"Playoffs??? Don't talk about playoffs. You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game." This unfortunate rant by Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora in 2001 was not the best thing that ever happened to his career, but one of the most memorable press conferences in recent memory. Mora gave this comment when his team collapsed in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, dropping their record to 4-6. While Mora was right and his team did not make the playoffs (though they did win a couple of games, fulfilling Mora's hopes), I want to talk about a different kind of playoffs here: NCAA athletics.
College sports' most popular postseason, and the bane of every degenerate gambler's existence, is college basketball's March Madness. This three-week free-for-all involving 64 teams shuts down my life in mid-March, and leads to some of the best drama the sports world sees each and every year. College football has come under siege recently for its lack of a playoff, but that argument has been rehashed too many times for me to give a fresh argument either for or against it (for the record, I love the idea).
My focus for today is on playoffs that affect Dartmouth athletics in particular, however. Since Dartmouth plays Division 1AA football, any change in Division 1A football would not affect them. Thankfully, Division 1AA football already has a playoff, and its postseason provides plenty of excitement.
However, Dartmouth has no chance of playing in it. This has nothing to do with the recent ineptitude of the football program, though it has certainly shown signs of improving as of late. Unfortunately, the reason Dartmouth has no chance at a national championship in football is that the Ivy League maintains a strict 10-game policy, and every Ivy League team already plays ten games. So despite the fact that the Ivy League champion is invited to the tournament every year, the league has yet to be represented.
The reasons for this policy are sound. A playoff system leads to ample time away from class, hence the limit of the 10-game schedule. The first round of the playoffs happened on Nov. 25 this year, right around the end of the term (the second game, if it came to that, would be during the beginning of finals). However, if class time is the issue, then why do Ivy League teams compete in every other postseason? No one knows how Dartmouth would fare in a playoff if they won the Ivy League, but it would be interesting to see them have a shot at greater glory. Dartmouth did beat playoff-bound Colgate last year in their season opener, so there is certainly hope. (Note: I am aware that Division 1AA, in an effort to re-brand itself, has changed its name to the "Division 1-Championship Subdivision. Not only is that name unwieldy, but I refuse to acknowledge it as anything more than a marketing ploy.)
My second hope for a playoff opportunity for Dartmouth comes from the aforementioned March Madness. Currently, the Ivy League is the only holdout from some sort of postseason tournament to determine who will represent the league in the NCAA tournament. It is very meritocratic of the Ancient Eight to do this, considering it ensures the best team over the course of the season gains the reward of playing in front of tens of thousands of people in the NCAA Tournament. However, not only does this often leave the regular season devoid of drama, but it often leaves most teams with nothing to play for other than pride after the first few weeks of conference play.
Either Princeton or Penn has represented the Ivy League in every NCAA tournament since 1989, and only twice since 1968 has a different school had a shot at playing on the big stage against a national power. Even if there were a playoff where only the top four teams qualified, it would certainly lead to a dramatic finish and a shot for other teams to get lucky and knock off one of the big two. If a system like this had been in place the last ten seasons, Dartmouth would have reached the Ivy League playoffs three times, and had an outside shot at reaching the NCAA tournament. To be fair, the lack of a playoff system has worked for the Dartmouth women's basketball team, even if they had to win a playoff game or two due to a tie in the top of the standings.
I have no idea whether the Dartmouth Athletic Department supports the status quo in these respects, but I hope it changes in the near future. Then maybe we can watch the Dartmouth basketball team well into March, or watch the football team host a playoff game in frigid Hanover.
