color smoke would come out of the chimney after the presidents finished discussing the issue.

“We had our Ivy League coaches and athletic directors meeting in New York City the other day,” he said. “We knew it was going to be voted on.

“Obviously, you're sitting there waiting. Waiting for that phone call. Or waiting for that email. And when we finally received that, when I received that email, it was unbelievable. It was exciting, and I was so happy for the league.”

Over the years, out-of-league coaches who have experience in the FCS playoffs have often said they believe the top Ivy League teams would fare well in the postseason. McCorkle feels the same way.

“I do believe whoever represents our league going into the playoffs will have a very good opportunity to make some noise for sure,” he said. “I think with this happening now, the recruiting is only going to amp up for the Ivy League. I feel like this opens doors for a lot of individuals who maybe didn't want to consider the Ivy League because of the fact that you don't get to go play in the playoffs.

“Now that's not an issue anymore, so I do believe that this will allow recruiting to increase even more than it has in the past 10 years in the league.”

That may well be the case, but McCorkle still believes Dartmouth has fielded teams over the past decade-plus that would have represented the Ivy League well – if only they had been able to go on.

“I feel like that we could have given ourselves a chance to be successful,” he said. “But hopefully going forward, we're going to have some teams, and the Ivy League is going to have some teams, that are going to be able to line up across from well-known, traditionally powerhouse teams in the country and be able to go toe-to-toe.

“That's our goal, and I think that would be the goal for every single coach in the Ivy League.”

To that end, “I sent a message to the team yesterday about the excitement and the energy and how happy we are,” McCorkle said. “This is something that we've wanted a long time. Our players have wanted a long time. Now you have that opportunity.

“Now we have to prepare ourselves to take it to another level. And this is the ultimate level.”

But, he made it clear, the postseason absolutely won’t diminish the importance of the regular season. If anything, he feels it will be enhanced.

Now, he said, “It’s like double playoffs. Playoffs to win the league and hopefully get in the playoffs to go to the national championship. ...

“It's not just the Ivy League games anymore. Honestly, they're always going to be the most important, but I think even out-of-conference games are huge now.”

For McCorkle, the chance to go on to the national stage is a win-win.

“The goal is always going to be to win an Ivy League championship,” he said. “(If) you put yourself in a situation to win the Ivy League championship, obviously, you're going to put yourself in a position to play for even more. And I think you've got to focus on that, and that only. . . .

“That's always going to be the most important thing, winning a conference championship, winning an Ivy championship, and then work from there going forward.”