Ivy League
FCS Non-Conference Schedule Analysis
The Ancient Eight don’t venture outside the northeastern part of the United States much, which means they concentrate on three or four conferences for the bulk of their non-conference opponents. This year there is one exception. Harvard it traveling across three time zones to repay a visit made by San Diego last year. Not a lot of frills when it comes to Ivy League schedules. There’s rarely a lower division team and they’re not allowed to play FBS teams since their conference is non-scholarship. Even though most of FCS had the ability to pick up a twelfth game, the Ivies are steadfast playing their traditional ten.
Brown: @ Bryant, vs. Rhode Island, vs. Holy Cross.
- Brown was able to get two other Rhode Island teams on their schedule. Call that big as the state is little. It’s not like Holy Cross is that far away either. This is a typical Ivy League schedule.
Columbia: @ St. Francis, vs. Georgetown, vs. Central Connecticut State.
- Another typical schedule. Georgetown almost seems like the ninth Ivy League team, as they’re always appear on at least two of their schedules.
Cornell: @ Marist, vs.Georgetown, vs. Colgate.
- If Georgetown is a de facto ninth Ivy Leaguer, then Marist would probably be the tenth. Cornell was able to land both. The Colgate visit should be a really tough game.
Dartmouth: @ Jacksonville, vs. Colgate. @ Marist.
- Dartmouth is taking a trip to Florida, this is a little outside of the scheduling playbook. But it is against another non-scholarship program, so maybe not as much. The weather could be vastly different for that game. It could still be oppressively humid in mid-September.
Harvard: @ San Diego, vs. Howard, @ Holy Cross.
- No worries about weather in San Diego, it’s like 65-70 everyday, right? It will be a long flight, but this should be a good game. Howard and Holy Cross are both scheduled. They should have tried harder to get Hampton as well. They could have had a true “H” tournament.
Penn: @ Delaware, @ Lafayette, vs. Sacred Heart.
- The game to Delaware won’t be too difficult to travel, but it will be tough to win. Lafayette and Sacred Heart are cut from the same three league meat market that most Ivies shop at.
Princeton: vs. Butler, @ Bucknell, vs. Lafayette.
- Butler is a little out of the northeastern segment on the map, but the Bulldogs are coming to New Jersey anyway. Again, two Patriot League opponents, very typical.
Yale: vs. Holy Cross, vs. Fordham, @ Richmond.
- Probably the most difficult schedule, as all three of their non-conference opponents are from AQ conferences. At the same time, they’re staying in the normal Ivy geographic footprint.
Ivy League Numbers
3 vs. CAA
1 vs. MEAC
4 vs. Northeast
11 vs. Patriot
5 vs. Pioneer
0 vs. FBS
0 vs. Lower Division (Div-II, Div-III, NAIA, NCCAA)
