As Dartmouth football gears up for another season, coaches and players alike begin to hope for success, keeping their eyes on the ultimate prize of an Ivy League title.
"The goal is quite similar every year," head coach Buddy Teevens said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "Obviously, an Ivy League title is what people aim for."
Dartmouth has not won an Ivy League title in football since 1996, when the Big Green won its 17th championship since the inception of the Ivy League title in 1956. The 1996 championship gave Dartmouth the most Ancient Eight titles of all time.
Despite the team's 12-year championship drought, Dartmouth still leads the Ivy League with the most conference titles, followed by Yale with 14 championship titles and the University of Pennsylvania with 13.
Dartmouth went undefeated for the 1996 season, achieving the Big Green's first 10-0 (7-0 Ivy) record since 1970.
The '96 team not only managed to defeat every opponent it faced, but won its games in a seemingly effortless fashion, outscoring Ivy opponents by nearly 18 points each game. The team went on to face second-place Brown in the championships in a closely contested game from which the Big Green emerged victorious.
The Bears' offense had been garnering praise all season. An article in The New York Times published the day before the match-up called Brown's offense the best in the Ivy League.
A combination of solid offense, defense and special teams allowed the Big Green to combat the Ivy's best attack that game day.
The Bears fell just short of an upset when a late-game drive ended only 11 yards short of the Big Green end zone.
Dartmouth beat the Bears, 27-24, on a 20-yard field goal by first team All-Ivy League kicker Dave Regula '97 with 90 seconds remaining in the game.
Tailback Greg Smith '97 rushed for a game-high 139 yards and scored two of three Big Green touchdowns against Brown.
John Lyons, the head coach of the '96 team, spent 13 years with the Big Green before he was replaced by Teevens in 2004. Lyons amassed two Ivy League titles and an overall conference record of 43-50-1 during his tenure.
Several members of the 1996 football team have since gone on to have notable athletic careers.
Adam Nelson '97, a linebacker on the '96 team, is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the shot put and is currently ranked second in the world in the event.
Nelson threw a personal best of 22.51 meters in 2002, which at the time was the fourth-longest throw in United States shot put history.
Lloyd Lee '98 was named to the first-team All Ivy defense in 1996 and earned Division I-AA All-America honors in his time at Dartmouth.
Lee also set a season record with seven interceptions in 1996 and shares the Dartmouth career record with 13.
Lee was signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent in 1998 and played on the practice squad for one year.
Lee then spent three seasons as a scout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joining the Chicago Bears' coaching staff in 2004. Lee was recently promoted from the Bears' defensive assistant coach to head linebacker's coach.
Co-captain Zach Walz '98 was also able to make a short career out of his football skills.
In his time at Dartmouth, Walz was a three-time first-team All-Ivy selection and a third-team All-America selection in 1997. Walz was Dartmouth's leading tackler in 1996 and 1997 and is currently ranked third at Dartmouth for all-time career tackles with 356.
Walz was later a sixth-round draft pick for the Arizona Cardinals in the 1998 NFL draft. He played four seasons as a linebacker for the Cardinals before retiring from football.
