Category: Fordham Rams
Leopards Keep their Feet on the Ground after Win
They didn’t dance in the Lafayette locker room Saturday following the Leopards’ 26-21 Patriot League victory over Fordham.
It wasn’t that the victory was insignificant. It was that the dancing was inappropriate.
‘’That was for the first half of the season,'’ coach Frank Tavani said Sunday. ‘’There will be no more dancing until the proper time.'’
He never identified ‘’the proper time,'’ but it doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines. It’s about focus. The next dance should not be expected until the Leopards can check off the phrase ‘’Patriot League champions'’ on their 2009 goals list.
Lafayette-Fordham: Rams' Masella Blasts Refs
You know you’re in for something when the coach starts his press conference by saying, “I have to be careful what I say today because, uh … it’s hard to beat 18 guys. Lafayette’s a helluva football team but it’s hard to beat 18 guys.”
That was Fordham’s Tom Masella following Lafayette’s 26-21 Patriot League victory Saturday in Fisher Stadium.
“I saw two of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in football today,” he added.
Patriot Games: Scholarships Pose Threat to the Ivy Way
Imagine, for a second, that instead of traveling to Holy Cross tomorrow to watch Harvard take on the Crusaders, you were one of over 30,000 fans packing into a maximum-capacity Harvard Stadium as the Crimson kicked off its season against a major-conference team, say, Boston College. It’s a pleasant thought, but the reality is far more complex.
Fordham’s decision in June to begin awarding football scholarships starting with this year’s recruiting class piqued the interest of a lot of people in the Ivy League football community. The move shows a changing mentality in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly Division 1-AA), which includes the Ancient Eight.
“It’s something we’re definitely keeping an eye on because if they go scholarships—we’re talking about the league now—it will change dramatically,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy says. “The last time any Patriot League school had scholarships in that league was Holy Cross in the ’80s and ’90s. They dominated Eastern football at this level in a way that wasn’t seen before and hasn’t been seen since.”
Fordham QB John Skelton Muscles Way into NFL Draft Conversation
John Skelton knew he was being watched. He could feel the eyes trained on him, analyzing his footwork, dissecting his throwing motion, even scrutinizing the way he carried himself during Thursday’s practice.
Fordham’s senior quarterback knew an NFL scout was sizing him up like a piece of meat. But he didn’t care.
“I used to get nervous,” he said. “But not anymore.”
Until this month, Skelton had never seen an NFL scout, much less had one breaking down his own performance. Few league personnel men were interested in visiting the tiny Jesuit school with the Division I-AA gridiron program.
Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Vying for First Patriot League Title Since 1991
Dominic Randolph remembers it well: The interception. In fact, he brought it up himself earlier this month during a conversation at the Patriot League’s annual football media day at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Township.
The pick, by Colgate cornerback Wayne Moten with 11 minutes remaining in the Raiders’ 28-27 victory last November, all but sealed the league championship and the team’s eighth trip to postseason playoffs.
“It, obviously, was frustrating,” said Randolph, who played that game in Hamilton, N.Y., as a “senior.” The immediate future for football at Holy Cross took on a rosier hue last December, when the Patriot League granted the Crusaders’ prolific quarterback a medical redshirt season and fifth year of eligibility. The Crusaders, staring at a middle-of-the-pack finish, now are positioned to win their first championship since 1991.
And Randolph has one final season to make amends.
Texas QB Setting Records at Fordham
EL PASO – Football season is slipping in, a special time … a time John Skelton has known for most of his young life.
But this is a special season for the former Burges High School star. Skelton is ready to begin his senior season at Fordham University, ready to break more passing records, ready to return to the Division I-AA playoffs and ready to turn a dream into a reality.
“I’ve played football since I was 8,” he said. “I’ve grown up around it. My uncles played. My dad played. I’ve always played. But this is an exciting time. This is my last college season. We won the Patriot League and got into the I-AA playoffs my sophomore year. Last year was rough; we were 5-6. But we have eight starters coming back on offense and nine on defense, and we are also a senior-laden team.”
2009 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll and Award Winners Announced
Bethlehem, Pa. - After finishing one game off the pace in each of the last three seasons, Holy Cross has been picked to capture the 2009 Patriot League Football Championship in a poll of the League’s head coaches and sports information directors, it was announced at Tuesday’s Football Media Day at Green Pond Country Club.
The Crusaders were picked first on half of the 14 ballots, and finished with 67points to earn the top spot. Defending champion Colgate was just behind with six first-place votes and 64 points. Archrivals Lafayette and Lehigh shared the third position in the poll, each garnering 46 points while the Mountain Hawks also took home the remaining first-place vote. Fordham (35), Bucknell (24) and Georgetown (12) round out the rankings.
- 949 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Patriot League discusses football scholarships
Fordham has declared its intent to offer athletics scholarships for football student-athletes beginning in 2010, and the Patriot League now will grapple with whether to allow its member institutions to follow suit.
The league’s presidents will decide by December 31, 2010, what direction to take.
- 866 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Six Patriot Leaguers Receive Preseason FCS All-America Recognition
Center Valley, Pa. - Six Patriot League football student-athletes have recently been named to a preseason Football Championship Subdivision All-America team, including a pair of honors for Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph and Colgate senior wide receiver Pat Simonds.
Randolph and Simonds were second-team selections by both The Sports Network and Phil Steele’s 2009 College Football Preview. Lehigh senior linebacker Matt Cohen was the only first-team preseason All-American out of the Patriot League as he was honored by Phil Steele’s. Three players joined Randolph and Simonds on The Sports Network list, as Lafayette junior kicker Davis Rodriguez was also a second-team choice while Bucknell junior wide receiver Shaun Pasternak and Lehigh junior offensive lineman Will Rackley were placed on the third team.
- 611 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks Opinion: Additonal FB Expansion Could be Coming Soon to CAA
The Colonial Athletic Association will swell to 14 football schools in 2012, when Georgia State joins.
Too many? Too few? Or just right?
Rather than fret about growing too big too fast, maybe the league will say what the heck and just super-size it.
If it does, there are two schools that would be a geographic fit for the league - surely more of a fit than Georgia State. Adding them would be cost effective at a time when schools everywhere are looking to save wherever they can.
Fordham to Add Athletic Scholarships in Football
Rams Will Remain an Associate Member in Patriot League, but Ineligible for League Title Beginning in 2010
Fordham has notified the Patriot League that it will begin awarding athletic scholarships to its football class entering in the fall of 2010. As a result, the Patriot League Football Presidents have endorsed an agreement with Fordham wherein the Rams will continue their association with the League but will be ineligible for the Patriot League title and automatic playoff berth beginning that season, announced Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich on Friday.
Can the Ivy League Get Its Game Back?
Lackluster teams prompt calls for change; a new chief’s listening tour.
The schools of the Ivy League are among the nation’s finest and richest, with billions in endowments under their command. From law to business to medicine, they’re No. 1 in practically every department but one: sports.
Why are the Ancient Eight increasingly irrelevant in the most competitive arena of all? The short answer, the long-accepted one, is that they choose to be: that they won’t sacrifice their academic ideals by giving athletic scholarships to athletes. But other factors—like a long-standing ban on postseason football games and the schools’ academic standards for athletes—appear to be dragging the league down.
Fordham Football Announces New Assistant Coaches
Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham University head football coach Tom Masella announced the addition of three assistant coaches to his staff with the hiring of Malik Hall, Ed Morrissey and John Wholley. Hall will direct the defensive line and serve as the special teams coordinator while Morrissey will be in charge of the offensive line and will be the recruiting coordinator and Wholley will coach the running backs and slot receivers. Additionally, Masella announced that assistant coach Patrick Moore has been elevated to defensive coordinator while assistant Bryan Volk has been promoted to offensive coordinator.
- 839 words - Patriot League, Massachusetts Minutemen, Hofstra Pride, Brown Bears, Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, Fordham Rams Bowling Green Finalizes FCS-Heavy Coaching Staff
Bowling Green State University head football coach Dave Clawson (Richmond) has announced the hiring of Mark Carney (Fordham, Richmond), Mike Elko (Hofstra, Richmond, Fordham, Penn, Stony Brook) and Adam Scheier (Lehigh, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth) to complete his coaching staff for the 2009 season.
- 1234 words - FCS News Articles, Richmond Spiders, Hofstra Pride, Columbia Lions, Penn Quakers, Dartmouth Big Green, Princeton Tigers, Fordham Rams, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Stony Brook Seawolves At Last, a Big Game to Rile Delaware
Proximity, history could charge UD-DSU meetings.
The University of Delaware and Delaware State University have some catching up to do.
Football rivalries don’t form overnight. But UD and DSU already have many of the ingredients to make this one special.
On Tuesday, the schools announced their first regular-season meeting will take place Sept. 19, followed by three annual games beginning in 2012.
Patriot League Announces Football Academic Honor Roll
A record 131 student-athletes, including 2008 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year Ryan McGuire of Holy Cross, were named to the Patriot League Football Academic Honor Roll on Thursday.
- 1622 words - Patriot League, Holy Cross Crusaders, Bucknell Bison, Fordham Rams, Colgate Raiders, Georgetown Hoyas, Lafayette Leopards, Lehigh Mountain Hawks ODU Football Replaces Iona with Game at Fordham
NORFOLK - Old Dominion filled the void in its schedule for the upcoming football season with Fordham.
The Monarchs will visit Fordham on Oct. 3. The Rams were 5-6 this past season after winning the Patriot League in 2007.
ODU also announced that it will play all but one of its home games at 6 p.m. The lone game beginning at 2 p.m. will be the homecoming game against N.C. Central on Nov. 7.
QB Guadagnoli Plays the (FCS) Waiting Game
Dan Guadagnoli’s goal was to be a scholarship quarterback, and he feels that over the last year he’s made himself into one.
It won’t be long before Guadagnoli finds out if his dream becomes a reality, and until then, he is stuck playing the waiting game.
“(Framingham assistant coach) Dana (Olson) says it’s a (lousy) process for anyone but a Rivals 100 recruit,” said Guadagnoli, referring to the national recruiting service Web site Rivals.com’s list of the top 100 players in the country. “You get dangled along by schools. They could be lying to you, new recruits show up, transfers show up. It’s kind of a toss-up.”
Peaking Crusaders Aiming to Win Out
Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore loved his team’s intensity in Saturday’s win over Fordham — a great week of preparation translated into a dominant 38-17 triumph.
With the victory, the Crusaders “got over a hump,” Gilmore said, by improving to 4-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 1991, but HC’s battle for the league championship is hardly over.
Hungry Holy Cross Gets Milestone Victory over Fordham
“I know I’ll look back and this will be a game I never forget,” senior wide receiver Jon Brock said, “but we have so much more football left to play, and that’s what I’m really excited about.”
The race for the Patriot League title is heating up and, with yesterday’s 38-17 win over Fordham, the Crusaders stayed right in the thick of it. At 4-0, Holy Cross remains tied for the PL top spot with Colgate, a 34-33 winner over Lehigh yesterday.
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