Lehigh Football Nation

Gah - did I almost forget? Yeah, I did. In what will be the quickest blog posting ever, I will go over an exciting weekend in Lehigh sports as the Mountain Hawks men's teams hit the road and the women's basketball team hosts the Christmas City Classic. Women's Basketball (5-6) (RPI:225) Christmas City Classic 12/30 BROWN (1-9) (RPI: 319) 12/31 STONY BROOK (4-7) (RPI: 229) OR RHODE ISLAND (5-6) (RPI: 216) 1/3 YALE (2-6) (RPI: 243) Wins over Sacred Heart and Binghamton have given the Lady Hawks some nice momentum going into the Christmas City Classic. Freshman G Alex Ross has continued her way to lead the team in scoring, while junior G Tricia Smith was named Patriot League Player of the week for her performance in the two wins (28 points, 13 rebounds). If we could get three wins here - not at all out of the realm of possibility, especially at home - we could be in for something special before getting to Patriot League play. Men's Basketball (5-5) (RPI: 266) 12/28 M

If you're a grateful alumni who loves to support Lehigh athletics, it's the time of year to donate to the Athletics Partnership . I am proud to be donating to the Partnership this year proceeds that I have made this year through the sale of LFN merchandise, and I'd like to encourage other alumni out there like you to do the same. Have you ever complained that we don't have enough assistant coaches? Or that Lehigh's not recruiting in a particular area? Those funds are paid for by the Athletics Partnership. It's a tangible way to support Lehigh athletics aside from buying tickets and going to Lehigh/Lafayette. You may not be going to Lehigh now, but you can help support all of Lehigh's teams with a generous gift. Your employer might even match the funds you donate, too. There are other benefits, too. Want priority on Lehigh/Lafayette seating? Give to the Partnership and see what seats you get. You also get media guides, invitations to special events

Just a quick post to mention that I will be releasing something at the College Sporting News more deeply on this subject. Call this a "teaser" for that article if you must, but here is some information that should whet one's appetite: The results of this study involved the Academic Index (or AI) only - the changes to this formula that were announced on Wednesday do not include any sort of aid reform for football in terms of athletic scholarships. Having said that, the possibility of athletic scholarships in football are still a subject "under discussion." The discussion about the AI (which encompasses all Patriot League sports) and athletic aid (which, in this case, only involves football) are two different discussions. I think it's important to make that distinction here. I think it is very fair that the discussion about reform of the AI and any decisions on athletic scholarships for football be separate discussions, since one affects all sports through

Today at Noon, the Patriot League office issued the following statement in regards to "revisions to academic policies" : Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League Council of Presidents endorsed a set of recommendations for revising the League's academic index with the objective of providing more consistency in the application of the index and internal equity between member institutions. The actions will also enhance admissions and athletic competitiveness of programs externally while maintaining the integrity of the League's founding principles. ... The Presidents' actions were based on a series of recommendations with respect to the calculation and application of the academic index. Those principles will now be reviewed for fine-tuning and implementation by an advisory group made up of athletic directors, admissions representatives and the League's policy committee. The Presidents will review and finalize the comprehensive plan during their June meeting for ad

Tonight: Chattanooga, TN TV: ESPN2, 8PM EST The FCS Championship Game, Delaware vs. Appalachian State It's what everyone in the Patriot League hopes to get to every single year, and tonight is the only Division I championship in football that the NCAA recognizes. Tune in! And below are a host of different links to get you pumped for the game. College Sporting News Content CSN: Championship Info CSN Way: Dream Matchup (written by me) FCS Preview: Eric Gemunder CSN West: Chatty Has Made FCS Proud CAA Today: Appalachian State vs. The CAA CSN So South: Mountaineers Go For Three In A Row SWAC World: All Is Right in the SWA World (SWAC Championship Preview) CSN Waves Podcasts of Championship Preview, Interviews, Sports Network Awards and More! Other Links Sports Network, David Coulson: National Championship On The Line Any Given Saturday Post: All The Links About The Championship Game Tune in. It should be a hell of a ride.

(Photo Credit: Jim Commentucci / The Post-Standard) I had planned to blog something about financial aid this week, but that will wait: Colgate's star junior RB Jordan Scott has been suspended from the team after being charged with burglary: The football future of star Colgate running back Jordan Scott is in flux after his arrest on a burglary charge. According to the Hamilton village police department, Scott and wide receiver David Morgan were charged Sunday with second-degree burglary, a felony, in connection with an incident on campus Saturday night. The players were arraigned Monday in Hamilton village court and released on $10,000 bond. It's an embarrassment to Scott and the Colgate athletic department - however, a source tells me that there may be less to this than meets the eye, calling the incident "minor". No decisions have been made on this yet by Colgate head football coach Dick Biddle or the Colgate athletic department, except the fact that Scott and M

Be the first on your block to have your very own unofficial "Rivalry" T-Shirt! Just in time for the holidays for that mad Lehigh fan on your list! Navigate here for details . Ho, ho, ho! Now, let's just get those two speedy defensive backs under the tree...

With exams coming up, this weekend will be featuring the last competition from the Lehigh winter sports teams until the week before Christmas. But there's plenty happening this weekend to whet your appetite for Lehigh sports. For you FCS football fans, you can catch the FCS semifinals tonight at 8:00PM on ESPN2 (Richmond versus Appalachian State) and tomorrow on ESPN at 4:00PM (Delaware at Southern Illinois). My preview of the weekend football slate you can read here . Wrestling (4-5) 12/7 No. 5 PENN STATE (Stabler Arena, 7:00PM) With an encouraging 2-1 record over the last week, the grapplers sure could use a strong showing this weekend against a Nittany Lion squad that should provide a great atmosphere tonight at Stabler in the 96th meeting between these two wrestling rivals. Penn State has dominated us the past four years in duals, and with six nationally-ranked wrestlers for the Lions, it's looking like an awfully daunting challenge for our "David" to slay thei

I haven't seen Fred Claus yet, but I keep looking at this picture and saying: George Wendt and Santa - separated at birth? (Did I mention I am dying to see Paul Giamatti play Santa?) In any event, this post was written to post an important question for Lehigh football fans: namely, who should be on our wish list this year in terms of recruits? It's this time of year where the Lehigh coaching staff travels far and wide to secure commitments for new athletes to come into the program. And although I think the North Pole is a bit far out, maybe it would be worth at least a letter to Santa in regards to getting that stud player that will be a standout player in the class of 2012. Last year's recruiting class was considered one of the better ones for Lehigh, and we'll need another to keep up with the rest of the league - and especially "that school in Easton". (Hopefully everyone on the Lehigh coaching staff is on the "good" list.) Here's what would

One thing that the long offseason affords me is the opportunity to look at things like Lehigh's 2006 self-study report and some of the academic numbers in there. And taking a fresh look at them certainly raised my eyebrows. Lehigh's sports teams this year have been struggling more than usual. Men's soccer, a year removed from a magical season including wins in the NCAA tournament, ended this year with a whimper. The men's wrestling team, usually in the Top 25, is unranked. The President's Cup standings put us, amazingly, in sixth behind the service academies. That begs the question, posed by LUFan in one of the forums : "Is it a coincidence that all the sports or struggling, or could it be that the academic standards are going through the roof and all the athletic programs are paying the price?" It's a good question, which prompted me to take a look at the self-study and if this could be the case. Are standards affecting all sports (except, perh

When you start to write about college football year round, you start to realize that football talk never truly dies, it just dies down a little until the next big event (postseason accolades, the FCS playoffs , recruiting season, Spring football, the NFL draft). But in the winter, there's other big sporting events at Lehigh in the winter - especially something else I enjoy: college basketball (men's and women's). In the long stretch of time when there's no football games on Saturdays, like last year I like to highlight the upcoming events for the winter sports I enjoy and other folks love as well. Without any further ado, here's what is coming up this weekend, and the coming week. Men's Basketball (2-3) (Sagarin: 253) 12/1 at Central Connecticut State (1-5) (Sagarin: 245) 12/5 STONY BROOK (0-6) (Sagarin: 314) The Mountain Hawks lost a close double-overtime game to Quinnipiac 92-88 this Wednesday at Stabler as a respectable 649 fans showed up on a weekday to

What Went Right When Lehigh won in 2006 against our tougher opponents, it involved our defense getting turnovers. Our 20-13 win versus Ivy League Champion Harvard was won after junior LB Tim Diamond stripped the ball from Harvard quarterback Chris Pizzotti and junior DL Paul Bode rumbled the ball into the end zone for the win. Similarly, senior DB Brannan Thomas ' two interceptions were the difference in Lehigh's early 32-21 victory over last year's Ivy League co-Champions Princeton. On defense, we found our biggest playmaker on defense in Diamond. He would finish the year with 107 tackles. 2 1/2 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 3 recovered fumbles, and that aforementioned game-winning strip. Junior DL Brian Jackson also had a great year with 63 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks, and another standout was sophomore LB Matt Cohen with a team-leading 13 tackles for loss including three sacks. Another part of the team that really shined was special teams. Thomas' 54 yard p

I've been illin' since Lehigh/Lafayette, so I haven't been able to report on anything in regards to Lehigh football or Lehigh Sports this week. Look next week (assuming this thing gets better) for more stuff on Lehigh football, including the players on the All-Patriot team, more stuff hopefully on Lehigh men's basketball (2-2 now), women's basketball and wrestling! To see my picks for this weekend's playoff games, head on over to College Sporting News to see them. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today's word may as well be "playmaker". A frustrating season comes to a close with another loss to Lafayette, as this senior class becomes the first class since 1949 to not enjoy a win against the Leopards. What strikes me the most is that this was a winnable game. Lehigh was leading most of of the way. And there were a lot of things that went right. Senior QB Sedale Threatt played his guts out, as did senior DB Ernest Moore , junior DB Brendan VanAckeren , junior LB Tim Diamond , and others. Offensively, the first half was great for a team that hadn't had a lot of success all year. Lehigh didn't turn over the ball one time. The defense hit hard and never let up on the physical punishment. Yet after watching this match the old football chestnut is very clear: the game comes down to making plays. And Lafayette made plays and Lehigh didn't down the stretch. The fourth quarter was a microcosm of Lehigh's inability to make the big plays to win footb

The next time you'll be hearing from me, the 143rd will (incredibly) be over and I'll be talking about it here on the blog. For my Patriot League picks, mosey on over to the College Sporting News where you can get picks of the other Patriot League games for tomorrow (umm, there are other games?). Morning Call: Hawks/Pards Get Plenty Of Coverage Morning Call: Lehigh Picturing Different Outcome Morning Call: Victory over Bucknell Gives Lehigh Momentum Morning Call: Lehigh's First Lambert Cup Express-Times: Moore A Genuine Lafayette Hater Express-Times: History On Lehigh's Side Brown & White: Special "The Rivalry" Section

It's JUST about beating Lafayette. Kinda like saying, it's JUST about breathing. Sure, you can say that the 143rd meeting isn't about a Patriot League championship. You could also say it's about a winning season or positive momentum going into next year, and it is those things as well. But when you cut out the history, "the Hate", and everything else. you're left with the simple truth: it's JUST about beating Lafayette. It's about giving the seniors their first-ever taste of a win over the Leopards. It's about finally not having to hear it from that friend or co-worker that Lafayette is better. 2005. The feeling of a win over the Leopards that will mean 364 days of thinking that we are better . Let's get it on. Game Notes & Weather Report The first order of business is the depth chart at runningback, our M*A*S*H unit. The starters listed are freshman RB Jaren Walker and freshman RB Kwesi Kankam , although junior RB Josh Pastore is rumo

(Photo Credit: Brown & White) The picture to the left certainly isn't politically correct. It's raw. It's irreverent. And it sums up the feelings between these two schools perfectly. Oddly enough, this tails into a tradition at Lehigh and Lafayette where fraternities and houses hang banners celebrating the game to come. Why is it that we hate what we most resemble? It's not unique to Lehigh and "that school from Easton": Harvard and Yale are both schools with global academic brands that are more similar than different. Army and Navy detest each other, but both share in that armed forces life and face the same challenges as institutions. Demographically, Lehigh and "that school from Easton" are very similar: most of their students come from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They are schools that are known for their hard-studying, hard-partying attitudes - and have had rocky relationships with the towns that host them in Bethlehem and Easton. Yet

"The Rivalry" is more than just a Lehigh Valley game that is sold out. For those of you that are going to be attending one of the telecast parties from all around the country , those of you who are going to be catching "The Rivalry" on Channel 69 or on LehighSports.Com , those of you who will be seeing it for the first time in person, or those of you who are grizzled veterans approaching the coveted "50 Game Club", before trying to tackle the emotional side of things it's helpful to get your mind around the numbers of times Lehigh and "that school from Easton" have played each other over the years. The raw numbers about "The Rivalry" are only a Wikipedia click away. No two football teams have faced each other as often as Lehigh and Lafayette have. They've met each other 142 times, with the 143rd meeting occurring in a sold-out Murray Goodman stadium this Saturday. Other rivalries pale in comparison: Harvard/Yale (a mere 123

(Photo Credit: Pete Shaheen, Morning Call) It's "Rivalry Week", where the buildup for Lehigh/Lafayette starts to build to a fever pitch. It also gives Lehigh fans a chance to think about past wrongs in "The Rivalry" (for example, in this picture to the right, how was a facemask penalty not called?). But there is unfinished business that needs to be taken care of in terms of closing out the Bucknell game and going "around the horn", sort of, one more time. Around The Horn As one at-large team for the FCS playoffs (realistically) fades from view, another emerges. Colgate's 45-12 win over Georgetown puts the Raiders at 7-3 and, quite possibly, in lone for a possible at-large playoff berth if they beat Holy Cross this weekend and get some help. Junior RB Jordan Scott had over 100 yards rushing, and sophomore WR Pat Simonds and senior WR Erik Burke both had 100 yards receiving. Senior RB J.J. Bennett was taken off the field in a stretcher as

If you're coming to this site, you're probably already aware that next weekend is going to be the 143rd meeting of the most-played rivalry in all of football. Whatever you call it, "The Rivalry", "The Game", "Lehigh/Lafayette", "Lafayette/Lehigh" - it's a huge deal. It's also the last game of the season, and in a year when Patriot League titles and possible playoff bids are not on the line, it's a day to honor the seniors who gave their body parts up for the honor of playing some football at Lehigh. Having them come out with a win - especially for the long-suffering seniors of this year who have not enjoyed the taste of a win over "that school in Easton" - would be very sweet. But as a Lehigh fan, I also look at next year as well. Getting a win over Lafayette would end up being a salve on what could be considered a tumultuous season. It's been a season filled with some intrigue, a nightmarish run of injuries,

This game was just the confidence boost that Lehigh needed to go into next weekend in "The Rivalry". It felt like a snowball running downhill when junior LB Tim Diamond rumbled for a 58 yard fumble return for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage. Although there were some hiccups making this game a 14-10 game at halftime, after Lehigh came out after the break they put together the best half of football that Brown & White fans have seen all year. When senior "slash" Sedale Threatt put the ball in the end zone for his second of three touchdowns on the day (with 78 rushing yards), the score was 21-10, and when Diamond and the defense forced the Bison on a 3-and-out, sophomore QB Chris Bokosky would find junior WR Mike Fitzgerald for a big score to make it an insurmountable 28-10 lead. Just great stats all around: the defense held Bucknell to 8 offensive yards in the second half (no, that's not a typo), freshman RB Jaren Walker had another fine day

(Photo Credit: Andrew Maier, Brown & White) The Patriot League autobid has been wrapped up by Fordham, Holy Cross and Colgate are hoping for a share of the title (and maybe even an outside shot at an at-large bid), while Lehigh looks towards next year this weekend in Lewisburg. With the news that senior QB Sedale Threatt has been battling a rotator cuff injury, it's now official: the era of sophomore QB Chris Bokosky has begun. All the talk of quarterback battles are over, and Mountain Hawk fans will finally have one signal-caller to rally behind this week before "The Rivalry". I've got to believe that the lifting of the uncertainty will help this team focus once again on winning football games, beating "that school in Easton", and springboarding Lehigh fans into an exciting offseason. And hopefully we'll have heard the end of quotes like this from the Brown & White: "We don't finish plays, we don't rise up and stop them on third