It's now February 15th, and usually the upcoming fall Ivy football schedules are released by this time or even much earlier.
Not this year.
I'm guessing, but I think the reason may be that some Ivy venues may be changing in order to make up for home games lost due to the 2020 COVID season cancellation.
For Columbia, if the home venues aren't switched for 2023 the Lions will end up having to play Princeton, Cornell, Yale, and Dartmouth three times on the road over their last four meetings.
I don't think the home venues for every Ivy game will be flipped, but I do think there's a chance at least one will and that may be the reason for the delayed schedule releases.
Also for the Lions, there's another issue. Lafayette is listing Columbia as a home game for the Leopards on 9/16, which would be the season opener for CU. Advance schedules released over the years have the Columbia-Wagner game on 9/30 as a home game for the Seahawks on Staten Island. So that means that unless Columbia gets one of its four road Ivy games flipped to a home game, the Lions will only have four home games in 2023.
I can't believe that will stand. I don't believe the Athletics Department will try to pass off the four games at home and one on Staten Island as "five games in NYC" or something like that.
Beyond Columbia, all the other Ivy teams that lost home contests against their Ivy rivals because of the COVID cancellations should get some kind of relief. But I understand that making these changes can sometimes be very hard logistically.
8 comments:
I have lost confidence in the Columbia Athletic Department based upon its apparent inability to acknowledge that it made a mistake in first hiring and now retaining without explanation a men's basketball coach seven years ago whose record is presently 18-61 in Ivy League games and 45-118 overall. I am very concerned that the Athletic Department's inaction in this matter will harm not only the Columbia Men's Basketball Team, but other Columbia Men's and Women's Athletic Teams. At this time, no one knows why the Athletic Department is continuing to ignore the obvious need to take action in this matter. Speculation always leads to mistrust and that is exactly what is happening. At best, the Head Coach's retention, is based upon a fantasy that everyone else is responsible for the team's record, but him. At worst, we have a pay to play type scandal brewing where there are unconfirmed rumors of favors granted based upon promises made or actions taken. Hopefully, these worrisome rumors are untrue. In any event, the failure of the Columbia Athletic Department to address the issue with the Columbia Fan Base appears to be a mistake.
I am not a fan of the basketball coach and am frustrated with the AD's decision to let our MBB program become the league doormat. That said, my view as an outsider is that the AD has done a good job overall. We have a ton of strong programs and some very good coaches. That makes Pilling's mismanagement of basketball somewhat bewildering, but failure in one area is not the same as overall failure. Hopefully, he makes a change the day after MBB season ends and we move forward. I would respectfully suggest that MBB donors stop contributions until the change gets made.
Given the Engles situation can Columbia ever terminate any coach, good or bad, for non-performance without risking a multi-million lawsuit. Seems like Pilling's inaction is going to cause Columbia a few bucks.
See comment #31 to the preceding post.
Jake, Santiago Marti Hernandez, a 6'4" 230 tight end and defensive end from Harvard Westlake has committed to Columbia.
Yes, SpuytenDuyvil76, I agree with you and per your comment #31, I first wrote to the Athletic Director on this subject a couple of years ago and never received a reply. I thought my letter was straightforward, factual and respectful, but maybe he thought otherwise. I sent another letter last week to somewhat else within the Administration, and have not heard back. Maybe the old basketball cliche "milking the clock" applies here, meaning that with only four games left in the season the AD other power players are simply waiting us out. Alternatively, they are hoping for a dramatic upset victory or two in the final few games.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
There absolutely has to be a back story on Engles which is a tightly held secret. No rational explanation and been offered on this board or elsewhere.
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