With the unbridled joy of its first Ivy title still fresh in its mind, the football team has decided to take a step up and play with the big boys. According to an announcement made by Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger yesterday afternoon, Brown has scheduled non-conference games against two Division I powerhouses - the University of Southern California and the University of Texas - to start the 2011 season.
"We have already proven ourselves as the best in the Ivy League, and with the building blocks that (Head Coach) Phil Estes has put in place over the last eight seasons, I expect the program to be at the top of the Ancient Eight for years to come," Goldberger said. "That being said, we still do not get to prove ourselves in the Division I-AA playoffs, so logically the only way we can make a ripple on the national scene is by lining up schools like USC and Texas."
The most vociferous support for scheduling the games has come from within the Brown football community. Nick Hartigan '06, the 2005 Ivy League Player of the Year and a Walter Camp First-Team All-American, said he wished he could have gone head-to-head against the country's best.
"I loved winning those awards and contributing to Brown's first ever outright Ivy title, but at times this season I was kind of bored," Hartigan said. "I averaged over 170 yards rushing per game this season, and for the most part it was pretty easy. I would have loved the challenge of trying to run past 6'5", 250-pound linebackers with 4.4 speed and futures in the NFL. I'm glad that a future Brown running back will now get that opportunity."
While players like Hartigan love the new scheduling from a competitive standpoint, both Goldberger and Estes said they fully appreciate what the games mean from a financial outlook. Though Brown will have to trek across the country to play games at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium to face USC and Texas, respectively, the Department of Athletics and the University will also receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in desperately needed revenue.
"Our football facilities, while adequate, could definitely be improved upon," Estes said. "We could land equipment deals with major athletic companies, finally renovate the training room in the (Olney-Margolies Athletic Center), and anything else that will make sure Brown football stays at its current level of excellence."
Goldberger went so far as to say that all of Brown's teams will benefit greatly from the added revenue.
"We gain a great boost in funds for the Nelson Fitness Center, and before we even break ground on that we can make renovations on the OMAC that students have been clamoring for," he says.
Yet not everyone is happy about the games with USC and Texas. Most of the criticism has come from outside the Brown community, in particular from other Ancient Eight athletic departments. Harvard Athletic Director Bob Scalise '71 is the leader of the opposition. A Brown alum, he criticized his alma mater for the scheduling.
"The Ivy League is one of the few remaining examples of all that is good and pure in college sports," Scalise said. "By scheduling games against USC and Texas, Brown has stepped away from what makes the Ivy League great. They have sunk to the level of seeking athletics-generated revenue above all else. This is a dark day for college athletics; a very dark day indeed."
Thomas Beckett, Yale's athletic director, is another critic of the games.
"Big Division I powerhouses like USC and Texas are essentially minor league football programs. The athletes those schools recruit aren't really student-athletes, they're just athletes," Beckett said. "What good does it do for an Ivy League school to play against a program like that if the only thing it will get in return is a fat check and a 70-0 evisceration?"
President Ruth Simmons fired off a striking rebuttal.
"What Mr. Scalise said is much easier to say in his position, that of athletic director at a university with enough money to purchase a small country," she said. "This money can be a great boon to our university, not just the athletic department. With the revenue generated from these two games we can finally build a student union, provide more financial aid, purchase more land for the University and make Brown an even more alluring choice for applicants."
Estes said he was annoyed with Beckett's comments.
"We averaged 34 points a game over the course of this season," he said. "Most of our players could have easily gone to Division I programs but wanted the benefits of an Ivy League education. And if there's one thing my players don't do, it's roll over and play dead. Whoever we play will be in for a fight for 60 minutes."
