Lehigh Football Nation

Earlier this week, I made the easy picks on my hypothetical ballot for the 25th anniversary all-Patriot League team - the defense . Now, for the challenging part. Today, I weigh in on my picks for the offense - and there's bound to be some crying and gnashing of teeth. But one selection on my version of the 25th anniversary team is bound to be completely uncontroversial. That's the selection of the legendary two-sport star for Holy Cross, RB/CB Gordie Lockbaum . (more)

For fun, I thought I'd pull together my hypothetical ballot for the 25 year all-Patriot Team, in preparation for the Patriot League's release of the team next week on July 25th. Part One, which I'm releasing today, is going to be the defense (and, for good measure, I'm going to include the 25th anniversary all-star punter, too). The intent of the ballot is to be a true "team."  That means that the ballot should consist of four defensive linemen, for linebackers, and four defensive backs. (more)

No matter how you look at it, it was a rough year for the Princeton Tigers in 2010. In head coach Bob Surace 's first season at the helm of the Tigers, the senior-laden team collapsed to a 1-9 record, and got swept in Ivy League play for the first time since 1973. It wasn't all his fault - his NFL-caliber linebacker got injured in the 35-22 defeat to Lehigh , and a slew of different injuries afflicted Princeton during the course of the year - but by any measure, it was an incredibly rough rookie campaign for the former assistant coach on the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals. The Tigers, though, will be more dangerous in 2011 than last season's record might suggest.  That's because that NFL-caliber linebacker, senior LB Stephen Cody , took a medical redshirt year and will get one more crack at beating Lehigh. All of a sudden, this game doesn't look like such a cakewalk. (more)

(Photo Credit: Tyler McDermott/The New Hampshire) There's a lot of football games on the schedule in 2011, but the one that seems to loom the largest - aside from that contest Lehigh plays at the end of November, of course - is the home opener. It's not just because New Hampshire plays in the CAA, the football conference that is getting a reputation as "the SEC of FCS". It's not just because it will almost certainly be a matchup between Top 25 teams - the first such contest at Murray Goodman since 2004. And it's not just because the Wildcats humbled Lehigh in Durham last year, 31-10 . It's because last year's game was one of the last appearances of the "old" Lehigh team than the "new" one that closed out the year in 2010. Of all the games on the schedule in 2011, none feels like "redemption" - except this one. (more)

(Graph Credit: Chronicle of Higher Ed) It's amazing to me how statistics are so frequently presented to attempt to "shock and awe" the viewer. Today, it's the Chronicle of Higher Ed's turn to mislead using statistics : If you haven’t seen it, you should check out Libby Sander and Andrea Fuller ’s piece this week highlighting the spending patterns in lesser-known Division I programs. The story found that nearly a third of the 125 athletic departments that compete just below the NCAA’s elite level increased their expenditures by more than 40 percent during a recent five-year period. Public universities, many of them grappling with overall financial cuts, had some of the fastest-growing athletic budgets. It sounds shocking - until you analyze the situation for, say, about five minutes.  (more)

(Photo Credit: Food Network Star ) This summer, food writer Whitney Chen became a contestant on the reality-TV show "Food Network Star". And after four episodes, Ms. Chen is still alive in the competition - much to the delight of a nation of Lehigh alums. That's because Ms. Chen is a Lehigh alumna - and a graduate with a degree in industrial engineering, which is no mean feat at a school like Lehigh. Ms. Chen's quest for Food Network stardom reveals a side of Lehigh people that simply isn't present in folks who go to larger, less personal, schools.   (more)

One day after announcing their mega-deal with the CBS Sports Network, the folks at the Patriot League had another surprise in the offing: that the October 29th clash between Colgate and Lehigh would be one of the two Patriot League games televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Two of the most intriguing games of the Patriot League football season have been selected for national television coverage in 2011, as both the Massachusetts at Holy Cross matchup on Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. and the Lehigh at Colgate game on Oct. 29 at Noon will be televised on CBS Sports Network. In other words, "Hate the 'Gate" goes national. (more)