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. 

Zenit St. Petersburg Unlikely to Advance to Champions Cup Quarterfinals

Zenit St. Petersburg's advancement to the Champions League Group of 16 was anything but graceful after barely surviving the group stage. St. Petersburg became the first team in history to advance with just six points.

Zenit, after losing to Austria Wien 4-1, needed help from Atletico de Madrid to advance. Porto, in third place with five points, could have leapfrogged past Zenit and advanced instead. Atletico defeated Porto 2-0, thereby preserving Zenit's one point lead.

As runner-up of Group G, Zenit will draw its next opponent on Monday. Right now, none of the seven options are appealing.

The possible adversaries? Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. St. Petersburg will be considered the underdog against each team.

Zenit can't play Atletico because both teams advanced from the same group.

The Mirror's Miguel Delaney posted his Champions League power rankings, listing Zenit No. 16. The Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett ranks Zenit one spot higher at No. 15, ahead of Olympiacos. However, Matchett and The Mirror agree Zenit is unlikely to advance.

An inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities has plagued Zenit for the past two months, justifying its rankings. Zenit's inability to finish games jeopardizes its chances of repeating its 2008 magic when it won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

In the earlier stages of the Champions League, Zenit easily overwhelmed Nordsjaelland and Pacos Ferreira.

Since entering the Group stage, Zenit has managed just one win, 1-0 over Porto. Although Zenit lost to Atletico 3-1 its first game, St. Petersburg fought Atletico to a draw in the rematch, proving it could compete with the best.

Then everything changed, starting with a 2-1 to seventh place Amkar Perm on November 2.

After starting slow in the Russian Premier League, Zenit surged into first place. But in the past five matches, Zenit has gone 1-2-2, letting Lokomotiv Moscow creep into a tie for first place. Spartak Moscow sits in third place with one point behind.

Zenit's slump bled into its upcoming game against Austria, who had yet to win a match in the group stage.

St. Petersburg held a 1-0 lead, controlling the ball most of the first half, but collapsed in the second. Zenit allowed Austria's Philipp Hosiner and Tomas Jun to score one goal each in an eight-minute span, and Austria never looked back.

Even Austria's coach Nena Bjelica was surprised by how flat and uninspired Zenit played.

"We deserved this victory though the scoreline is a bit flattering," Bjelica said. "Zenit didn't play at their best but we did well to punish them."

According to Delaney's rankings, Zenit's best chance of advancing would be to draw PSG. However, Matchett's rankings suggest Chelsea, who won its group with 12 points.

In the end, Zenit faces an uphill battle no matter which team it draws. In fact, every group winner, even Atletico, hopes to play Zenit, believing Zenit will be an easy victory. If Zenit somehow advances, it will mark the largest upset of this year's Champions League.

However, considering its recent string of luck, Zenit will probably draw Manchester United or Real Madrid.

Recap: Dartmouth Football Finishes Season with 28-24 Win over Princeton

Dartmouth’s Class of 2014 finished its career with a stunning upset against Princeton (8-2, 6-1 Ivy). Players celebrated after Dalyn Williams ’16’s kneel down sealed the 28-24 victory with snow angels and somersaults as the snow accumulated on the field.

“I’ve very proud of the group,” head coach Buddy Teevens said. “It was a great win for us and a great win for our program.”

Dartmouth now leads the overall series 46-43-4 after snapping Princeton’s eight-game win streak and preventing Princeton from seizing full control of the Ivy championship. 

“We didn’t do enough,” junior Quinn Epperly said. “We lost. It’s a terrible way to end the season for these seniors. It really tarnishes a lot of what we did over the year.”

With 23 wins, including 16 conference games, the Class of 2014 finished its career with the most wins for any class in 15 years and defeated Princeton all four years.

Princeton entered having lost to Dartmouth the previous three years. But it seemed Princeton, ranked No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Poll, seemed prepared to break the losing streak with its prolific scoring offense. Princeton’s only loss prior to Saturday was 29-28 to Lehigh.

Epperly led Princeton’s offense in scoring at least 50 points in five of the last eight games. In Princeton’s game against Cornell, Epperly set an NCAA record with 29 straight completions to start a game. 

“We knew they had the best offense coming in and we thought we had the best defense coming in, so we knew something’s got to give,” Chrustic said. “If everybody just does their job and doesn’t bite on some fancy things, we’ll do well.”

Last week, Princeton demolished Yale 59-23, earning a share of the Ivy League championship, its 10th in program history and first since 2006. It also broke the Ivy League single-season scoring record when senior Philip Bhaya returned an interception 34 yards for the score with five quarters to go.

“We already felt like we won the title,” head coach Bob Surace said. “We beat the team [Harvard] we tied with. Dartmouth is a good team and it was a toe-to-toe battle but they got us at the end.” 

But on Saturday night, Princeton scored just 24 points despite running 104 plays on offense, the most against Dartmouth in at least 40 years. Princeton finished the year with an Ivy League scoring record to 437 points. 

Dartmouth built up a 21-0 lead, but almost lost it when Princeton reeled off 21 unanswered points to tie the game early in the third. Williams scored a 17-yard touchdown on the ground midway through the third for what would turn out to be the game-winning score as Princeton could respond with only a field goal.

The game opened up with a three-and-out by both offenses. Williams tried to find Bo Patterson ’15 deep on third down but Patterson was unable to secure possession before stepping out of bounds while Evan Chrustic ’15 sacked Epperly on third down to force a Princeton punt.

Situated at midfield after Princeton’s punt, Dominick Pierre ’14 broke two big runs of 11 and 34 yards to put Dartmouth at the three. Two goal-line plays later, Pierre powered into the end zone from one yard out, putting Dartmouth on top 7-0. 

On the drive, Pierre surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season, and became the first Dartmouth player in program history to score a rushing touchdown in every game.

After another Princeton three-and-out, Williams tried to hit Robbie Anthony ’14 on the corner but sophomore Matt Arends intercepted the pass.

On Princeton’s ensuing drive, Epperly rolled left on the play-action and tried to find junior Connor Kelley. Chase Womack ’14 jumped on the underthrown pass but dropped the potential pick-six. Dartmouth held strong when Epperly threw to senior Roman Wilson on fourth down and Troy Donahue ’15 knocked the ball out of Wilson’s hands.

Dartmouth was unable to capitalize on the turnover on downs, going three-and-out after Williams misfired to Jordan Are ’15. 

Dartmouth was given a second chance when Princeton was flagged for roughing the kicker, placing Dartmouth at midfield. However, Dartmouth went backwards fast after a holding penalty on first down and Williams was sacked on second. Dartmouth almost converted the third-and-27 when Williams heaved it deep to Patterson, but the ball flew through Patterson’s outstretched arms.

On Dartmouth’s next drive after a Princeton three-and-out, Williams located Patterson deep down the right sideline for 56 yards, increasing Dartmouth’s lead to 14. Patterson caught the ball at the 19 and fought off a Princeton defender the rest of the way.

Epperly responded on Princeton’s next attempt with a laser to senior Des Smith deep across the middle to the Dartmouth 43. Epperly was fortunate when an interception was ruled incomplete when the Dartmouth defender was ruled out of bounds despite maintaining possession. Chrustic deflected Epperly’s fourth-down pass at the line, giving Dartmouth the ball at its 17.

Dartmouth mounted its longest drive of the game, starting when Kyle Bramble ’16 went up the middle on Dartmouth’s first play before cutting to the left sideline and running 41 yards. Williams finished off the drive with a five-yard read-option touchdown run, running untouched through a massive hole in the middle, extending Dartmouth’s lead to 21.

For Princeton’s next drive, head coach Bob Surace pulled Epperly for junior Connor Michelson. Michelson fared no better after going three-and-out when Eric Wickham ’15 delivered a massive hit to Michelson’s blindside, sacking him to force a Princeton punt.

Dartmouth’s attempt to increase its lead ended when Dean Bakes ’14 was unable to pull in Williams pass, forcing Dartmouth to punt.

Surace reinserted Epperly, but also kept Michelson on the field in order to run a trick play. Epperly handed the ball off to Michelson, who rolled right and found a receiver for the first. Michelson was then pulled out, and Epperly continued marching Princeton down the field until Wilson took Epperly’s pitch five yards into the end zone. With just under five minutes in the first half, Princeton cut Dartmouth’s lead to 21-7.

Dartmouth’s offense was unable to find its rhythm and run time off the clock. During the punt, Dartmouth originally forced a fumble but the officials ruled the ball dead due to lack of forward progress.

Princeton’s luck stayed alive as time ticked down. Two major penalties gave Princeton 30 free yards, including one that should have been offset by a false start from Princeton’s right tackle, setting Princeton up at the Dartmouth 34.

Epperly misfired twice to wide-open receivers in the end zone before hitting junior Seth DeValve at the one. Epperly pushed the ball into the end zone to cut Dartmouth’s lead to seven with 10 seconds left in the half.

Like the opening drives of the first half, both offenses went three-and-out for their second-half opening drive. 

Dartmouth’s opening drive ended when Williams was sacked by senior Elijah Mitchell. Williams was hurt on the play and left for one series.

Midway through the third quarter, the snow started falling as Epperly hit junior Matt Costello for 30 yards to tie the score at 21. During the drive, Princeton converted twice on fourth-and-1. 

After a Dartmouth three-and-out, Princeton drove to its 44, and on fourth down, Epperly rolled right and was stopped short of the first. On every previous fourth down attempt, Epperly just did a quarterback sneak.

Williams reentered the game and found Patterson for a big first down on the right sideline. Pierre then broke a tackle and bounced outside before going out at the 17. On the next play, Williams scored to make the score 28-21 with 4:51 left in the third. 

On the scoring play, Williams kept the ball and ran right before making the cutback to the left and sprinting the width of the field. After outrunning sophomore Anthony Gaffney, who was the only Princeton defender in position to stop Williams, Williams dove for the score, putting the ball just inside the left pylon.

On Princeton’s ensuing drive, Cody Fulleton ’16 knocked the ball loose from Mills, and Donahue emerged from the massive pileup with the ball at the 49.

Williams marched the offense down the field quickly, finding Pierre in the flat for a big gain that put Dartmouth at the Cornell 24. A holding penalty and a sack pushed Dartmouth back, and on fourth down at the 31, Williams tried to find Are in the end zone but underthrew him under pressure, turning the ball over on downs.

Princeton went three-and-out after Dartmouth knocked away two Epperly passes.

The snowfall stopped by the beginning of the fourth quarter as Dartmouth’s drive started at the Cornell 46 while the temperature dropped below freezing. Dartmouth’s drive ended quickly after Williams launched the ball deep into the end zone and Princeton intercepted it.

Princeton reached midfield but Epperly’s pass sailed through his receiver’s hands on third down.

Dartmouth was unable to sustain a drive after Williams was sacked on third down. 

Princeton very quickly marched down the field, breaking into the red zone after starting with the ball at the Dartmouth 48. The snow started once again as Princeton lined up for a fourth-down attempt.

Epperly’s pitch to Wilson was good for the first down, putting Princeton at the four. Princeton was unable to punch the ball into the end zone and sophomore Nolan Bieck’s 23-yard field goal cut Dartmouth’s lead to four with 6:36 remaining.

Despite an excellent return by Womack to the Dartmouth 39, Williams was unable to spark the offense and run time off the clock, punting back to Dartmouth with 5:45 left.

Chrustic knocked down Epperly’s third-down pass, forcing Princeton to punt with 4:22 left.

With the ball at the 10 and the snow falling heavier and sticking on the field, Williams broke free for 37 yards up the middle. With time on its side, Dartmouth started using the entire play clock between each play. 

On third down, Williams pitched the option to Brian Grove, who raced to the Cornell 27. Dartmouth turned the ball over on downs with 45 seconds left after Pierre was stopped for a four yard loss on fourth down.

Starting with one timeout and needing to race 76 yards to win the game, Epperly threw two incompletions before Garrett Waggoner ’13 intercepted Epperly’s third-down pass, icing the win with 24 seconds remaining.

At one point, the snowfall was so thick that Epperly admitted he was unable to reach the signals from the sideline and missed a couple reads. 

Chrustic knocked three of Epperly’s passes at the line as Dartmouth’s defensive line harassed Epperly all afternoon.

“That was just the most fun I’ve ever had playing football,” Chrustic said. “It snowed and I thought that was to our advantage. It was such a great atmosphere. Best game all year.” 

Pierre earned his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season after running 112 yards on 28 carries with a long of 35. Williams added another 57 yards and two scores. 

Princeton’s leading rusher was Epperly, who kept the ball 20 times for 41 yards. Mills was second on the team with just 30 yards on the ground.

Overall, Dartmouth outran Princeton 239 to 140. However, Princeton outgained Dartmouth 403-331 in total offense as Dartmouth passed for just 92 yards. 

Williams completed just four of 15 for 92 yards, two interceptions and the big 56-yard score to Patterson. However, Williams made plays when most needed.

“I think I was efficient at making plays but not efficient enough,” Williams said. “The majority of the game, I was taking shots and it didn’t go our way every time. But at the end of the day, we won.”

By contrast, Epperly threw 56 times, completing 26, for 242 yards and two scores. DeValve provided Epperly the most consistent target, pulling in nine passes for 115 yards.

“We didn’t execute well enough,” Epperly said. “I didn’t throw the ball well enough. They were very physical upfront.”

Neither team did well on third down as Princeton converted six of 24 while Dartmouth went four of 15. Princeton compensated by attempting eight fourth-down tries and converted five of them.

“They made more plays,” Surace said. “Field position hurt us. It was a tough day to throw and [Dartmouth] ran the ball better than we did. [Dartmouth’s] explosive plays really hurt us.” 

As a result of Saturday’s win, Dartmouth also seized control of sole possession of third place, because Harvard and Princeton tied for first, in the Ivy League’s final standings.

“It’s probably one of the most unselfish teams I’ve ever coached,” Teevens said. “This was a statement game. I believe we are a championship-caliber team.”

Earlier Saturday afternoon, Harvard demolished Yale 34-7, to move into a first-place tie with Princeton, who had defeated Harvard earlier in the year. Princeton and Harvard finish the 2013 season sharing the Ivy Championship title.

The Ivy League’s remaining Saturday games included a surprise 42-41 upset by Cornell over Penn and a 48-7 Brown rout of Columbia. Columbia finished the season without a single win and just 73 points scored.

Brad Ausmus Named Detroit Tigers Manager

On Nov. 3, the Detroit Tigers’ president and general manager Dave Dombrowski named Brad Ausmus ’91 the team’s manager. Ausmus agreed to a three-year deal with a club option for 2017, replacing Jim Leyland who had held the reins since 2006 and retired after his team lost in the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox this season.

“We were most impressed with Brad’s preparation and leadership, which are among his many quality attributes,” Dombrowski said in a press conference. “We are confident Brad is the right person to lead our team and continue the recent success of the Tigers organization.”

Ausmus played 18 years and 1,971 games with four different teams, including three non-consecutive seasons with Detroit. He won three golden gloves and was selected an All-Star in 1999. He is also the all-time Houston Astros leader among catchers in games played, hits and runs scored.

“I couldn’t be more excited to manage the Detroit Tigers,” Ausmus said in a statement. “It’s not very often that you get the opportunity to manage a team that went to the American League Championship the previous year. There is a lot of work to be done by spring training and no details will be glossed over. Our goal is to hopefully return to the ALCS and then take the next step.”

Ausmus takes over a team loaded with talent and playoff experience. Leyland led the Tigers to two World Series appearances and four consecutive AL Central Division titles. Consequently, the team has high expectations as they return with a core of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel here,” Ausmus said. “This is a pretty darn good team. I think I would be foolish to come here and try to make sweeping changes.”

While at Dartmouth, Ausmus majored in government and was a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity and Sphinx senior society. Despite being drafted by the New York Yankees in the 48th round of the 1987 MLB draft, he entered the College because he wanted to pursue an undergraduate degree. He never suited up for the Big Green, however, because his minor league contract prohibited him from doing so, but still served as a bullpen catcher and volunteer coach while he was a student. The catcher graduated from the College in five and a half years.

Even though Ausmus never donned a Dartmouth jersey, the hire could have implications for Big Green baseball.

“I think Dartmouth baseball has established itself as a national recognized program and these are great examples of that,” Jeff Keller ’14 said. “Ausmus didn’t play here, but he was involved in our program and still knows Coach Whalen very well. I think this is just an example of how strong and consistent our program is.”

Ausmus’s hire could impact future recruiting classes.

“Having a Dartmouth alum hired as the manager of the Detroit Tigers is great for Dartmouth’s baseball program,” Dustin Selzer ’14 said. “One of the major effects of the Brad Ausmus hiring is that it will bring more attention to the program, which is always a good thing. Also, I’m sure Coach Whalen will love having that in his bag of tricks when he’s on the road recruiting.”

After graduation, he was re-drafted by the Colorado Rockies as part of the 1992 expansion draft. He was later traded to the San Diego Padres, with whom he made his MLB debut. After bouncing between the Tigers and Astros, Ausmus settled in with Houston from 2001-2008, where heappeared in the 2005 World Series, in which the Astros were swept by the Chicago White Sox. His appearance made him the fist Ivy League graduate to play in the World Series since 1916. He retired in 2010 at the age of 41 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Over his career, Ausmus posted a .251 average with 80 home runs and 607 RBI.

Ausmus carries a reputation for being a tough, hard-nosed player since he caught 18 years in the big leagues. He claims that the mental aspect came easiest to him while in the league. He never earned a grade below a “B” while enrolled at the College.

“I always enjoyed the cerebral part,” Ausmus said. “It was much more difficult to hit. That was part of the game I didn’t really enjoy.”

Ausmus has no prior managing experience in any baseball league, but managed Israel’s team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The Tigers, however, hope that his knowledge from 18 years behind the plate will be just as effective, if not more.

“I was just playing the game three years ago,” Ausmus said. “I have a pretty good understanding of how the locker room dynamic is.”

Ausmus also indicated at his introductory press conference that he may use a mixture of sabermetrics and ‘old-school’ scouting to make decisions.

“I can tell you that players do not like to be inundated with numbers,” he said. “But I think if you can take some of that statistical information and grind it down into a usable piece of information that you can hand off to a player, I think that can be important.”

Prior to being named manager, Ausmus worked in the San Diego Padres’ front office as a special assistant to the general manager.

“I’m well aware that you don’t generally get dropped into a situation like I will be this coming season,” Ausmus said. “I understand I’m very fortunate. That being said, I’m not taking anything for granted. No details will be glossed over. I’m not assuming anything going into the job.”

Spring Training starts Feb. 25, with an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves on the 27th.

The Tigers open their 2014 regular season on March 31 with a six-game home stand against the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles.

This article was originally written by me and published on The Dartmouth website.