Historic College Rivalry Takes Over NYC

There are many college rivalries - you probably have your favorite - from Harvard vs. Yale, Army vs. Navy,  Amherst College vs. Williams College, or USC vs. UCLA, but I will be writing about another one - a truly historic one and, yes, indeed, it has been played out in sports, especially football.

The past 3 days I spent in NYC taking part in the iconic #rivalry150 events surrounding the 150th meeting of  Lafayette College and Lehigh University in a football game in none other  than Yankee Stadium to a sold out audience on Saturday of over 48,200 ticket holders!

I admit my husband is a very loyal Lafayette College alum. He received his undergrad degree in physics there before moving on to his graduate degrees, including the PhD, from Brown University. I am a Brown U. alum (4 times over) and a Harvard one as well since I was a Science Fellow at Radcliffe.

Very often one's  loyalties lie with one's undergraduate alma mater since the undergraduate years provide such formative experiences.

Lafayette and Lehigh are part of the Patriot League, a Division 1 athletics league. Both schools also have outstanding academic reputations and I especially respect their excellence in STEM fields.

The New York Times had great coverage of this rivalry with the first meeting of the two football teams in 1884.  Both schools had worked very hard to generate interest and  the activities in NYC were tremendous. Spoiler alert for those who have not heard - Lafayette "routed" (New York Times' choice of words) Lehigh with a score of 27-7 and this they accomplished with a third string quarterback, Zach Zweizig, whose name will go down in his college's history.  

Zach has overcome injuries plus the death of his father and it was only last week that he was called on by his coach to take on the incredible challenge of playing quarterback at Yankee Stadium!

We took the MetroNorth train from New Haven and, in walking to our favorite hotel in NYC, The Excelsior, on 81st Street, through Central Park, on Friday, we heard a band playing, so with our suitcases we investigated and it was the Lehigh band practicing along with cheerleaders.

That morning there was coverage of the rivalry on both the Today Show and GMA.

The Presidents of the two academic institutions, President Alison Byerly of Lafayette College and President Kevin J. Clayton of Lehigh, got to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday with the college mascots of a lepoard and a mountain hawk to accompany them.

 Courtesy of the Associated Press

Friday evening we were treated to a gala event with scrumptious desserts at the Museum of Natural History, and I felt as though I was in the movie Night at the Museum.

On Saturday morning, before going to the game, we saw several Lafayette College students walking on Broadway in leopard prints, of course!

The below photos were taken at the football game at Yankee Stadium. It was great to see the two college bands perform together at halftime!

And, as the sun was setting, the Empire State building was lit up in the rival school colors, maroon and white, and brown and white!

And, no wonder why we all love NYC, after the game on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, because of the crowds trying to get on the subway, everyone was allowed to just pass through!

More great coverage of the game and events from USAToday to NPR can be found here.

The terrific memories are what build great school spirit!

Welcome Back, Coach Mark Whipple, to UMass Amherst Football!

I watched the press conference, with great speeches by the President of UMass, Dr. Robert Caret,  the Head of the UMass Board of Trustees, Henry M. Thomas III, followed by the introduction of the "new" UMass Amherst football coach, Mark Whipple, by our Athletic Director, John McCutcheon.

I do follow sports, which are a marvelous diversion at this time of the year in New England (with great basketball, hockey, and even the figure skating championships in Boston recently). I also needed a break from working very intently on my course lectures for two courses that I will be teaching at the Isenberg School of Management, with the new semester beginning on January 21!

What Mark Whipple said in such a heart-felt manner, moved me so much, that I had to comment.

First, Mark Whipple is a Brown University alum (as am I) so I am a bit biased.

Second, Mark led UMass Amherst, when it was in a different conference, to a national championship and has had a fabulous career since with stints in the NFL and elsewhere.

Whipple began his press conference today with tears in his eyes and was literally choked up. This was truly moving.

He stated that sometimes you have to leave to find out where your home was, and, by this, he meant, UMass Amherst.

He said, which I loved: "I am a teacher. I am an educator." He wants to impart his wisdom to the players, which he certainly will, given his wealth of experiences in collegiate and professional football!

He noted that college football is a "people's business" and that "it's all about the people. It's all about the players." He thanked his wife and his two sons and noted that coming back to UMass was a family decision.

He emphasized what collegiate sports contribute to education and to athletes. I truly believe in the value of collegiate sports in terms of building discipline, organizational skills, and fitness. Back in my Brown University days, I ran on the Women's Track and Field and Cross-Country teams.

Mark Whipple noted, in his press conference, that he "loves jewelry," which means those championship rings which he has a box full of.

Mark Whipple said that "everything moves forward" and "Go, UMass!"

UMass Amherst is "Back to the Future" and we wish Mark Whipple all the very best and thanks!

Welcome home, Mark Whipple!

UMass Football on the Super Bowl Stage with Victor Cruz with the Giants and James Ihedigbo on the Patriots Team

I live in idyllic, historic Amherst known for its great colleges and university, the beauty of its natural landscape, and the many writers, scholars, and scientists that have spent time here.

We have also produced our share of outstanding athletes and two of them are football players and both played at UMass Amherst. I have gone to my share of football games because Fall is beautiful here in New England and the UMass Minute Marching Band that plays at half-time puts on a show that should not be missed. It was led for decades by George N. Parks.

UMass has always been an underdog when it came to college football (you probably have a favorite college team that you cheer for) on the national stage.

Now, however, UMass will be at the Super Bowl with Victor Cruz playing for the Giants (based in NY) and James Ihedigbo playing for the Patriots (based in Boston).

What I enjoy (perhaps most) about these two players is their stories. Just last night I was reading The New York Times about the Catholic high school that Cruz attended in Patterson, New Jersey (I started my "academic" career at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School in neighboring Passaic). Although his high school has closed, the reporter interviewed a nun who had taught there (deja vu for me, too) who recalled his smile and his love of football.

Now Cruz and his salsa moves on the playing field are even being imitated by Madonna, who will be singing at the half-time show at the Super Bowl tomorrow.

Ihedigbo's Amherst connections are even stronger since he played football at Amherst High School (and was recently inducted into its Hall of Fame) before playing for UMass Amherst. During the off-season he helps out poor children in Nigeria, the country where his parents were born.

Both these football players were coached by Don Brown at UMass Amherst (he has since left and is now at UConn) and there is a wonderful article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette about Brown and his two former players that he will be watching at the Super Bowl tomorrow. In the article, Brown recalls Cruz's "irrepressible spirit on the field."

"He always had a smile on his face, always came to practice with loads of energy," said Brown, who still sees that energy. "He ran routes in practice like he'd run them in a game. He made everybody have a good time around him and kept everybody loose."

And: "While Cruz played with joy, Ihedigbo was fueled by passion. The safety from Amherst was one of the few players whose fire on the field and on the sideline matched Brown's. Ihedigbo arrived at UMass as a walk-on and quickly established himself as an integral part of the Minuteman defense."

Brown called him "one of the best leaders he's ever coached."

Don Brown deserves congratulations along with these two former UMass Amherst football players!

And for those who appreciate sports management programs, our program at the Isenberg School of Management has its share of graduates in the Patriots and the Giants organizations.

Academics, Athletics, and Haiti

The Boston Globe has a wonderful article on Vladimir Ducasse, a UMass Amherst football lineman, who is trying out on the Gulf Coast for the Senior Bowl with dreams of being selected by the National Football League (NFL). The article traces the history of this star athlete and discusses his focus and discipline in light of the earthquake and devastation in his birthplace, Haiti.

The article notes that Ducasse selected UMass Amherst, first and foremost, for its academics, and, next, for its athletics -- football. It talks about the trust that he has earned and his love and respect for the coaches as well as his abilities to concentrate on the tasks before him, given the immense distractions of the events in his home country.

We wish Vladimir Ducasse as well as his countrymen all the best as they begin to rebuild and reconstruct Haiti.