While hundreds of people, alumni and alumnae, friends and family, flock to Hanover this weekend to take part in the traditional Homecoming festivities, several of the Big Green's teams will be moving in the opposite direction.
Ten different teams, including the men's and women's teams of crew, cross country, soccer, sailing tennis and golf, will play away this weekend, missing out on the Homecoming support.
"It's a shame that a lot of teams are away. That's what Homecoming is all about," men's soccer Captain John Bosacco '96 said.
For some of these teams, this weekend represents championship meets, matches or regattas, events that involve many teams. Dartmouth's Homecoming weekend simply can not be considered when scheduling these events.
The two crew teams travel to Boston this weekend for the Annual Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday, while the women's cross country, women's tennis and two golf teams compete in various championships.
The men's cross country and tennis teams travel to the Keene State Invitational and the Pensylavania Classic, respectively, while the women's and varsity sailing teams will travel to the Naval Academy and Brown.
Only the men's and women's soccer teams play single matches, both at Cornell.
So why send these teams away on such a big Dartmouth weekend?
" We used to have all the teams home in the old days, when we didn't have as many teams," Director of Athletics Dick Jaeger said. "Now it's like a matrix you just can't make work."
According to Jaeger, Ivy League officials get together each fall to make the schedule for the following fall. These officials must keep in mind the home-home basis, where one year a team plays at home against a certain opponent and the next year that team plays away, as well as so-called "Ivy Weekends."
Most of the Ivy League schools have been moving towards having one such weekend each season where every team plays at home.
On top of all this, football scheduling is done in blocks of ten years for the upcoming ten years. "All of the other teams have to build around that," Jaeger said.
Three teams remain at home this weekend, the football team, the field hockey team and the equestrian team.
Of the teams that are away this weekend, there seems to be some concenus that playing the sport is more important than being at home.
"There's nothing else we can do," men's golf Captain Steve Sugarman '97 said. "[The NEIGA Championship] is an important match for us. There is no way we'd sacrifice this tournament for anything on campus."
Bosacco agreed. "Everybody understands. We chose to play a particular sport and if that mean playing away, then we'll play away. We want to play our sport."
Another aspect of this matter concerns the freshmen on the teams not here for Homecoming. Many of the traditions of Homecoming Weekend center around the freshmen class. There is, for example, the Freshmen Sweep and the bonfire.
"I'm not too concerned about missing Homecoming," women's cross country Captain Maribel Sanchez '96 said. "But it's a big deal for the freshmen."
Sugarman said, "It affects the freshmen most. I know that my freshmen year it was one of my best experiences. The sophomores on the team haven't seen a Homecoming yet."
Most of all, however, teams express disappointment at missing the support of the crowds at Homecoming.
"Hopefully next year we will be home [during Homecoming]," Bosacco said "It's nice for the guys to experience it. A lot of people come out to watch who wouldn't normally."
"It's disappointing to go away during Homecoming," women's soccer Captain Kate Andrews '96 said. "We've been away two out of the last three years. I don't know what can be done but it seems like the school and the coaches need to get together and plan a little better. Homecoming is mostly centered around football, but that leaves a lot of us out."
