No. 3 Quinnipiac Annihilates Dartmouth to Seize Conference Lead

No. 3 Quinnipiac overwhelmed an injury-decimated and over-matched Dartmouth squad 8-1. The game was a microcosm of Dartmouth's entire season, and was the hockey equivalent of a perfect game for Quinnipiac.

The rout started from the very first face-off as senior Connor Jones scored the game's first goal in just eight seconds, setting a school record for fastest goal. The Bobcats never looked back, reeling off another five goals by the end of the second period and forcing Dartmouth to change its goalie.

Three of Quinnipiac's goals were scored in a timespan of just three minutes.

"Quinnipiac is an excellent team," Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet said following the game. "I thought from the opening face-off Quinnipiac was outstanding. We didn't have any answers and that's my jobs."

Dartmouth's lone goal came long after the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. The point seemed to only antagonize Quinnipiac as they would net another two easily before the night's end.

Dartmouth entered the game needing to capitalize on power play opportunities to remain competitive. Except Dartmouth couldn't score on any of its power plays as Quinnipiac's penalty kill was too good. Quinnipiac entered Friday with a penalty kill of 91 percent, while Dartmouth is now scoreless in its last 23 power plays.

"We're better than we showed but they have an outstanding team," Gaudet said. "They presented us a lot of problems in terms of their skill level and quickness."

Dartmouth hopes to rebound from tonight's defeat with a win against Princeton tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. The game will be well attended by Dartmouth students because of the traditional "tennis ball toss" after the team's first goal.

Quinnipiac's win and losses by Union and Colgate means Quinnipiac holds sole possession of first place in the ECAC. 

Trade Rumors: Is Terrelle Pryor done in Oakland?

On January 29th, Sports World Report released an article regarding trade rumors involving Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The article claims that Pryor has worn out his welcome and that the Oakland decision makers are opting to go with second-year QB Matt McGloin. Furthermore, potential destinations like Philadelphia, Minnesota and Houston are all mentioned.

It makes sense that Oakland wants to move on with McGloin and drop Pryor. Pryor had his moments during the season but he could never string together the kind of consistency GM Reggie McKenzie desires of a quarterback. He could never sustain drives and take some of the pressure of an overburdened defense.

McGloin is the kind of pure passer Oakland seemingly wants. McKenzie brought in Matt Flynn from Seattle for the starting gig before Flynn lost his job to Pryor in the offseason and, ultimately, his roster spot when he didn't step up in the game against Washington.

McGloin is of a similar mold to Flynn, but with more potential and a stronger arm. The former Penn State quarterback showed the willingness to air the ball out deep and stretch the field, something Flynn has never done too much of. Pryor was willing to throw deep as well, but his mechanics weren't great and he was more willing to scramble for the first.

In the end, McGloin outperformed Pryor and earned the starting job, although neither quarterback put up big numbers. McGloin was just more consistent, productive and avoided more drive-killing sacks (McGloin was sacked six times. Pryor? 31.)

Which means if McGloin has the job (although Oakland will definitely either draft a quarterback or sign another veteran to complete with McGloin), McKenzie has no reason to keep Pryor, especially since McGloin and Pryor require different types of offenses.

I don't see any teams willing to trade for Pryor considering how much of a developmental project he's still considered, which will force McKenzie's hand and prompt him to cut Pryor in order to save a little money for the salary cap.

But where would Pryor go?

Philadelphia is the leading option because Pryor is the younger, cheaper and, hopefully, more durable version of Michael Vick. If Philly signed Pryor, Vick is guaranteed to be cut loose because of his large contract. However, I don't see Pryor being able to catch on behind Nick Foles.

Houston was also listed, but with a receiver like Andre Johnson, the Texans and Bill O'Brien are going to want a passer with a more proven record than Pryor. Most likely, Houston will select a QB in the draft like Teddy Bridgewater or Johnny Manziel, depending on who O'Brien likes more.

Minnesota, in my opinion, seems like the best option. Pryor's a lethal running threat and could attract attention away from star running back Adrian Peterson. If Minnesota were to run a lot of play-action, the multi-dimensional threat of Pryor bootlegging and running would force a lot of single coverage and Pryor is just accurate enough that he can capitalize on a blown coverage.

Dartmouth Men's Hockey Faces Tough Conference Battles This Weekend

Dartmouth men’s hockey is entering the final month of the regular season with match-ups this weekend against two teams experiencing very different seasons. Dartmouth goes from playing No. 3 Quinnipiac, the second-ranked team in the ECAC, on Friday to playing Princeton Saturday night.

“We’re looking at Quinnipiac first,” Grant Opperman ’17 said. “They’re a pretty good team and they play an offensive game. They’ve got a lot of skill on their team but I think we match up well with them skill for skill. It should be fun. It could turn into either a big shootout or a big defensive game.”

Dartmouth (3-14-3, 2-10-1 ECAC) is going to face an extremely tough battle against Quinnipiac (18-4-5, 8-2-3 ECAC), who will approach Friday with a must-win attitude. Quinnipiac is in a three-way race for first place with Union and Colgate, tying Colgate in points and trailing Union for first in the ECAC by just one point. 

“We’re pretty excited,” Geoff Ferguson ’16 said. “Quinnipiac’s always a fun game. It’s always good to test yourself against one of the best teams in the nation. I think we’re right there with them if we play our game.”

Quinnipiac had been No. 4 last weekend but after remaining idle over the weekend, Quinnipiac rose one spot after RPI stunned Union 3-2. Now Union sits one spot behind Quinnipiac.

Yet in the end, very few people believe Dartmouth will upset the third-ranked team in the nation on Friday, but don’t tell that to Dartmouth’s players. They’ll approach every game from here on out as a must-win regardless of how strong the teams they face are.

“Every game is crucial,” Ferguson said. “We just got to get better every night especially with where we are right now. What we need to do is improve each night and we’ll be there by the end of the year.”

Statistically speaking, the odds are not in Dartmouth’s favor for Dartmouth is heading into the jaws of a team averaging 3.52 goals per game and allowing only 1.82 goals. 

Freshman Sam Anas has stormed onto the collegiate scene, and leads Quinnipiac in both goals (16) and points (32). Anas currently ranks as the top-scoring first-year player in the nation, holding a three-point lead on St. Lawrence’s Matt Carey (29).

In order to have a chance at winning, Dartmouth must capitalize on every power play opportunity against Quinnipiac who has a penalty kill percentage of 90 percent. Otherwise, the Big Green may never have another chance to score.

Dartmouth’s last power play goal came on Dec. 30 in a wild 8-8 contest with then-No. 17 Northeastern. Since then, Dartmouth has gone 0-of-20 in its last six games.

Opperman, architect of the most exciting play in last week’s game against RPI, hopes to repeat his performance with another goal in, ideally, both of this weekend’s games. Against RPI last weekend, Opperman had scored right out of the penalty box, fielding a pass from Connor Dempsey, dekeing out the RPI goalie and knocking the puck in. His performance caused him to be nominated as ECAC Rookie of the Week.

“I hope if I score it’s not out of the penalty box before it happens but you have to love breakaways whenever they happen,” Opperman said.

Princeton (4-15-0, 3-9-0 ECAC) is ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the ECAC standings. Dartmouth sits last at No. 12. Princeton won both early season match-ups in overtime, 3-2 in October and 5-4 in November, explaining why Dartmouth is one spot behind the Tigers in the standings.

Dartmouth currently leads 95-86-15 in the historic rivalry, which dates back to 1907. Princeton will visit Hanover for the second game of a two-game road trip this weekend, the first being at Harvard on Friday night.

The good news for Dartmouth is that Eric Neiley ’15 will make his return. Neiley, one of Dartmouth’s top scorers, will have finished serving a two game suspension he receiving for a late-game altercation with a Cornell player two weekends ago. 

If Dartmouth can stun Quinnipiac on Friday, the Big Green can climb out of the ECAC cellar with a win over Princeton. Unfortunately, Dartmouth will need a surprising turnaround if head coach Bob Gaudet’s squad wants to host a playoff series in Hanover. 

“The Princeton game is always one of our highlights of the year,” Ferguson said. “The tennis ball toss and all the fans in the stands. It’s always a good night.”

Princeton has had little to smile about this season since squeaking by Dartmouth 3-2 to start the season. One of its few highlights was a surprising 3-2 upset over Quinnipiac. But overall, Princeton has been blown out in most of their losses, including being outscored 12-3 in two games by Michigan State.

Princeton has had a weak scoring offense all season, totaling just 35 goals. The Tigers leading scorer is senior Andrew Ammon but he has only six goals on the year. The power play offense is just as weak, scoring 11 goals on 69 opportunities.

Dartmouth should be able to harass Princeton’s goaltender all game long with Princeton’s poor defense, which has allowed 3.74 goals per game.

“I haven’t been around for a Princeton game yet but I hear it’s a lot of fun,” Opperman said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Puck drop for both games is 7:00 p.m. If you’re in the Hanover area, don’t forget to bring your tennis balls for Saturday’s Princeton game.

Will Seattle win its first Championship in 97 years?

By now, everyone has read analysts endlessly debate whether the Seattle Seahawks will defeat the Denver Broncos. Everyone has read how Sunday's Super Bowl will define Peyton Manning's legacy and how if he loses, it could be the latest chapter in a heartbreaking series of playoff letdowns. Or how if Denver loses, it will be their record fifth Super Bowl defeat.

But Seattle has, arguably, a more elaborate history of heartbreaking championship losses. With a loss, Seattle will further establish itself as a snakebitten city with worse luck than any other major sports hub with the possible exception of Atlanta.

Seattle has won just two sports championships in the major professional leagues.  The first occurred 97 years ago when the Seattle Metropolitans walloped the Montreal Canadiens 9-1. The Mets defeated Montreal in a best-of-five series in four games. Fortunately for Seattle, the trophy continues to reside in the Emerald City even though the Mets folded in 1924.

The other championship trophy resides in Oklahoma because of the SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City where they became the Thunder. The Sonics won the 1979 NBA Finals against the Washington Bullets in five games out of a possible seven.

The Seattle Sounders, Seattle's MLS franchise, had success recently, winning three consecutive U.S. Open Cups and going to a fourth before losing on a penalty shootout. However, the Sounders have never played in the MLS Cup final.

The Storm, Seattle's WNBA franchise, does alleviate some of the collective heartbreak every other professional franchise has suffered. The Storm has won two WNBA Championships, the first in 2004 and the second in 2010. Unfortunately, women's leagues suffer from minimal interest and minimal money compared to the NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL and MLB. Hopefully things change in the future but until then, leagues like the WNBA won't receive the respect they deserve.

As for the rest of Seattle's professional franchises, here's a list of heartbreaking moments separated by team:

• Seahawks
• Lost against Los Angeles Raiders in 1983 AFC Championship.
• Brian Bosworth famously steamrolled by Bo Jackson.
• New York Jets' QB Vinny Testaverde's "Phantom Touchdown." Led to 32-31 loss in 1998. 
• Lost at Green Bay during 2003 playoffs. Matt Hasselback's famous comment, "We want the ball, and we're going to score," before throwing game-ending interception.
• Lost to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL. Major problems in officiating. 
• Mariners
• Lost in the ALCS to Cleveland.
• Won 116 games in 2001. Lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.
• Pilots
• Existed in Seattle in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers in 1970.
• SuperSonics
• Lost 1978 NBA Finals to Washington Bullets.
• Won 64 games in 1995. Encountered 72-win, Michael Jordan-led Bulls in NBA Finals. Star Sean Kemp traded away the next season.
• Metropolitans
• No decision in 1918 Stanley Cup.
• Lost 1919 Stanley Cup. 
• Folded in 1924.

As a result, a loss on Sunday will be the final punctuation mark on the latest heartbreaking chapter in Seattle sports history. So, between Denver and Seattle, if either team needs to win a Super Bowl more, it's Seattle.

ECAC: Women's Hockey Conference Update

Dartmouth's Lindsey Allen

On Tuesday, I provided an update regarding men's hockey. Today, I'm going to update women's hockey.

The men's ECAC teams have it easier than the women's ECAC teams. All 12 men's teams can rest assured that they'll be playing at least one round of playoff hockey even if a team's given record indicates the team shouldn't have playoff hopes. For the women, only the top eight teams in the 12-team conference will advance to the playoffs, and right now, Dartmouth is on the outside looking in despite a conference tie with RPI.

By regular season's end, this conference tie will, hopefully, be resolved which would limit any controversy and misgivings. And at first glance, there appears to be a clear indication who the top four teams are as well as the three worst teams. The remaining five are caught in a traffic jam for four available playoff spots.

1. No. 5 Harvard 16-2-2, 12-2-1 ECAC (25 pts)
   
   Excluding the occasional slip-up, Harvard has dominated its competition, both in and out of conference, and has yet to lose consecutive games. The Crimson has won four straight and seven of its last eight while showing no signs of stopping.
   
   Harvard is outscoring its opponents almost 3-1. The Crimson defense is even more intimidating than the offense, allowing just two power play goals, penalty killing over 97 percent of its opponents' power play opportunities.
   
   That being said, Harvard does have a difficult schedule remaining with games against Clarkson, Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence and Princeton, which means Harvard has no room for error if it wants to maintain top seeding.


2. No. 4 Clarkson 19-4-3, 10-2-2 ECAC (22 pts)
   
   At the moment, Clarkson seems like the only team capable of stopping Harvard, but Clarkson already lost the first match-up in November 2-0. The rematch isn't until February 14th but right now, both teams seem destined to meet in the ECAC Championship game. The Valentine's rematch should indicate better whether Clarkson can halt Harvard's stampede or not.
   
   Clarkson is outscoring opponents to a greater degree than Harvard is, netting 96 goals while allowing just 30. This is due to the Golden Knights averaging an insane 36.7 shots per game compared to their opponents 19 shots.
   
   Clarkson's offense averages 3.7 goals per game, although its power play could use a little work since it current sits at a 15 percent conversion rate. The lack of a solid power play is balanced by Clarkson's penalty kill, which has allowed just eight goals in 108 opportunities.


3. No. 6 Cornell 14-3-4, 9-2-3 ECAC (21 pts)
   
   Cornell used to be No. 4 before last weekend when it slumped to a 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence and a 3-1 loss at Clarkson. In the Big Red's last six games, Cornell is 2-2-2 after winning 12 of its first 15.
   
   There appears to be no great reason behind the recent slump after such a hot start except to say that even the best teams have an off day. Still, Cornell's offense remains potent despite a weekend that featured one goal each game as it averages 3.7 goals per game on the season. The power play is even better with a .267 conversion rate.
   
   Cornell should be able to maintain, at minimum, its third seed with four games against the ECAC's three worst teams, including back-to-back against bottom-ranked Colgate. Whether the Big Red climbs in the ECAC depends on either Harvard or Clarkson stumbling down the stretch. Cornell should inspire worry the next few years as most of the roster is made of underclassmen with just seven combined juniors and seniors.


4. No. 9 Quinnipiac 16-4-6, 7-3-4 ECAC (18 pts)
   
   Harvard, Clarkson and Cornell have explosive offenses paired with shutdown defenses. The average score of 3-1 that those teams enjoy drops to 2-1 with. Excellent goaltender play, which has deflected .934 percent of shots, has preserved some wins and prevented some ties from becoming losses. However, Quinnipiac has been unable to build leads as Quinnipiac trades power play goal for power play goal.
   
   Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, it has upcoming games against Harvard, Clarkson, Cornell, St. Lawrence and a surging upstart Dartmouth squad. Chances are high that Quinnipiac will fall to at least three of those teams, which might allow St. Lawrence or Princeton to sneak into the No. 4 seed and seize the final home playoff bid.


5. St. Lawrence 7-14-3, 6-5-3 ECAC (15 pts)
   
   St. Lawrence is surprisingly in position to stun Quinnipiac and take the No. 4 seed despite a vastly inferior overall record. Instead, the Saints have capitalized on the weaker tier of ECAC opponents, pummeling teams like Princeton, Dartmouth and Colgate. St. Lawrence has also had its rare moments to shine, such as a 1-1 draw with Quinnipiac.
   
   Unsurprisingly, St. Lawrence has been outscored by just 12 goals but maintains roughly equal power play goals and takes an even number of shots compared to its opponents. However, the numbers are misleading as St. Lawrence has beaten bad by large margins but has lost by bigger margins to good teams. For instance, the Saints beat Brown 5-1 and Yale 4-1 only to lose against Clarkson by a combined score of 15-3 over three games.
   
   St. Lawrence's toughest games are Harvard and Quinnipiac, but the Saints can balance the likely losses with two wins against Union and two over RPI.


6. Princeton 10-8-3, 6-6-2 ECAC (14 pts)
   
   Princeton has been an average team all season whose best conference wins came in the season opener against Dartmouth, RPI and Yale. All of its games against the upper tier of ECAC teams were ugly losses except for a 1-1 tie with Quinnipiac. The season's low points occurred when Clarkson blew out the Tigers 7-0 in late November and a 2-1 loss to Union three weeks ago.
   
   Princeton then went on a 18-day break before rebounding with a 6-1 win over Penn State. Princeton could easily stumble down with games against four of the ECAC's top five teams. Games against Colgate and Brown should help prevent a collapse, but a playoff spot could come down to a February 15th showdown with Yale.


7. Yale 7-10-4, 5-5-4 ECAC (14 pts)
   
   Yale recovered from its season-opening six game winless streak to find itself in the midst of the playoff hunt. Even more impressive is that Yale hasn't lost a game since losing 5-4 to Dartmouth three weeks ago, beating Harvard and tying Clarkson and St. Lawrence during that streak. Yale also tied Quinnipiac early in the year to break a five-game losing streak.
   
   Right now, Yale is proving good enough to take the better ECAC teams down to the wire. However, Yale has upcoming games against the ECAC's top four teams which means securing a playoff bid won't be an easy task. But even if Yale loses all four games, and the Bulldogs have proven capable of winning at least one, games against Princeton and RPI could keep Yale in the playoff hunt. Yale in the playoffs should be a scary prospect for the top teams.


8. RPI 10-13-2, 6-7-1 ECAC (13 pts)
   
   RPI is the women's team in the ECAC few can figure out. RPI has wins against Harvard and Quinnipiac but can't top Dartmouth or Yale. Interestingly, RPI has just a +1 goal differential over 25 games. The close goal differential shouldn't last long though as RPI takes on Clarkson twice, St. Lawrence twice, and Cornell and Yale once each.
   
   Sophomore Lauren Wash's 11 goals have been a large part of the reason why RPI has stayed in the playoff hunt and added drama to this year's race. But if there was a vote for team most likely to fall out of the playoff race and join Union, Brown and Colgate on the couch come playoff time, RPI would win that vote.


9. Dartmouth 7-13-1, 6-8-1 ECAC (13 pts)
   
   Dartmouth has reentered the playoff conversation with five wins in its last eight contests after an extremely slow start. Much of Dartmouth's hopes rest on the stick of star sophomore Lindsey Allen who leads the team in scoring with 13 goals. Two athletes are tied for second with four goals each.
   
   If Allen can maintain her hot play while leading Dartmouth through a gauntlet of Harvard, Clarkson, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence, the Big Green has a shot at claiming the final playoff spot. Unfortunately, aside from Brown, there are no "easy" games remaining on Dartmouth's 7-game season-ending slate.
   
   The scariest thing about Dartmouth is how young the team is. Most of the team is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, which means in the next three years, Dartmouth will be sending the most experienced team on the ice.


10. Union 8-17-1, 3-11-0 ECAC (6 pts)
    
    After Union beat Princeton on January 10th, Union looked ready to mount a run for a playoff spot. In the five conference games since, playoff hopes are all but dashed as Union has been outscored 14-4, losing all five matches.
    
    Union's greatest problem is similar to Brown's and Colgate's, which is a lack of offense and a poor defense, especially one that gives up a goal every fourth power play. Union's prospects for a turnaround don't look good with two games against Clarkson, two against St. Lawrence and one against Cornell. Wins against Brown and Colgate would salvage some dignity as Union would avoid a last place finish.


11. Brown 2-14-5, 1-10-3 ECAC (5 pts)
    
    Nothing has functioned right for Brown all season. Aside from a recent 4-2 win over St. Lawrence and a 2-1 overtime win over RIT, Brown has little to no reason to smile. Only by virtue of three ties does Brown avoid falling into a last place tie with Colgate.
    
    The power play defense has given up over three times as many goals as the power play offense has scored, and the regular offense barely average 20 shots per game. While Quinnipiac enjoys a 2-1 ratio of goals, it's the opposite for Brown. The Bears give up 2.6 goals per game while scoring just 1.6.
    
    The season doesn't get any easier as Brown has games against Harvard, Cornell and Quinnipiac. Upcoming games with Union and Colgate could decide last place.


12. Colgate 5-19-2, 2-12-0 ECAC (4 pts)
    
    With a win on Friday against Brown, Colgate will climb into a tie for second-to-last. Not too much to cheer for but not a complete nightmare. It will be a close game though since Colgate has a scoring offense that's even less efficient that Brown's, scoring 1.6 goals every 26 shots while the defense allows three every 29 shots. Not a formula that can build a winning team.
    
    The rest of the season will be about avoiding last place by trying to overcome Union and Brown in the rankings. Maybe next year will prove better.

Examples of Fraud in Organizing the Sochi Olympics

It's no secret that with its price-tag of $51 billion, the 2014 Sochi Olympics are the most expensive games ever organized in history. The $51 billion is five the amount spent on the Vancouver Winter Games four years ago, and shatters the ~$45 billion China spent on the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

The original expected price tag? $12 billion, a budget decided back in 2007. The International Olympic Committee has to regret awarding Russia the right to organize the Winter Olympics for everything that has, and is, occurring.

$51 billion is a monetary total that could purchase all 32 NFL teams, which are priced by Forbes at $37.4 billion. $51 billion is more than the nominal GDP of 108 countries (the entire economy of Guatemala is less than Sochi's cost).

It should be no surprise that Russia is notorious for corruption and bribes, but even this is extreme, especially considering that Sochi did not have, nor does it yet possess, the infrastructure to host the Olympics Games.

Buzzfeed's Max Seddon published an article on 16 examples of alleged corruption, including, but not limited to:

1. The Olympics Stadium is 2.5 times more expensive than similar stadiums in Europe.
2. A mafia-linked businessman with ties to Putin's friends built the Shayba hockey arena for $33 million over the market price.
3. Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's ski instructor was awarded contracts totaling $2.5 billion.
4. The local governor spent $15 million of Olympic funds on a helicopter for himself.

Seddon admits that the examples originate from a report by political opposition leader Alexei Navalny who has a definite anti-Putin history as a anti-corruption fighter. The full investigation can be located here.

Three Dartmouth Alumni earn spots on the U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team

Susan Dunklee

Hannah Dreissigacker

Sara Studebaker

Last week, the U.S. Biathlon team finalized its 10-person roster, its largest team in 22 years. Of the five women named to the team for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, three are Dartmouth graduates.

Hannah Dreissigacker ’09, Susan Dunklee ’08 and Sara Studebaker ’07 will be heading to Sochi, Russia to compete for a medal. Joining them will be Lanny Barnes and Annelies Cook.

The five men and five women on the U.S. Biathlon team will try to achieve a feat no other U.S. biathlon team has accomplished which is win an Olympic medal.

"I think that we have the strongest U.S. Olympic Biathlon team ever," Dreissigacker said. "Several of my teammates--Tim Burke, Susan Dunklee, and Lowell Bailey--have a good shot at medalling. I also think that both our men's and women's relay teams have a shot at fighting for a medal. That said, it can be really hard to guess who will be on the podium in biathlon. It is an incredibly variable sport--the shooting aspect really mixes things up!"

The best finish in U.S. Olympic Biathlon history is ninth place.

“I think that we’re poised to do really well,” Studebaker said. “But anytime you go into the Olympics, it’s really hard to say for sure you’re going to win a medal, especially in a sport such as biathlon. Anything can happen in biathlon. That’s what’s really great about it. On any given day, there are so many people that can win... hopefully we can come away from Sochi with the first US medal but it’s definitely going to be hard to bring one back.”

However, there is plenty of talk that 2014 could be the year of the first U.S. Olympic medal in the ancient sport with military roots that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

The Sochi Olympic Games have attracted a lot of negative press with President Vladimir Putin's anti-homosexual propaganda laws, budget cost overruns and threats of terrorist attacks. Sochi is near the tumultuous region of the North Caucasus and recent suicide bombings that killed 34 people in Volgograd have heightened security concerns. Governing bodies like the USOC have recommended that athletes refrain from wearing the American colors.

“It’s something to be aware of,” Studebaker said. “As athletes, we’re really focusing on our competition. We’re there to compete and we have a lot of people there that are working for us to make sure that we’re safe. The Sochi Organizing Committee, the USOC, our governing body. They’re taking care of [security] because our job is to focus on competition, focus on doing well. That’s been my priority right now and I’m just trying to make sure I’m prepared to race well.”

Organizing Committee Chief Dmitrii Chernyshenko announced on Wednesday that Sochi will be the "most secure venue at the moment on the planet." Russia will deploy more than 50,000 police and soldiers to enhance security at the Olympics.

Although security concerns are high, according to Studebaker, it sounds like the concerns will be minimal for biathletes and cross-country skiers.

“We’re probably not going to be outside of the Village that much because where the Biathlon village is, we’re in the Endurance village with cross-country skiing and biathlon,” Studebaker explained. “We’re pretty isolated up there so it’s tough to get in and out with all the security there. We probably won’t have a ton of opportunity to be out of the village but it has been suggested and it’s kind of how it is whenever we’ve gone to Russia.”

Sochi will be Studebaker’s second Olympic appearance but it’s not the first time she’s visited Russia. Excluding a trip she took to Canada, Russia was her first international destination as a biathlete. She was visiting Siberia while a high school junior competing at the World Championships for Summer Biathlon in 2000.

Since then, Studebaker has visited Russia numerous times as her World Cup tours usually have a stop in Russia.

Her first Olympic experience was in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Studebaker had the highest finish among Americans in the 7.5-kilometer race, and she led the start for the team in the 4x6 kilometer relay.

“Vancouver was such a special experience for,” Studebaker reminisced. “Not only was it my first Olympic appearance but also being relatively close to home. I had so many family and friends able to come and watch me race and support me. I can’t pick one moment as my favorite. It was just really really special.”

After graduating Dartmouth, Studebaker earned a spot on the development team for U.S. Biathlon, essentially becoming a professional biathlete since 2007. After a year on the development team, she made the jump to the national team and it’s kept her busy since.

Studebaker credits Dartmouth for her professional athletic development.

“Any time you’re a student athlete, you have to juggle a lot of things going on at once and Dartmouth definitely gets you ready for that,” Studebaker explained. “I was lucky enough to have a lot of support from our team and our coaches were really excited to have students go on and ski and they supported that goal and they supported those that wanted to just ski in college.”

Studebaker has recently started taking classes with DeVry-Keller, utilizing the USOC’s partnership with the educational institution to pursue an MBA.

Dreissigacker also has strong Olympic roots. Both of her parents, Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer ’75, were Olympic rowers. So was her aunt, Charlotte Geer '80. Charlotte became the first Dartmouth woman to ever earn a medal after winning silver in crew.

"I'm really excited to be going to Sochi, and it has slowly been sinking in over the last two weeks that I'm actually going," Dreissigacker said. "But I don't think it will feel real until I'm actually there."

Dreissigacker majored in Engineering and studio art, and graduated from Thayer a year after finishing her Dartmouth undergraduate experience.

"My time on the Dartmouth Ski team taught me so much about what it take to be a good athlete, and also how to have fun doing it," Dreissigacker remembered. "And if you can be a good athlete while also juggling classes and labs and a social life at Dartmouth, then you can definitely be a good athlete after you graduate."

After Dartmouth, Dreissigacker joined an elite nordic ski team called the Craftsbury Green Racing Project based in Vermont. Her time with allowed her to train full time, with some interesting work on the side.

It also wasn't until after Dartmouth that Dreissigacker started training for biathlon. She had fired a biathlon rifle a few times prior but for all intents and purposes, she was a complete rookie compared to what she is now. For the next several years, she raced both cross-country and Biathlon races until she was named to the U.S. Biathlon team last year, at which point she shifted her focus entirely to biathlon.

Dunklee surprised onlookers when she missed a sprint medal by just six-10ths of a second at the World Cup in Italy two weeks ago. Her performance was only the third time than an American woman cracked the top four.

“The Olympics are something I have dreamed about for a long time,” Dunklee said. “My father was an Olympian and I always had him to look up to as a role model. However, my focus these last few years has not been so much about making the next Olympic team as preparing to be a strong contender once I get there.”

Dunklee explained that Dartmouth challenged her and taught her a lot about balance.

"I came out with a great work ethic, emotional resilience, mental focus, flexibility, confidence, and the ability to push through when tired," Dunklee said. "These are all traits that are essential to compete at highest level in biathlon. In addition, we had a very successful ski team during my years at Dartmouth and I had a lot of strong teammates that I looked up to and who pushed me to become a better skier.

All three biathletes competed on Dartmouth's cross-country ski team under Coach Cami Thompson Graves. Graves was very excited for her former student-athletes but she wasn't surprised when she heard they had been selected for the team.

"Sara is very goal-oriented," Graves elaborated. "She knew what she wanted to do and was more methodical about getting the job done. I think both Susan and Hannah had been successful in skiing and were pretty motivated to do well but were talented in a number of different areas. They needed a little bit of time to focus and explore their options."

In the end, Graves explained, each athlete found her way to biathlon by following their own respective paths.

Graves tries to encourage all of her skiers to ski outside of traditional collegiate events and thanks to Dartmouth's D-Plan, students are able to plan accordingly.

"Because of the D-Plan, it's a little easier to accommodate goals that are nontraditional, intercollegiate goals," Graves explained. "Someone can take the spring off and start doing more shooting if they're on the Biathlon team or maybe take the winter off and compete internationally."

Dunklee and Studebaker were on the 2007 National Championship squad and punctuated the phenomenal ski season with a trip to the White House where they met with President George W. Bush. A picture of them and the entire 2007 team is still hanging in 120 Robinson Hall.

Dreissigacker just missed out on the trip as she would've been an underclassman at the time. Regardless, the three of them are the latest in Dartmouth's long history of sending skiers to the Olympics.

"We look at the ski team as sort of bigger than intercollegiate skiing," Graves elaborated. "We really encourage our athletes to race outside of traditional college racing. Every year we take a team to the National Championships, we have people racing at the World Junior New-23 Championships and we're racing well into the spring. While our athletes are here on the team, they're also looking beyond being Top 10 in the next Winter Carnival."

Dunklee, a biology major with an ecology focus, and Studebaker, a government and Latino & Caribbean studies double major, highlighted the difficulties and challenges of biathlon as the reasons they compete in the ancient sport.

For Dunklee, she enjoys the added challenge of shooting.

“It adds an interesting psychological component to racing and makes things a lot more unpredictable,” Dunklee explained. “For example, if you hit the first 4 out of 5 targets you might think ‘oh, I only have to hit one more to "clean" and avoid the penalty loop.’ But the second you start thinking like that, it becomes nearly impossible to hit it because you are tensing up with anticipation, or you broke your breathing cadence, or your focus has drifted away from crucial things like having a smooth trigger squeeze.”

As for Studebaker, it’s the dichotomy of the physicality of cross-country skiing and the mentality of shooting that attracts her to biathlon.

“You have this really hard physical element of cross-country skiing,” Studebaker commented. “Out there you’re going as hard as you can and then you have to stop and shoot a gun. The mental aspect of shooting is so incredibly hard. It’s really cool when you try to get people to understand that you’re basically sprinting 100 meters then trying to thread a needle. It’s really difficult and I think just challenging yourself in that way is what I love about biathlon.”

Dreissigacker's love for biathlon can be traced to the suspense and excitement of racing, as well as the journey of learning how to shoot properly.

"It was fun to learn how to shoot and to see myself getting better at it, and it adds so much more of a mental aspect to racing," Dreissigacker exclaimed. "I also just think the races are more exciting--you could be winning, and then miss too many targets, and then you're not any more. And you can move up the results in the same way, by shooting well."

As biathletes, Dreissigacker, Studebaker and Dunklee train as much as six days a week and sometimes twice a day. The highest volume and most varied training occurs in the summer when they rollerski, bike, run, hike, row and swim.

“Biathlon requires two very different skill sets: striving to the utmost limit of physical endurance and staying mentally centered and relaxed under high pressure,” Dunklee explained. “You have to be able to switch between those two opposing modes in an instant... For the past five and a half years, biathlon training, racing and recovery have been my full time job. I train year round, with up to 25 hours of physical activity per week plus shooting."

However, the story behind how Lanny Barnes made the Biathlon team overshadowed the selection of three Dartmouth graduates.

Lanny had placed sixth in the qualifying races behind her twin sister Tracy. Lanny, a three-time Olympian, got sick during the final races and believed her Olympic dreams were over but thought that she would be watching Tracy compete in her instead.

Tracy then shocked the world by announcing she would give up her Olympic spot to Lanny.

“It’s a really interesting situation, one that I think no one can understand unless they have a sibling that they’ve raced with,” Studebaker felt. “I’ve personally had the opportunity to race with Lanny in Vancouver and I’m excited to have the chance to share this Olympic experience with her as well.”

In a statement released by the team, Tracy stated her sister had had a stellar season before falling ill and she wanted to give her a second chance. She also wanted to give her sister a final shot at a medal even though neither figured to come close to third.

The 2014 Sochi Olympics kick off on Feb. 7, and the first biathlon event will be the Men’s 10 km Sprint on the eighth. One day later, the women will compete in the 7.5 km sprint.

Phoenix Coyotes will change name to "Arizona Coyotes" starting next season

It was no secret that the Coyotes' new ownership group wanted to changed the team name. It was just a matter of when.

The Coyotes have been playing in Arizona since moving to Phoenix in 1996 from Winnipeg. The franchise played in the Arizona capital until 2003 when it moved to Glendale, which is where Arizona's NFL and MLB franchises play as well.

It was announced back in August that the owners wanted to make the change but too many hurdles existed at the time, preventing the change for the 2013-2014 season.

"It will become the Arizona Coyotes," Alternate Governor Anthony LeBlanc told reporters during the August press conference. "That was a request from the City of Glendale, but one that we felt made a lot of sense, and obviously following in the footsteps of other franchises here in the Valley."

The Arizona Cardinals made a similar move when the NFL franchise moved from its long-time home in St. Louis to Phoenix in 1988. For five years, the franchise was known as the "Phoenix Cardinals" until it changed names again to its current "Arizona Cardinals" in 1993.

LeBlanc recently said he hopes the new Arizona Coyotes will become the flagship NHL franchise for the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest. 

ECAC: Men's Hockey Conference Update

Today, I'm going to provide an update of men's hockey in the ECAC. In the next few days,  I'll provide an update with the women's ECAC situation.

With just over one month remaining before the start of the first round of the ECAC men's hockey playoffs, all teams can rest assured that they will have at least a chance to advance in the postseason. However, right now there is a very clear division between the bottom third and the rest of the conference. Granted, the bottom third has valid reasons for experiencing rough seasons.

1. Union 16-5-2, 10-2 ECAC (20 pts)
   
   Union was the No. 3 in the nation according to the USCHO until a letdown to Rensselaer on Saturday. Now Union is No. 4 but is able to maintain first in the ECAC with a better conference record than Quinnipiac.
   
   Last year's ECAC Champion remains in control of the its destiny despite its disappointing 3-2 loss to RPI. Scheduling works to Union's advantage as six of its remaining 10 games are against the ECAC's bottom half teams. Additionally, Union gets to avoid a late season bout with Quinnipiac. Barring a late season collapse, Union should secure the first seed in the ECAC playoffs and a first round bye.


2. Quinnipiac 18-4-5, 8-2-3 ECAC (19 pts)
   
   Quinnipiac remained idle over the weekend. Combined with Union's loss to RPI, Quinnipiac is now the No. 3, taking Union's former spot but remains behind Union in the ECAC despite a superior win-loss record due to an inferior conference record.
   
   Quinnipiac's not-so-secret weapon is freshman Sam Anas who currently leads the team in goals (16) and points (32). Anas is also the nation's leader in points amongst first-year players, holding a three-point lead over St. Lawrence's Matt Carey (29).
   
   Quinnipiac has an equally easy schedule during the final weeks compared to Union, which means neither team can afford to slip up and risk the other sealing up the first seed. Union does hold the advantage as Quinnipiac must take on Colgate, Clarkson and Cornell in three of the final four games.


3. Colgate 13-9-3, 9-3-1 ECAC (19 pts)
   
   Colgate sits at No. 18 after wins against St. Lawrence and Clarkson but doesn't receive much consideration about becoming ECAC Champions compared to Union and Quinnipiac despite being just one point behind Union and tied with Quinnipiac. Colgate is also one of the hottest teams and hasn't lost a game since December 15th.
   
   The reason behind the poor ranking is Colgate's slow start to the year which featured blowout losses to Bowling Green, RPI, Quinnipiac and Princeton. Only since the new year turned has Colgate strung together a string of solid performances, the caveat being half the wins were against weaker teams. Upcoming games against Union, Quinnipiac and Cornell will put to rest any debates about Colgate's strength.


4. Clarkson 15-9-2, 8-4 ECAC (16 pts)
   
   No. 15 Clarkson tumbled two spots after losses to Colgate and Cornell, and is in similar shape compared to both of last weekend's opponents. 19 of Clarkson's games this season have been within one goal, and five of its last six games have finished with a 3-2 score. But with four games against Union and Quinnipiac, Clarkson should slip up and allow Cornell to sneak in and claim the fourth seed since the Big Red has just three challenging games on its schedule. 


5. Cornell 10-4-5, 6-3-4 ECAC (16 pts)
   
   Cornell jumped up one spot to No. 11 after tying St. Lawrence and defeating Clarkson. The weekend should be seen as a disappointment for the Big Red however due to St. Lawrence's poor conference record. Cornell should have defeated St. Lawrence but still appears to be rusty after a nearly three week stretch where it didn't play a meaningful game.
   
   Excluding a 6-0 exhibition win against the Russian Red Stars, Cornell has gone 2-3-0 since a 4-2 win over UNH on December 29th. Cornell has outscored its opponents 12-10 in those five games. Ties against Dartmouth and St. Lawrence, and a surprisingly close win over Harvard, underscore Cornell's recent slump.
   
   Cornell's 3-2 win over Clarkson could indicate that the Big Red have shaken off the rust, preparing itself for a deep run in March.


6. Yale 10-5-4, 5-4-3 ECAC (13 pts)
   
   No. 13 Yale fell three spots after splitting the weekend against Brown. Until Yale's 6-0 rout on Saturday, Brown had Yale's number, taking the first two matches. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, two games against Union and one each against Quinnipiac, Colgate and Cornell will be the difference between playing in the first round and jumping past Clarkson and Cornell for the fourth seed and final bye.
   
   In Yale's favor are wins against Clarkson and Colgate, and a draw with Quinnipiac, that prove Yale can compete with the ECAC's best teams. Unfortunately, the remaining slate of games is one of the toughest in the conference and will show whether Yale can make a Union-esque run in the playoffs.


7. Brown 8-8-3, 5-6-1 ECAC (11 pts)

Brown has been this year's ECAC version of the Dallas Cowboys. If Dallas has epitomized mediocrity over the last 20 years by going an astonishing 128-128 in 256 games, Brown would epitomize mediocrity up to this point in the season.

Brown has won big over average teams (4-1 Yale, 5-3 Dartmouth), tied equally mediocre teams (3-3 St. Lawrence, 3-3 Boston College) and lost big to average teams (6-0 Yale). The only times the Bears break the trend are games against good teams (5-1 loss to Cornell, 3-0 loss to Quinnipiac).

Brown should continue the .500 trend since it has five games against average opponents (RPI twice, Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard) and five games against good opponents (Union twice, Colgate, Cornell, Quinnipiac).


8. RPI 10-10-4, 4-5-3 ECAC (11 pts)

RPI is in the same boat as Brown, but unlike the Bears, the Engineers have been alternating between hot and cold. RPI stunned Union 2-1 on Saturday night after losing the first two match-ups 4-3 and 4-1. RPI has also walloped Colgate 6-2 and tied Cornell 3-3 only to get routed by Minnesota, Ferris State and Quinnipiac 6-2 in each game.

As a result, RPI ties Dartmouth for the most inconsistent team in the ECAC (you'll read why when I talk about Dartmouth). The only guaranteed fact is that RPI should seal at least one of the four home seeds for the first round. Whether RPI advances or not, who knows until game time?


9. St. Lawrence 8-13-3, 2-7-3 ECAC (7 pts)
   
   St. Lawrence had a rough weekend against the upper half of the ECAC, tying Cornell and losing to Colgate. Although some will view the tie against Cornell beacon of hope, fans shouldn't hold out for a surprising turnaround since Cornell has been slumping all month.
   
   As for St. Lawrence, a winning record, and a winning conference record, are impossible considering that the Saints finished the easy part of their schedule. Of the remaining 10 games, two are against Union, two are against Quinnipiac and one is against Cornell. St. Lawrence shouldn't hope to tie Cornell in the rematchup.


10. Harvard 5-11-3, 2-9-3 ECAC (7 pts)

The Crimson has been done in by two four-game losing streaks, including one it is still in the midst of after a 4-3 loss to Union. However, Harvard's record is misleading as it hasn't been blown out too often. Harvard has remained competitive in all but two of its games (which the Crimson was outscored 10-2).

Even in Harvard doesn't advance this year, it could compete for the Ivy title next year. Right now, Harvard remains a solid team that can't quite get over the hump to win close games. Harvard's remaining schedule remains favorable with winnable games until the final weekend of the season when the Crimson must battle Colgate and Cornell away from home.


11. Princeton 4-15-0, 3-9-0 ECAC (6 pts)

Princeton quickly won 3-2 over Dartmouth to start the regular season, but any good feelings from the win quickly vanished. The Tigers have had a few hope inspiring moments, such as a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac, but for the most part, they've been blown out in most of their games, including being outscored 12-3 in two games against Michigan State.

In short, Princeton has little to no hope in advancing past the first round, and is probably lucky that the ECAC allows all 12 teams into the playoffs. Princeton will be lucky to split its remaining 10 games as it has four upcoming games against Colgate, Clarkson and Cornell.


12. Dartmouth 3-14-3, 2-10-1 ECAC (5 pts)
    
    The Big Green has had a rough time all season. Dartmouth lost its top players and captains Tyler Sikura and Eric Robinson early in the season. It wasn't until the end of a brutal November that head coach Bob Gaudet's injury-decimated squad could get its footing. Gaudet hasn't reserved credit for the work he's done, taking some of the nation's best teams to the wire despite relying on a mix of underclassmen and using defensemen as forwards.
    
    With some creativity, Gaudet has crafted a high powered, albeit inconsistent, offensive attack that can score goals quickly and match up against any team in the ECAC. Unfortunately, a poor power play offense has doomed recent games that Dartmouth had a chance of winning.
    
    Dartmouth has a chance to break its way out of the cellar this weekend as it takes on Princeton on Saturday. Just one minor issue stands in Dartmouth's way however... Quinnipiac on Friday evening. But in the playoffs, Dartmouth could be the dark horse pick to advance to the Quarterfinals.

Ivy League Prospects in the 2014 NFL Draft

The 2014 NFL Draft is just over three months away and the Ivy League has a few potential football players that just might make it in the National Football League.

Four of the eight schools in the Ivy League (Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth and Yale) have no seniors ranked on the CBSSports NFL Draft Prospects List which includes 1,001 players.

Harvard leads the remaining Ivy League schools with three names on the draft board. Princeton, Brown and Cornell have one name each but Princeton's Caraun Reid is the only player likely to be drafted. This article also assumes the six potential players are intent on a professional football career.

Cornell

• QB Jeff Mathews, 6-4, 225 lbs, Projection: 7th Rd-UFA
  
  Mathews entered the 2013 season with possible expectations of becoming the next Joe Flacco, a first round pick from a small FCS school. An up-and-down senior year and a disappointing 3-7 season for Cornell derailed those hopes. Although he still tossed 22 touchdowns and became Cornell's leader in most passing categories, underwhelming performances against defenses like Dartmouth's exposed flaws such as indecisiveness and holding the ball too long only to check down.
  
  Mathews did earn an invite to the East-West Shrine Game and raised his stock a little with a solid week of practice. He didn't receive much playing time though, completing 4-of-5 for 37 yards and a pick as Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo played lights out and considerably raised his own draft prospects.
  
  Mathews does have some scrambling ability, finishing second on the team in rushing with 264 yards and four scores. However, Princeton's leading rusher had just 391 yards and the team finished with a miserable 888 combined yards on the ground.
  
  Mathews will likely be undrafted and signed to a team's practice squad as a developmental prospect. But if he is in fact drafted, it will be by a team with its own starter and a solid back-up. Green Bay would be a likely candidate as Mike McCarthy searches for a third-stringer after players like Graham Harrell, Vince Young, Seneca Wallace and Scott Tolzien didn't pan out as expected. 

Princeton

• DT Caraun Reid, 6-2, 301 lbs, Projection: 4th Rd
  
  Reid turned several GMs' heads with an impressive performance in the Senior Bowl when he sacked the quarterback on two consecutive plays. CBS has Reid ranked as the 13th best defensive tackle in the draft and considering how many teams need interior help on the line, Reid will likely hear his name called on Day Two. He won't warrant a first-round selection but with a spectacular pro workout, he could 

Harvard

• LS Tyler Ott, 6-3, 252 lbs, Projection: N/A
  
  Unfortunately, there's not much to say about long snappers. Every team in the NFL has one but there's about as much changeover regarding long snappers as there is with kickers and punters. Unless Ott proves to be exceptionally good and a team's long snapper has a down year, he won't have much of a future in the NFL. Becoming a Special Teams or position coach is a more likely possibility.

• TE Cameron Brate, 6-4, 245 lbs, Projection: N/A
  
  Brate has the ideal size for a tight end and considering the recent craze over having multi-purpose tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham, Brate could have a future has a bargain pick-up. In eight games, Brate caught 25 passes for 403 yards and five touchdowns. Over the course of three years, he has 91 receptions for 1,381 yards and 18 touchdowns.
  
  Brate, if he chooses to stay with football, will likely need to spend a couple years with another football league and try to get on a team's radar and potentially be picked up on a team's practice squad. Right now, he's hovering around No. 33 on the list of tight end prospects.

• CB Brian Owusu, 5-10 lbs, 185, Projection: N/A
  
  Owusu's a cornerback but he plays like a safety that can make solo open-field tackles. He's forced fumbles and even earned a half-sack. He was named to the All-Ivy first team and the FCS-All New England team.
  
  He also demonstrated a full recovery from a knee injury that erased his sophomore season. He is an intriguing rookie free agent bargain for teams looking for safety help. The switch to safety would probably be required unless he demonstrates the speed to match up against premier receivers. 

Brown

• RB John Spooney, 5-11, 185 lbs, Projection: N/A
  
  Spooney's greatest strength is his speed. He's considered on of the fastest, if not the fastest, Ivy League athletes after becoming a three-time Heptagonal Champion in the 100-meter dash and two-time champion in the 200-meter dash. And after an amazing senior season where he ripped off numerous touchdowns over 70 yards, it's surprising he hasn't generated much interest.
  
  His greatest weakness? He would be considered too slim for most coaches. Even speed backs like Darren Sproles and Giovani Bernard who are very short (5-6 and 5-8, respectively) have a more concentrated mass. Instead, Spooney would be better served as a slot receiver except he doesn't have a proven history as a pass catcher. Teams would essentially be taking a gamble by drafting him with their valuable, limited draft picks.
  
  Look for him to potentially be signed as a practice squad member or he could shift over to the Arena League where his speed could light up the stadium.

A Brief History of Dartmouth College in the Olympics

Dartmouth owns a long and storied history of sending athletes to the Olympics, starting in 1908 when Arthur B. Shaw ’08 won a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the Games of the Fourth Olympiad in London. Since then, Dartmouth has sent over 150 athletes to the Games, including all but one Summer Olympics since 1908 and to every Winter Olympics since the founding on the Winter Games in 1924. 

Through 2010, Dartmouth athletes have claimed 28 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze medals.

Unfortunately, for Dartmouth’s impressive Olympic history, there is no single, easily accessible, easily searchable, record of Dartmouth Olympians, their involvements and their performances. Students interested in the history of Dartmouth at the Olympics must rely on a scattering of articles released by Dartmouth Now, U.S. News & World Report and press releases from the Dartmouth Athletics Department.

Normally, those sources provide satisfactory coverage for readers but there is a surprising amount of inconsistency and incompleteness. The Athletics Department press releases provide the most complete record of Dartmouth Olympians, but the ones they have published, when pieced together, reveal a partial list of athletes and events. Not enough medals are listed to correlate with the amount claimed, not all events are listed, etc.

Only one known collection of first-hand accounts from Dartmouth Olympians exists, a 2013 Masters Thesis written by Jennifer Titus Johnson. Johnson also made it clear that there was a stunning lack of documentation and data collection.

Her thesis currently resides in Rauner library, waiting for a single page to be reprinted so that the entire work can be bound. Until then, it sadly remains a pile of unbound paper. Its one saving grace? Any student interested in reading personal recollections regarding Dartmouth’s Olympic history can read it during Rauner’s open hours.

Despite the lack of a clear history, Dartmouth deserves a lot of credit for the assistance it provides to Olympic athletes. In all actuality, Dartmouth’s assistance in ensuring education for athletes is more important than documenting their performances.

One of the many ways Dartmouth has supported athletes is the so-called “15-year plan,” which allows athletes the flexibility to take numerous off-terms to train and participate in the games. Some winter sport athletes take classes during the spring and take off-terms during the fall, winter and summer.

According to her thesis, Johnson indicated many Dartmouth Olympians are thankful that Dartmouth didn’t force them to choose between their Olympic dreams or completing their education. Many lament that nowadays, young athletes are forced to choose one or the other.

Furthermore, athletes are provided superior training facilities, excellent coaching and a natural environment conducive for Winter Olympics practice. 

Aided by the Dartmouth Skiway, Dartmouth is considered a premier college for aspiring winter Olympians. A 2010 U.S. News & World Report article called the Dartmouth Ski Team “a pipeline of Olympic talent,” in part because “the program’s leaders have strongly encouraged their student-athletes to focus on school while still maintaining their athletic careers.” 

Laurel Anderson ’14, a Cross-Country skier, agrees that Dartmouth is a great location for prospective Olympic skiers.

“The Dartmouth Ski Team has a great record of sending athletes to the Olympics,” Anderson explained. “Two of the cross-country skiers going to Sochi are women I skied with as a freshman and sophomore, and several of our top skiers each year have opted to continue racing professionally, and that’s not counting the biathletes. The coaches work hard to make sure everyone on the team can do every workout, despite any conflicts with classes or labs. Dartmouth professors are usually very accommodating when it comes to missing class for races.”

In return for its efforts, Dartmouth holds the distinction of most Olympic appearances out of all the Ivies with 110 appearances in the Winter Games. Harvard, the next closest Ivy, has just 71 appearances.

However, here occurs some disagreement depending on which news source you read. Dartmouth College claims 110 appearances, but IvyLeagueSports.com indicates Dartmouth has 124 Olympic alumni. Additional disagreement also occurs regarding Harvard’s numbers as U.S. News reported Harvard has 77 athletes with Olympic appearances. 

Overall, Dartmouth Olympians have represented 15 different countries, most playing for the United States or Canada. Other countries include Great Britain, Japan, Bermuda, Norway, Switzerland, Argentina, New Zealand, France and Italy. 

Many Dartmouth Olympians never had the opportunity to participate in the games despite having qualified. Instead, world events have changed the lives of many athletes. 

Ten Dartmouth Olympians, in men’s hockey and men’s skiing, never when the 1940 Helsinki Winter games were cancelled due to World War II. 

Six other athletes, including the Geer sisters, were prohibited from the 1980 Moscow Summer games when President Jimmy Carter boycotted the games in response to Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. All six athletes would have competed in crew.

Luckily for Carlie Geer ’80 and Julia Geer ’75, they both had second chances to compete. 

Julia competed in two other Olympics, but even if she had been able to participate in the 1980 games, she still wouldn’t have surpassed Cameron Myler ’92 for the most Olympics appearances. Myler competed in four consecutive Winter Games from 1988 to 1998. 

Carlie would become the first Dartmouth woman to win a medal, taking silver in crew at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. It wouldn’t be for another 14 years, at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, that another woman would win a medal. Gretchen Ulion ’94 and Sarah Tueting ’98 won the gold medal that year with the U.S. women’s hockey team, becoming the first Dartmouth women to win a medal in the Winter Games. 

Shaw was the first Dartmouth athlete to win a medal, while John Shea ’34 (gold – speed skating), Robert Minton ’26 (bronze - bobsled) and Douglas Everett ’26 (silver - hockey) were the first men to win medals in a Winter Olympics during the 1932 winter games in Lake Placid. Shea actually won two gold medals, making him the first multi-medal winner for Dartmouth. 

Shea holds the distinction being the only non-hockey ice skater from Dartmouth to compete despite Dartmouth’s reputation as a superior location for prospective Winter Olympians. No figure skater and no other speed skater has appeared in the games before or after Shea.

Jojo Miller ’14, one of Dartmouth’s leading figure skaters, believes there are several different factors explaining the lack of Dartmouth Olympic non-hockey skaters, such as physical abilities and time prioritization.

“Girls hit their prime in their late teens and early twenties,” Miller continued. “Michelle Kwan stopped competing when he was 26, which is considered 'old' in skater years. Men hit their prime a few years later. Our current champion, Jeremy Abbott, is 28 and is planning on retiring after the Olympics. The guy who came in second is 18-Jeremy is considered really old. So pretty much, by the time people are graduating college, that's the age where skaters have stopped competing.” 

The amount of time spent training to become an Olympic-caliber figure skater would jeopardize a student’s academics. But focusing on academics ruins the opportunity to become an Olympic skater.

“Skating is an all-or-nothing sport,” Miller explained. “You can’t be doing school if you want to be good enough to go to the Olympics. You have to be at the training facilities with the top coaches and best skaters, like in Colorado Springs or Boston. All the best skaters devote most of their days to training on and off the ice, and you can't do that at Dartmouth. There’s no way you could come to Dartmouth, graduate, and go on to train for the Olympics like hockey skaters or skiers. They have way longer shelf lives to be able to do that than figure skaters. With skating, you have to be going full force with it by the right coaches and facilities until you stop competing to be Olympian worthy.”

Dartmouth women’s hockey can make a strong argument for having the best athletic program that produces Olympic talent and medal winners.

Cherie Piper ’06 and Gillian Apps ’06 were members of the gold medal-winning Canadian woman’s hockey team. They both earned points when Canada routed Slovakia 18-0 as the Canadians outshot the Slovakians 67-9. Piper registered a goal and an assist while Apps had two assists.

The 18-point differential was the largest margin of victory in the history of Olympic women’s hockey, which has been an event since 1998.

The Canadian women’s hockey team won gold after taking out Switzerland 10-1, Sweden 13-1, Finland 5-0 and the United States 2-0. 

The 2010 gold medal was Piper’s third and Apps’ second. Apps and Piper won a gold medal in the 2006 Torino Winter Games and Piper won her first gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. Interestingly, Piper’s Canadian team defeated Tueting’s U.S. team in the Americans’ bid for a second consecutive gold.

Although women’s hockey possesses the most medals for an Olympic sport, men’s hockey has had its fair share of Olympic representation, including eight players on the 1948 American hockey team.

Current men’s hockey players value the legacy their predecessors have left behind.

“It’s awesome,” Geoff Ferguson ’16 said. “We just got to try and live up to the tradition and respect the place and respect the program, and just look up to those guys and try to get better.”

Still, players are mindful to not lock themselves in the past and always towards the future.

“We try to do our own thing,” Ferguson said. “Obviously those guys paved the way for us and we can try to follow the path and use Dartmouth to improve like they did.”

During the most recent Olympic Games in London two years ago, Dartmouth was represented by four alumni – Sean Furey ’04 (javelin), Evelyn Stevens ’05 (road cycling), Eric Storck ’07 (sailing-49er class) and Anthony Fahden ’08 (lightweight crew-men’s four). 

Abbey D’Agostino ’14 and Ben True ’08 barely missed out on the 2012 games for the 5,000-meter race. 

Nine Dartmouth athletes qualified for the Vancouver Olympics, the most recent Winter Games, in 2010. Athletes from Dartmouth have participated in the Olympics as early as the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp.

Dartmouth’s connection to the Vancouver games ran even deeper than athletic participation. The former Vancouver mayor who helped lure the games to the city was Gordon Campbell ’69, and Scott Blackmun ’79 was designated the U.S. Olympic Committee CEO during the games. Several more Dartmouth alumni assisted with the games in varying capacities.

It remains to be seen how current potential Dartmouth Olympians will perform in the upcoming Sochi Olympics and build upon Dartmouth’s heritage. Currently, 25 Dartmouth athletes are striving to qualify for the 2014 Winter games and carve their own legacy into Dartmouth’s Olympic history.

Fanni Szabo Remains Humble While Bolstering Dartmouth's Women's Basketball Team

Fourteen games into the season, injuries and illnesses have seemingly crippled the Dartmouth women’s basketball team’s chances of an Ivy Championship. But don’t tell the players that. For a team that hasn’t finished a season with a winning record since 2008-2009, Dartmouth is mathematically alive to make a surprise run for the title.

Dartmouth has played just one conference game, a 73-63 loss to Harvard last Saturday. Szabo was the team’s second leading scorer with 10 points, all in the second half, while Nicola Zimmer ’14 scored 16. Lakin Rowland ’16 was third, earning nine points and seven rebounds until she fouled out late in the contest.

However, Dartmouth’s downfall was allowing 52 points in the paint and a 9-0 run by Harvard midway through the second half. Harvard further sunk Dartmouth’s chances for a stunning comeback by hitting 92.3 percent of its free throw attempts.

But all is not lost. Two major factors support a potential Dartmouth conference title. First, the team has started to get healthy at just the right time to make a run, and second, the team will rally around the extraordinary season of Fanni Szabo ’17.

Szabo has quietly had a phenomenal freshman year, leading the team with 17.6 points per game. She has three games of 30-plus points, two of which were Dartmouth’s only wins so far.

Her propensity for scoring aligns well with her preferences. If she had to choose between playing offense or defense, she would choose offense. And her favorite defensive move? The steal, so that she can go back on offense.

However, her favorite part about the game, and playing for Dartmouth, is her teammates.

But you could never guess that Szabo was the team’s offensive star just from talking to her, a testament to her team-first attitude.

“She’s so skilled that she automatically makes everyone better in practice, and when she scores like 30 points and she acts like she didn’t even play in the game,” Lakin Rowland ’16 said. “I think she’s just a ball player and she makes it more about the team than her personal performance. She just wants to win.”

Szabo’s unselfish demeanor also translates into a humble demeanor off the court.

“She’s very sincere and modest,” Ruby Hopkins ’17 said. “It’s really refreshing to have her around to give a perspective on life. I never knew about how well she’s performed in basketball until I heard about her performances from other people. When I congratulate her on them, she redirects the attention away from herself by saying nothing could have occurred without the team.”

Szabo entered Dartmouth with a long list of accomplishments and accolades for both her basketball skills and for academics.

Szabo was born and lived all her life in Hungary. Basketball wasn’t her only sport growing up, nor was it the first sport she loved.

She participated in Track & Field as a sprinter but stopped after the fourth grade, but she recalls more fondly her attempt to play tennis. She wanted to play tennis in order to emulate her brother who was also a tennis player. However, the tennis coach told Szabo that she was too young at the age of six and that she should return when she was older.

As you can guess, she never returned and the rest is almost history. Szabo started to play basketball and gradually fell in love with the sport, following a path that eventually led her to Dartmouth.

Along the way, Szabo attended Britannica International School, which is the longest established British school in Hungary. While at Britannica, she was named the Top Student and Top Athlete in Hungary in 2012 and received an award for Academic Excellence.

She played three seasons with UNIWA Euroleasing Sopron where she won the First League National Hungarian Championship and the Hungarian Cup. She finished second in the First League Hungarian-Slovakian Championship, was named to the U18 All-Tournament Team and the list goes on, the entirety of which can be found on her Dartmouth Athletics Department biography.

Szabo was talented enough to attend any number of schools and could have become a star player for premier national powerhouse programs like Baylor University or the University of Connecticut. Instead, she chose Dartmouth, in part because of how important her academic progress is to her.

“From the first moment I decided to come to the US, I told myself that I would only come if both academic and athletics were a high priority,” Szabo explained. “When I looked at schools, I only looked at schools where both areas were important. When Dartmouth reached out to me, I knew I wanted to come here. The fact women’s basketball didn’t do well last year didn’t affect my decision.”

Szabo has only been in the United States since August but she’s enjoyed her time at Dartmouth. She loves her classes and right now she’s trying new subjects to discover her academic interests in addition to a psychology major. While at Britannica, she was restricted to four subjects and couldn’t explore different subjects.

“I love Dartmouth,” Szabo exclaimed. “It’s so much colder here than in Hungary but I’ve gotten used to it. I love the people here and they’re just so helpful and supportive. My teammates and my floor-mates, all the people I’m friends with, make me feel like I’m at home.”

Her teammates have also enjoyed spending time with her as they watch her experience new holidays and new events for the first time.

“It’s fun to be with her when she experiences new things,” Rowland said. “Like Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving isn’t something that occurs in Hungary, so she went to a teammate’s house for thanksgiving. She’s been very open about it.”

Hopkins lives on the same freshman floor as Szabo and, as a result, has developed a nice friendship with her.

“It’s always fun to talk with her,” Ruby Hopkins ’17 said. “She’s one of the people I’ve really been glad to get to know on the floor.”

As much as Szabo’s teammates have taught her, Szabo has enjoyed giving her teammates the occasional lesson in Hungarian which has the additional side effect of making her feel more at home.

“She really loves her team and they’ve been able to get along well,” Hopkins said.

For instance, Szabo teaches her teammates the occasional Hungarian phrase. After several attempts, the women’s basketball team learned how to say “Believe in yourself,” although initially, their words, according to Szabo, sounded like the complete opposite.

For her next challenge, I suggest she might try teaching at least one of her teammates the 40-plus letter Hungarian alphabet. But she probably won’t submit her teammates to learning the alphabet though considering how much she loves her team.

“I love how I’m able to see my teammates every part of the day,” Szabo said. “Last term, I took a class with one of my teammates, and this term as well. In Hungary, we didn’t have that in high school. I was always far away from my team when we weren’t practicing. It’s nice to have my teammates here all around me because it makes us know each other better.”

Szabo has been the driving force for Dartmouth’s offense and, in some ways, the fortunes of the women’s basketball team rise and fall based on her performance.

Szabo scored more than 30 points during both of Dartmouth’s victories. In her second career game, she scored 31 points, setting a new freshman scoring record in a thrilling 66-62 victory over Vermont.

Ten games later, Szabo broke her own record with 34 points in Dartmouth’s 76-72 victory over UMass in the Blue Sky Classic. Szabo registered one more game of 30+ points when she scored 33 against Providence in a 72-82 loss.

Dartmouth’s offense completely disappears when she’s been shut down by the opposing defense. When Syracuse shut out Szabo for the entire game, Syracuse won big 88-47. The two other games Szabo scored fewer than 10 points were against La Salle and Hartford, both Dartmouth losses by double digits.

“Everyone has those games where it’s just not falling for you but she just continues to play,” Rowland said. “I think it’s indicative of her character as a person and her style of play. Even if it’s not going in offensively, she can still find ways of contributing defensively.”

Every time after a lackluster performance, Szabo has bounced back with a vengeance and demonstrated a clear positive growth mindset.

“She plays smart. She doesn’t really get into foul trouble,” Rowland said. “She leads by example. She’s not one to criticize or be very vocal. When she is vocal, it’s more of a positive tone. I think the coaches appreciate her. She plays a lot and she’s a great ball player.”

Now at the halfway point of the season, the team has started to gel, in part, according to Szabo, due to the coaching efforts of first year head coach Belle Koclanes.

“I believe in the new coaches and I believe in my teammates,” Szabo said. “I love playing for my coaches. They are just so positive and they bring this high energy to every practice and every game. I really think we’re getting better as a team. I really like the new culture they’re creating. I think it’s going to show how much effort they put into making us better.”

Even if Dartmouth’s season continues to unravel, the team has a bright future thanks to Szabo, Koclanes and the rest of the underclassmen. And despite the abysmal record, the women’s basketball team has yet to give up.

“We work every day to make winning an Ivy Championship possible,” Szabo said. “Our record doesn’t show it because we’ve had a lot of sicknesses and injuries. Now, all of us are able to play and it’s going to make us a better and more consistent team. I see the improvement we’re making as a team on and off the court and I know we’re able to win it.”

Szabo and the Big Green return to action on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., traveling to Newark, N.J. to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the first match of a six-game road slate. Dartmouth’s next home game won’t be until Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14 against Cornell.

The Story of Joe Moglia: From Defensive Coordinator to CEO to Head Coach

From 1981 to 1983, Joe Moglia was Dartmouth’s defensive coordinator, coaching the defense as Dartmouth earned two Ivy Championships. But by season’s end, Moglia abandoned football for the financial sector in order to support his family, and now, 30 years later, Moglia returned to the sidelines, achieving his lifelong dream of coaching a college football team.

Moglia’s story came to national prominence when Sports Illustrated’s Monte Burke featured Moglia when his Coastal Carolina Chanticleers prepared to take on the 11^th ranked FBS-program South Carolina Gamecocks.

Coastal Carolina was a trendy upset pick against the rising SEC power only to be demolished 70-10 by South Carolina. Despite the lopsided defeat, Moglia’s legacy and inspirational story remain untarnished. Few would have expected a person of Moglia’s background to live the life he has enjoyed.

The oldest of five children, Moglia grew up in New York City where his father operated a small fruit stand and his family lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment. By the time Moglia graduated high school, he knew he wanted to become a head football coach.

Equipped with a bachelors in economics from Fordham and a masters in secondary education from the University of Delaware, Moglia worked his way through the assistant coaching ranks, making stops at NYC’s Fordham Prep, Delaware’s Archmere Academy and Pennsylvania’s Penncrest High School.

He moved on to his first defensive coordinating position at Pennsylvania’s Lafayette College before directing Dartmouth’s defense under head coach Joe Yukica, who coached Dartmouth from 1978 to 1986.

Moglia’s defense was considered one of the best in the nation, helping Dartmouth to consecutive Ivy Championships in 1981 and 1982.

Despite his professional success, Moglia’s personal life was starting to crumble as his wife, who he had married at 19, divorced him. Moglia was forced to live in the unheated storage room at the top of the Davis Varsity House as he couldn’t afford a separate apartment on his $33,000 salary.

In 1983, Moglia’s final year of coaching, Dartmouth tied for third in the Ivy, going 4-5-1 (4-2-1 Ivy).

During the offseason, Moglia was offered a defensive assistant position at the University of Miami who was coming off its first national championship title in school history after winning the Orange Bowl under head coach Howard Schnellenberger.

Schnellenberger then left Miami for the ill-fated United States Football League and was replaced by Jimmy Johnson. Johnson would go on lead Miami to a second national championship before moving on to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys where he won two Super Bowls. The core players Johnson built around at both Miami and Dallas would combine for another three national titles without Johnson.

Moglia turned down the Miami job in order to make the jump to the financial world so that he could provide the financial resources to raise his four children. At 34 years old, Moglia entered the financial sector, enrolling in a financial training class at Merrill Lynch that included 24 MBA graduates and one former defensive coordinator.

In his 17 years at Merrill Lynch, he climbed the ladder until he was a member of the executive committees for both institutional business and private client business. He was responsible for all investment products, the insurance company, 401(k)s and the middle-market.

Moglia, who was quickly making a habit of taking risks, abandoned his lucrative position at Merrill Lynch to become the CEO of TD Ameritrade in 2001, an online broker that had barely survived the dot-com bubble bust. It was a move many considered crazy but Moglia couldn’t climb any higher up the ladder at Morgan Lynch.

During his seven-year tenure as CEO, TD Ameritrade’s assets grew from $24 billion to over $300 billion and its market capitalization increased from $700 million to $12 billion, all the while recording five consecutive years of record earnings. Capitalizing on merger and acquisition opportunities, he led TD Ameritrade in two of the largest acquisitions: Datek Online Holdings in September 2002 and TD Waterhouse in January 2006.

“If we were a football team, it would be like we won two championships,” Moglia said according to a 2010 article published by Joe Wertheim. “And it wasn’t like we were doing it as USC or Nebraska. It was like we were Wake Forest.”

Thanks to Moglia’s leadership, TD Ameritrade sidestepped the 2008 Financial Crisis when he refused to deal in subprime mortgages despite intense pressure from investors. While E-Trade lost $1.3 billion and Merrill Lynch, Moglia’s former employer, lost $28 billion, TD Ameritrade recorded an $800 million profit.

Just as he was at the top of the financial world, in March 2008, Moglia announced he would step down to pursue other interests, officially vacating the CEO position in September 2008. He still stayed with the company as chairman.

One of Moglia’s claims to fame was the he was one of a few people who published books on football and finance. He wrote The Key to Winning Football: The Perimeter Offense (1981) and Coach Yourself to Financial Success: Winning the Investment Game (2005).

Originally intending to take an extended vacation, Moglia politely refused numerous job opportunities. But when a friend who was a Yale alumnus called to inform Moglia that the Yale head coaching position was open, Moglia was intrigued.

He took a couple months to decide whether he wanted to coach or not, but he eventually decided yes, much to the chagrin of most of his work associates and part of his family. Moglia knew he wasn’t going to be offered a position at a major FBS school, but he believed he was good enough for teams in conferences like the Ivy or the Patriot.

He started shopping his resume around to different college programs, but few were interested because of his 25-year hiatus. He made regular calls to Athletic Directors (ADs) as well as Yale, but Yale never returned the call and decided to hire Tom Williams (Williams has since resigned after a season that featured a scandal regarding a Rhodes Scholarship application).

Terry Holland, then the athletic director at East Carolina, said Moglia’s candidacy raise more questions than it answered, and the only thing working against his resume, which demonstrated all the skills necessary, was the lack of recent experience.

ADs are naturally risk-averse because they need to select coaches that can win games or risk losing their jobs. Moglia’s lack of experience meant few would consider biting.

Kevin White, the AD of Duke University, met with Moglia in early 2009 but decided not to hire him.

“He would be a non-traditional hire,” White explained. “A university would have to see him as a risk that makes sense to take.”

Perception was working against Moglia, who was perceived as a rich person looking for a Saturday hobby.

Eventually, the University of Nebraska allowed Moglia to work as an unpaid voluntary assistant coach and mentor for two years. He broke down game film, attended practices and coaches meetings, wrote copious notes and religiously studied the Cornhuskers’ playbook.

Moglia estimated that he worked 70 hours per week for free, a massive departure from his salary at TD Ameritrade which averaged $14 million annually, topping out at $21 million in 2008.

Eventually, Moglia was hired to his first head-coaching gig, but it was for the Omaha Nighthawks of the now-defunct United Football League. He coached the Nighthawks to a 1-5 record, losing games to Marty Schottenheimer and Jim Fassel, but beating Dennis Green.

Then the UFL folded and Moglia was on the job search again, giving college football one more try. Fordham and Florida Atlantic expressed interest but they hired different candidates.

In 4^th & Goal, a biography of Moglia written by Monte Burke, Moglia admitted, “as much as I wanted to spend the rest of my life coaching, I did not want to spend the rest of my life looking for a job.”

And then Coastal Carolina of the FCS Big South Conference called.

David Bennett, the school’s first head coach, had been surprisingly fired despite Coastal Carolina’s 7-4 record and 3-3 conference record. Bennett had become more recognized for a viral video than as a serious head coach, leading to his termination.

David DeCenzo, Coastal Carolina’s university president, hired Moglia to be the school’s second head football coach in the school history, with a five-year contract that paid him $175,000 annually.

An agent for former Coastal Carolina players now in the NFL called the hiring “an insult to the entire coaching profession.”

DeCenzo was fully aware of the potential repercussions of his gamble and willing to accept them.

“This is either the smartest or dumbest decision I’ve ever made,” DeCenzo said at the time.

White, Duke’s AD, had been completely right. Only a school willing to break tradition could hire Moglia.

Coastal Carolina was a unique situation because it started its football program in 2003 and lacked the major traditions of other Division I programs. There were no major boosters available to protest and withhold money because the program was still building itself. Hiring Moglia wouldn’t torpedo recruiting efforts like it would at major schools like Alabama or Texas.

Even then, Moglia was filling big shoes. Bennett had, quite literally since 2003, built a winning program out of nothing.

Alan Black of the Bleacher Report heavily criticized Moglia’s hiring. Black wrote that the obvious reason Moglia was hired was due to his wealth and connections to the financial sector.

“It’s a shrewd business deal, but completely tramples the integrity of college sports,” Black wrote. “If the NCAA is all about athletic and academic integrity and amateurism, it sure doesn’t show in Coastal Carolina’s hire… How are the Chanticleer football players supposed to trust their own head coach when they know that he isn’t qualified to lead them and essentially bought his way into the position?”

As it would turn out, Black’s analysis was wrong and Moglia continued Coastal Carolina’s winning ways. But at the time, little evidence suggested Moglia would exceed Bennett.

Bennett coached Coastal Carolina to a 63-39 record, a 27-16 conference record, two FCS playoff appearances and four conference championships, three of which came in the program’s first four years. He also defeated traditional FCS powers like James Madison, Furman and Wofford.

However, Bennett was unable to win a playoff game, something Moglia achieved in his first year, defeating Bethune-Cookman 24-14.

But Moglia’s short tenure hasn’t been a cakewalk.

His first season at the helm started out rocky as Coastal Carolina went 2-4, including an embarrassing 55-14 defeat to Appalachian State. Just as naysayers seemed right, Moglia’s team started clicking, reeling off five wins by an average of 30 points.

Moglia finished his first year with an 8-5 record, including the school’s first playoff victory before losing 63-35 to Old Dominion in Round 2. He was named the Big South Conference’s Coach of the Year.

Expectations were higher for Moglia his second year, but he met them, registering two playoff victories and a 12-3 record.

Coastal Carolina recovered from the embarrassing loss against South Carolina by advancing to the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals.

In the playoffs, Moglia defeated Bethune-Cookman and Montana. Moglia’s season ended after a 48-14 Quarterfinals loss to North Dakota State. NDSU just won its third consecutive national championship after defeating Towson on January 4^th to extend its winning streak to 24. Despite the lopsided loss, Coastal Carolina still finished the season ranked seventh in the FCS.

As Moglia’s success continues, it will become a matter of “when,” not “if,” Moglia will receive a call from an FBS program.

Disclaimer: The quotes presented in this article are courtesy of 4th&Goal (the biography of Moglia) and different articles published by Sports Illustrated, the Bleacher Report and U.S. News. URLs will be provided upon request.