The Dartmouth Big Green will take on a non-Ivy league opponent for its annual homecoming football match tomorrow because of scheduling logistics, Associate Director of Alumni Relations David Orr said.
Contracts for play with other collegiate football teams are made far in advance, according to Orr.
"We probably knew that we would play Colgate University October 21, 1995 about 10 years ago in 1985," Orr said. "The College's football schedule is already set until the year 2012."
"Normally, Homecoming falls anywhere from the 15th of October until the end of the month," Orr said.
"However, since we only have one home game next week after the 15th, the 21st was chosen," he said. "If this date was not chosen, students and alumni would have to wait until November 10th when Dartmouth would play Brown." He said Oct. 21 was the only viable option for Homecoming this year.
"Also all the home games this month are against non-Ivy opponents," he said.
"Our first game with Cornell on September 30th would have been too early and the November 10th game with Brown would be too late," Orr said. "It's the first Homecoming game in my recent memory that has not been played against an Ivy League college."
Some coaches and students were troubled with the match-up, but most agree that Homecoming is more than just a football game.
"In my eight years of coaching for the College, we have not played another non-Ivy" on Homecoming, John Lyons, head coach of the football team, said.
There is an "added flavor" to the game when competing against an Ivy rival and I wish the schedule was more obliging," he said.
"I really don't care" about who we play, said Shawn Thistlewaite '99. "Homecoming will be Homecoming regardless."
Imran Ansari '99 disagreed. "Homecoming without playing an Ivy League opponent is like having Thanksgiving without a turkey," he said.
