Lehigh Football Nation

The summer FCS preview magazines are out - and if you're a Lehigh fan, you can't be happy about the number 5. That's where Lehigh is being picked to finish in the Patriot League this year in the Sporting News ' College football preview. They put Fordham at #1, Holy Cross at #2, Colgate at #3, Lafayette at #4, and our proud Engineers at #5. Rounding out the predictions is Bucknell at #6 at Georgetown at #7. No, really, when was the last time Lehigh was pick to finish fifth in football in the Patriot League? I think I need to go back to 1997... Other juicy tidbits... One incoming Lehigh player - freshman LB Mike Groome - played in the NJICA North-South All-Star football classic on Monday night at Rutgers stadium and had a fantastic game, including an early interception return for a TD to give his winning North team a 14-0 lead en route to a 31-25 victory. Quote: "I dropped back in coverage but kept my eye on the quarterback," he said. "It was an unbel...

I know the temptation is to spend the summer simply watching old movies, but hard as it is to believe there is some Patriot League football news that bears reporting. With all the parts of my Patriot League preview for the College Sporting News FCS Yearbook finally written, and my move coming up in a very short time, here's some of the interesting news trickling off the wires in the Patriot League these days. First of all, can you believe that Patriot League Media day is just around the corner on July 31st? Second of all, can you believe that the Dalai Lama will be teaching at Lehigh in a mere two weeks? (My family and I are all over this one: just a week or so after our move, four of us are going to see him in Stabler.) With Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics, his presence at Lehigh couldn't be more timely. Now, around the league in the world of football: Lehigh alum Joe Alleva ('75) recently was interviewed by the media in Baton Rouge about his challenge in taking ove...

This is a very quick post just to share something that irritated me a little. The Morning Call was covering a charity golf tournament hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Dawkins, and it naturallly gives an opportunity to interview some current players coming up to have a fun day and raise money for a good cause. Now, I can understand why the Eagles players think that coming up to "basic training" at Lehigh isn't exactly a picnic, but is this really necessary? The several Philadelphia Eagles who ventured to Saucon Valley Country Club on Monday for the Brian Dawkins ' Burn Prevention Foundation annual charity golf outing knew they were close to their training camp practice fields at Lehigh University . And they kept a healthy distance away.''On the way up [from South Jersey], I was like 'This is a bad drive. I remember this road,''' safety J.R. Reed said. ''I wasn't even there last year because I didn't sign with them...

Forgive the lack of posting this week, as I've been dispatching a lot of writing for the FCS Yearbook (to be released very soon). But I needed to clear out my inbox with a bunch of Lehigh-related news that hit the wires this week, starting with the fact that Lehigh season tickets are now on sale . They are a bargain by any standard: $55 for general admission season tickets and $75 for chairback seats - plus, you're guaranteed a Lehigh/Lafayette ticket (this year, played at Easton) if you buy now. If you are from Pennsylvania, you probably know what the "Big 33" all-star game is, where the best high school football recruits from talent-rich Pennsylvania and Ohio play as high school players one last time. This year, the "Big 33" game featured four incoming Patriot League players: RB/LB Nate Eachus (Colgate), LB Corey Watts (Lafayette), OL/DL Dan Kessler (Fordham), and one of ours: freshman OL/DL Cody Connare . I did not see the game, but there are some g...

The Patriot League just issued the following statement : Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League Council of Presidents endorsed and finalized a set of recommendations for revising the League's academic index to provide more consistency in the application of the index and internal equity among member institutions. The revisions will go in place for student-athletes that will enter Patriot League institutions in the fall of 2009. "The Patriot League is committed to being the ideal home for outstanding student-athletes," said Bucknell University President Brian C. Mitchell, Chair of the Council of Presidents. "These recommendations provide a higher level of consistency and clarity that strengthens not only the League but also the programs of every one of our member institutions." The revised index will also enhance admissions and athletic competitiveness of programs externally while maintaining the integrity of the League's founding principles. Included in th...

"Oi... My Good Heavens man. What are you THINKING? Loyola in the Patriot League in All Sports... including a football team?" That's what St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus) seems to be saying in the picture to my left - and I think there are a fair amount of people out there who might agree with him. But is it really as outlandish as all that? The rumors are flying on messageboards that Loyola might be looking for a new conference. The Greyhounds currently reside in the MAAC in all sports - and despite the fact that they don't currently sponsor it, football may be part of the equation. So what's the truth? Could there be any truth to the rumors? Let's look at a tale of the tape and see what we can figure out. The Tale Of The Tape Loyola College is a private Jesuit school located in Baltimore, Maryland of approximately 3,500 undergraduates. As a Jesuit school, they fit perfectly in the Patriot League on several levels: they are a...

No, Virginia, I didn't know that "Athletic Turf News" really does exist. But it does: and yes, they are showing the big news that Lehigh is upgrading the natural grass that has been in place since even before Murray Goodman Stadium existed. (Actually, those lazy reporters over at ATN actually just cribbed the report from Lehigh's website.) An entire photo gallery of the renovation lives here (and that's where I got the great shot to my right). Cheer up, Lehigh fans: you don't need to renew your subscription, here's the scoop right here: "This project is part of our University's ongoing commitment to facility maintenance, and had been planned for some time,” Lehigh Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett ’76 explained. “Goodman Stadium is a distinctive setting for football, however, the grass turf and subsurface had reached the end of a long (40 years-plus) life.” He continued, “The availability of modern irrigation and drainage systems and the compar...