Lehigh Football Nation

Lehigh's wrestling and men's basketball teams have one mission this weekend: to travel to the cow pastures in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and silence Sojka. And no, I don't mean the Polish jazz musician, either. Bucknell's Sojka Pavillion will be hosting two huge events this weekend that are of interest to Lehigh fans: the 107th EIWA Wrestling Championships (which will determine the Lehigh wrestlers that will go on and compete in the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, PA), and Lehigh's win-or-go-home game against the Bucknell Bison in the semifinals of the men's Patriot League basketball tournament. It's going to be a "deluxe" weekend out in the cow pastures they call Lewisburg, PA for Lehigh fans.  Their goal will be to allow the locals to hear the mooing in the pastures - and keep Sojka's home fans in stunned silence for 72 hours. (more)

A nine game winning streak to end the year?  That's good, I think. Achieving two thirty-point wins against Bucknell and Holy Cross at home last week?  That's OK, I guess. A well-deserved Patriot League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year award for senior G Erica Prosser ? That's nice. But you've got to believe that the Lady Hawks are excited about one thing, and one thing only about the first round of the Patriot League tournament Saturday night at Stabler arena - the fact that Lehigh has the opportunity to enact some revenge. (more)

Patriot League basketball is fun - and terrifying - because it all comes down to winning three games in March. The first of these games is tonight, where the Mountain Hawks could be playing their final game at Stabler Arena one way or another against Navy. Whether you head to Stabler to provide a true home-court advantage to the Mountain Hawks, listen to the game with Matt Kerr and Greg Falkenbach on ESPN 1230 and 1320, or you catch the game on Patriot League All-Access , you'll be taking part in the most terrifying game of the season - unless Lehigh wins, where you'll get to do it all over again on Sunday. (more)

Isn't it supposed to be basketball season? Well, yes, it is.  It still very much is.  Lehigh's men's and women's basketball teams close out their respective regular seasons this weekend - and we'll find out where they end up seeded in the Patriot League tournament. But for the first time in a long time around these parts, however, it's also the beginning of a new football era as well. On Saturday in Reading, PA, the newest member of the IFL, or Indoor Football League, will be facing off against the Reading Express.  That's the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, who will be headlined by a certain Lehigh football star named LB Matt Cohen . (more)

Every year, at the conclusion of the football season, I wrap up last year by issuing my "Hawks of the Year" blog post.  It recognizes - based on my "weekly awards" during the course of the year - those Mountain Hawks who were the top Hawks on the field. Normally, I like to get this out before Lehigh's end-of-the-year banquet celebrating the football season, but I was unable to do so this year.  Fortunately, however, this means I'm able to add something to the presentation of my "awards" - some of the plaques, courtesy of senior CB/PR Jarard "Main Man" Cribbs , used in the banquet this past weekend, to highlight the winners. It seems like every year I make some exceptions, and this year is no different.  Like the Oscars, I hold in my hand an envelope which contains this year's Hawks of the year, but I'm going to add one more special award to the "Hawks of the Year" list this year.  If you've followed my blog over ...

It's usually called "March madness", but for the Lehigh men's basketball team it might as well be called "February Madness". "The Rivalry" on the hardwood, of course, would be a big deal even if both teams were winless going into this so-called winter month, with Madness-like temperatures outside possibly reaching 70 degrees. But with Bucknell and American, in effect, locking up the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Patriot League tournament in March, this weekend's game, televised nationally on CBS College Sports this Sunday at 2:00 PM Eastern, will have gigantic implications for the incredibly valuable No. 3 seed.  The winner will have the inside track at the No. 3 seed, a home game in the first round of the playoffs, and a fighting chance to play in the championship.  The loser could be the No. 5 seed or worse, playing on the road in the first round and facing a very, very uphill climb at a shot at the Patriot League championship. It's ...

Over at College Sporting News , one of my (many) side projects has been to compile the entire schedule for the 2011 football season.  As a part of this, of course, is the Patriot League football schedule. While every Patriot League schedule is unannounced so far by the league office and the member schools, I've been able to piece together the schedule at the CSN web site . The picture it paints is nothing short of fascinating - and it might even offer an insight as to the visions the football schools of the Patriot League has for themselves. (more)