Lehigh Football Nation

Patriot League executive director Carolyn Schlie Femovich has, by any measure, has presided over an extraordinary 2011-2012 athletic year. That football scholarships were not the only interesting subject on Patriot League Media Day is a testament to the number of history-making moves that has taken place in the span of the 2011-2012 football offseason, and it's something that Femovich certainly understands well. "It's been a very significant year for the league, and I give the presidents and athletic directors a lot of credit for that," she said. "The scholarship decision was a significant step for us, the admission of Boston Univeristy will be a strong member for us, and the expanded TV package - I think it's all an indication that what we're doing has value and merit: other people want to join us, we put a product on the field that is successful, and a product that people can be proud of. It's a good place to be."

(Photo Credit: Backpacking Light) In the dream, it's night time, and I'm alone, awake, on the campsite. I don't know if it's in Yellowstone, the Pine Barrens, Lake Nockamixon, or simply some composite sketch of campsites I've experienced over the years, but it's far away from indoor plumbing and what passes for civilization these days. The fire crackles in the background with a brilliant, moonless night as the backdrop.  Strange, sultry forest noises surround me, the only audience within miles. In the dream, it's only me - a cub "scout", a boy "scout", or a "scout" master, I'm not sure which - that's awake on the entire campsite.

(Photo Credit: Michael Conroy/AP via the New York TImes) In the end, it stopped short of the "death penalty", but in ways, it was tougher than the penalties the NCAA delivered to SMU football back in the 1980s. In NCAA commissioner Mark Emmert 's 9AM press conference this morning, he stopped short of forcing the disbanding of the Nittany Lion football program for a period of years, thanks to the Freeh report which concluded that key people in the football program, at a bare minimum, covered up strong accusations of child rape. He instead imposed a web of different punishments on Penn State in order to make an example of their program, however, which was unquestionably the correct course of action for the NCAA.

Most casual Lehigh football fans recognize a lot of schools on the schedule. I mean, everyone knows who Princeton and Columbia are - they're Ivy League schools. Liberty?  Not only were they members of the FCS Top 25 last year, they have a decidedly national reputation as a conservative, faith-based institution of higher learning, where Willard Romney makes speeches in the run-up to the Presidential election. But aside from knowing where Central Connecticut State is generally located - hint, it's about 20 minutes southwest of Hartford - I think most Lehigh fans might be able to be forgiven if they look at September 8th on the schedule and say, "Who are these guys?" The answer to that question is that the Blue Devils have tasted a lot of success over the last six years under head coach Jeff McInerney , with signature wins over Georgia Southern and Lehigh, both on the road. And with a newly-revamped Arute Field, which will be able to hold upwards of 6,500 fa...

(Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images via the Morning Call) The Oscars?  Not so much, anymore. The Grammys?  Boring as hell to me.  The Tonys?  Are you kidding me? That was my general reaction to all the national awards shows going into this summer - and don't get me started about the 'B' list of such shows, like the Golden Globes, MTV Music Awards, or the like.  (Even the Razzies don't really have my interest level anymore.) But then again, I've never had a personal interest in any of them. You see, ESPN's sports-themed awads show, the ESPYs, nominated Lehigh in their "Best Upset" category with - perhaps you've heard? - their victory over No. 2 seeded Duke in the NCAA Tournament. And, suddenly, and unsurprisingly, ESPYs-mania takes over the Nation.

There's only a couple months until the beginning of the 2012 season, and it's time to get to know Lehigh's first opponent on this year's slate: Monmouth University.  (September 1st, 12:30PM, Murray Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem). What is known, indeed, about the Hawks? They've had one football coach throughout their young history - Kevin Callahan , now in his 19th year at the reins. They've had some true NFL-caliber talent to go through their ranks, most notably Cowboy WR Miles Austin . But what else do we know about this nearby university?

This Sunday, I woke up with my family and did something I don't usually do. I didn't turn on the computer. Didn't check my emails.  Didn't check Facebook.  Didn't check Twitter.  Didn't check the latest news about college football.  Didn't check my fantasy teams.  Didn't check the message boards for the latest dirt. In other words, I didn't go "online" - something that is becoming very, very unusual for me in this day and age. We live in a very strange world right now, where we're encouraged to spend time offline - yet much true knowledge is "online".  In my situation it's especially strange, where I try to figure out - what's the happy medium?