While the bulk of the Ivy League schools offer some level of sports, these activities sometimes seem to take a backseat to academics. But successful student-athletes like Dennis Durkin, Reggie White, Jay Fielder and others have shown that striving for excellence in the classrooms and on the athletic fields is very possible.
The Big Green includes 35 varsity sports teams, plus plenty more junior varsity and intramural organizations. Plenty of athletic talent has graced its walls over the school’s , and players have gone on to do well at higher levels, including pro teams and the Olympics, as well as in business boardrooms.
Dartmouth athletes have excelled in all sorts of sports, including several stars of past Winter Olympics. Don’t forget its rowing team, the school’s first official sport, which has earned all sorts of honors since the 1830s.
Today, a lot of attention is given to its football team, since there have been all sorts of players who did well while attending the school and then went on to do great things in the NFL. They also did well in their post-athletic careers.
Dennis Durkin is a perfect example: while at Dartmouth in the early 1990s, he provided plenty of kicking power. In his final season in 1992, he was successful in 13 of 13 field goal attempts. He also was named to the All Ivy First Team and AP American First Team.
Sports experts say his precise kicking under pressure was a factor in the team’s national championships three years in a row.
Rather than entering the NFL like some of his peers, he decided to stay in school and earn an MBA. Then get involved with the booming high-tech field.
The Dartmouth Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame includes other notable players, including Reggie Williams, a linebacker in the mid-1970s. He made the All Ivy First Team three times as well as the All East and All New England teams. Williams was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he continued to earn other honors.
Other notable student-athletes have included:
- Jay Fielder, who graduated in 1994. As quarterback, he was the Ivy League player of the year in 1992 and also established several passing records. During 11 seasons in the NFL, he also was QB for the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New York Jets.
- Clarence “Fat” Spears, an All-American guard in 1914-1915 who returned to be the team’s coach. He also had playing time as a member of the Chicago Bears.
- Edward Healey was quarterback of the championship team in 1924.
Alums who were hockey greats include Myles Lane, who still has the top scoring record and a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and William Morton who was an All-American quarterback in the 1930s as well an All-American hockey player.