"NEW LOOK" ANNOUNCED FOR IVY GRID SCHEDULE
The standard arrangement for Ivy League round-robin competition was established in 1956 when the league began formal play and was modified slightly in 1964. The only changes have been in relation to non-league opponents. The format will continue through the 1975 season, but in 1976 the league will turn to a new composite schedule designed to "create a better competitive situation for the participants and to provide greater interest for the fans." Those are the words of Andy Geiger, Director of Athletics at Brown and current chairman of the Ivy League administrative committee.
The new schedule calls for the league to begin its slate a week earlier than in the past - on the next-to-last Saturday in September - and to start with intraleague play rather than with games against non-Ivy opponents.
The schedule, Geiger indicated, "is effective for 1976-79, and achieves a solution to many of the problems that have been apparent in recent years. It allows us to play our first game against an Ivy opponent, thus equating the preparation factor for the first game. Previously, all of the Ivies have been opening against non-league teams which have had spring practice and longer preparation for their first game. In some cases the first opponent had played as many as three games prior to the Ivy opener."
Another factor in adopting the new schedule is the academic calendar now followed by many sister colleges. "With many schools opening earlier in September and with terms ending before the Christmas vacation," Geiger added, the new schedule will help the academic situation of football players since the season will end a week earlier. Also, by closing the season a week earlier, we will finish in better weather, an advantage for both players and spectators."
The most conspicuous changes on Dartmouth's schedule involve adjustments relating to the Harvard and Yale dates. During the initial four-year period of the revised schedule, Dartmouth will open its season against either Pennsylvania or Princeton at home and will close at either Penn or Princeton.
To provide a comparison, Dartmouth's football schedules for 1974-75-76 are listed below.
1974 Sept. 28 Massachusetts Oct. 5 at Holy Cross Oct. 12 Princeton Oct. 19 at Brown Oct. 26 Harvard Nov. 2 at Yale Nov. 9 Columbia Nov. 16 at Cornell Nov. 23 at Pennsylvania
1975 Sept. 27 at Massachusetts Oct. 4 Holy Cross Oct. 11 Pennsylvania Oct. 18 Brown Oct. 25 at Harvard Nov. 1 at Yale Nov. 8 at Columbia Nov. 15 Cornell Nov. 22 at Princeton
1976 Sept. 18 Pennsylvania Sept. 25 New Hampshire Oct. 2 at Holy Cross Oct. 9 at Yale Oct. 16 Harvard Oct. 23 at Cornell Oct. 30 Columbia Nov. 6 at Brown Nov. 13 at Princeton
