Since Josie Harper announced her retirement a few weeks ago, there has been a lot written both about her legacy as a coach and an administrator. This article will do no such thing. Rather, Jordo and I are going to write about what we would like to see Dartmouth Athletics become in the coming years. Although we do not yet know who the new athletic director will be, we each compiled a three-part wish-list based on the what changes could positively benefit Dartmouth athletics.
I would also like to take this opportunity to mention that I have come up with each of our topics of discussion since our joint-article's debut, so if you ever see Jordo around campus give him some heat to come up with a topic of his own.
Without further delay -- My wish list for our upcoming athletic director.
- Fan-First Environment
Major college athletics is all about the fans. Every Saturday in the fall we can turn on the television and see undergraduates in full body paint, jumping up and down while chanting and screaming for their fellow students to beat the pulp out of opponents on the gridiron. In the winter, basketball and hockey are main spectator sports, while the springtime is dominated by baseball. Typically, we at Dartmouth do not sell out football, basketball or baseball games. This raises the question: How can we best get students to attend the games? As far as football goes, it seems as if there is one Saturday tradition that the College has completely forgotten: We don't tailgate. At colleges all over the country the college football game itself is almost secondary to the tailgating. I'm not just talking about the SEC or Big 12 either. In the Ivy League, Harvard has extensive tailgating before all of its home games. We have plenty of unused room in our south end zone that could be used for tailgating. It would be logistically easy for Dartmouth to station a Safety and Security officer at the entrance, who would check IDs and give out wristbands to all of those people over the legal drinking age. I mean, if fraternities can do this every weekend, how hard can it be? The crazy, over-the-top college fans don't just show up at the gates ready to rock. They've been tailgating for a long time (sometimes hours) beforehand, letting the excitement for the game build up. Until Dartmouth embraces the simple realization that tailgating is a part of the American college experience, it will limit the experience of all of its fans.
The College could also do more to enhance the entertainment of fans at sporting events other than football games. It seems that we are mired in relatively conservative modes of watching games. Let's get a jumbo-tron (expensive, but not too expensive) in Thompson or Leede Arena (or both?) Let's turn off all the lights in Leede to announce the basketball starting lineups like in the NBA. We are a college of great minds -- let's get creative with ways to improve the games from a fan's point of view.
- A Better Nickname and An Actual Mascot
In little league, when there were about ten teams from my town, each team wore a different color. The green team was ALWAYS called the "big green" or the "mean green." I mean, let's be honest. I don't care if it's the Moose, or the Avalanche or whatever else the student body has been floating around, but we need a better nickname. What is Big Green? It is a large color, a Disney movie about a children's soccer team and a possible euphemism for weed. Mascots are a source of school pride, and I'm sick of yelling "Go Big Green!" Let's get something new, and let's make it something that doesn't make people think of vomit.
As far as nicknames go, I don't really care if we have one or not, but we need a regime change. Mascots represent the athletes that they support. I understand that this may not be a popular stance around the student body, but Keggy is a joke. A funny joke, but a joke nonetheless. By representing our athletes with a giant keg, we cheapen what they are trying to do by implying that the athletes are drunks. By having a giant keg as a mascot, we send a message to our opponents that basically says, "We drink a lot." I'm sorry, but are we in high school again? I would rather have a better nickname with no mascot at our games than stick with the "Big Green" and Keggy.
- More Gear
College sports programs all over the country make a lot of money off of jersey sales. Each fall, college football jerseys fly off of the shelves at school spirit stores across the country. There are official student t-shirts for basketball games (have you ever seen the University of Illinois "Orange Crush" shirts?) Sure, we have the Dartmouth Co-op and Traditionally Trendy to sell some items, but any student who has been at Dartmouth for more than a year quickly realizes how slowly their stock changes. I want a store that sells official Dartmouth football helmets or baseball shirts or basketball jerseys. It is seemingly impossible to find Dartmouth College sports gear, especially when compared with other schools that send out fifty-page catalogues to their alumni with pages of new gear each year.
Clearly, there are more pressing issues that face Dartmouth's new athletic director, whoever he or she may be, but this is my wish-list. Would I like to see a consolidation of facilities, especially regarding the softball program? Yes, but for my wish list, I chose to focus more on ways to quickly change the identity of Dartmouth athletics. My list is essentially three, relatively pain-free ways to improve the culture surrounding athletics at Dartmouth.
