The Bucknellian

By Rob Duffy

Senior Editor

Right now, the NCAA is a mess.

Recently, the NCAA announced that 12 current football players from the University of Miami were found to have accepted improper benefits from a former booster. Eight players were suspended in the first fallout from accusations that 72 Miami football and men’s basketball players received vast benefits between 2002 and 2010.

The Miami scandal was not an isolated incident. Earlier this summer, Ohio State’s football team vacated its 2010 Big Ten Championship after players were revealed to have received improper benefits from a tattoo shop. In February, Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun was suspended for three games for the 2011-12 season for recruiting violations. Last year, the USC football and men’s basketball programs received major sanctions when it was revealed that Reggie Bush and O. J. Mayo had accepted gifts from agents.

The problems are widespread, engulfing many of the country’s most prestigious programs, and the whole system seems to be spinning out of control. Many commentators are questioning the mandate that college athletes be amateurs, suggesting that athletes should receive a share of the revenue that their teams bring in. The best college athletes can reach superstar status, so it is not surprising that many want to take advantage of the benefits that their status offers them—even if these benefits fall outside the rules.

The solution, however, is not to start paying athletes. After all, athletes already get paid: free tuition only seems like an inconsequential amount of money to players who have completely lost track of the point of going to college. Paying players would do nothing to diminish the influence of boosters, since athletes would surely not be content with whatever salaries their schools paid them if they could get extra benefits on the side. Furthermore, a non-amateur system would quickly deteriorate into a battle over which school has the most money, making the lack of parity among college teams even worse than it already is. As a fan of college sports, decreased parity is not something I want to see.

The only way to really deter offenders is to make an example out of someone. Right now, punishments are lax. Both Ohio State and Connecticut were allowed to play in the postseason last year despite their violations, and the Huskies went on to win a national championship. Teams may vacate wins after the fact, but doing so has little meaning. You can’t ever erase the experience of winning a championship. Even postseason bans like USC’s are over in a year or two, limiting how consequential they can truly be.

For egregious violations, the NCAA needs to start using the death penalty. Ending a program for a year is the best way to get everyone’s attention and demonstrate that cheating will not be tolerated. In addition to eliminating a year’s worth of revenue, the death penalty causes a mass exodus of players and forces a program to be rebuilt from scratch. The penalty is harsh—some storied programs will likely get destroyed, such as the SMU football team’s more than 20 year bowl appearance drought after receiving the death penalty in 1987—but it’s a fitting punishment for flagrant and repeated defiance of the rules. Only through such drastic measures can the NCAA hope to clean itself up.

Meanwhile, these scandals should help us Bison fans better appreciate our own sports programs. We may not be competing for Bowl Series (or even the Football Championship Subdivision) Championships, and we may have gotten destroyed by Connecticut in the men’s basketball tournament, but at least we have integrity. Our student-athletes are actually genuine students in real majors on their way to real careers, and we should take pride in that. When we do occasionally do well—like when we beat Kansas in basketball, when we beat Florida State in baseball, or when we took eventual-national-champion Virginia to overtime in men’s lacrosse last spring—our integrity makes our accomplishments even more special.

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Although we all grew up playing a variety of sports, Little League baseball seems to play a part in every guy’s childhood. We can all remember the days of putting on those oversized uniforms and trying to hit a homerun every single time we stepped up to the plate, but these simple experiences pale in comparison to those of the 11-13-year-olds taking part in the Little League World Series just minutes away in Williamsport, Pa. For these kids, Little League baseball has taken on a whole new meaning. It is not purely about having a good time – it has become a grueling and sometimes relentless pursuit of winning.

Started in 1947 as a local tournament involving teams from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Little League World Series has quickly evolved into the largest youth sports program in the world with nearly 180,000 teams from across the globe taking part. For the first decade of play, the tournament consisted solely of teams from the United States, but expanded its field internationally in the 1960s and has since crowned an international champion 30 times.

Currently, the field is divided into two brackets, one national and one international, where the winners of each bracket eventually meet in a single-elimination championship game. Each team hoping to participate must undergo a series of qualification rounds and with only 16 teams gaining entry each year, qualification is, in itself, quite an accomplishment. If a team is able to get past the various local, state and regional qualifying series, they must then win four more Series games for a chance at the title. 

In recent years, the tournament has achieved astonishing levels of popularity, especially in the United States, with attendance to this year’s championship game reaching just under 10,000 fans. What’s more, broadcasts of each game are aired regularly on ESPN, which raises questions about how the added pressure and attention affects these kids. For the most part, these concerns remain untouched with so many people claiming that the tournament purely presents these kids with a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to enjoy some time in the spotlight. Yet, with thousands of teams participating at all levels, the competition is fierce, and the added pressure to succeed is huge. 

Ultimately, there is a fine line between great and harmful entertainment, and the Little League World Series is currently teetering on the edge. For now, not much needs to be changed, but with ratings reaching new highs each year, we can only imagine how far ESPN may go.

By Chris McCree

Player Profile:

Luke Joyner #5

Senior

Midfielder

Hometown: Garland, Texas

Major: History and Economics

Stats:

Minutes : 79

Shots: 3

Shots on goal: 2

Goals: 1

In a grueling 3-1 loss to Binghamton at home last Friday night, Joyner netted his first goal of the year to tie the game 1-1 in the middle of the first half. Despite the loss, the Orange and Blue managed to tally 17 shots in the game, but had difficulty finding the net. During his 79 minutes of play, Joyner had two of the team’s three shots on goal.

Joyner returns this year after starting 20 of the team’s 21 games last season. As a junior, Joyner played center midfield and was an important piece of the team’s championship run. By the end of the season, he had recorded three goals and three assists and was fifth on the team in total points. With a goal in his first game, he is on his way to surpassing these numbers and leading the team to another successful season.

By Scott Padula

Writer

The Orange and Blue are ranked No. 19 as of Wednesday  in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s annual preseason poll. This announcement marks the fifth time since 2006 that the Bison have been ranked in the preseason poll. The Orange and Blue join Saint Francis, The Naval Academy, and Princeton as the only teams from the East Coast represented in the top 20.

The team hopes to build upon its success from last year under new head coach John McBride and assistant coach Marty Matthies.

“I am very pleased with what I have seen from McBride and Matthies. They are both great leaders who know what it takes to win an Eastern Championship. We hope to do so this season,” said co-captain Spencer Richley ’12.

A former assistant coach at Brown over the past seven years, McBride inherits a team that reached the title game of the Southern Championships for the first time since 1998 and the semifinals of the Eastern Championship.

The Bison have five returning seniors leading the charge: co-captains Beau Cailloutte and Spencer Richley, Sam Fiske, Nick Barnett and Daniel Schwartz. The Orange and Blue also expect significant contributions from juniors Brian Barron and Matt Napleton. Last season, Barron tallied a career-high 50 points, while Napleton recorded 77 saves, but this Bison team is not based on individual effort.

“Our biggest strength this season is going to be our depth, especially from our very large and talented sophomore class,” said Cilloutte. “All of the freshmen last year worked really hard in the offseason and are in top form. They are ready to contribute and get some serious playing time this year.”

With the addition of first-years Buck Doyle, Greg Norton, Ken Wattana and Keegan Williams, the Bison are in for an exciting year.

The Orange and Blue begin their season at the Navy Labor Day Open September 3 and 4. While in Annapolis, they will play Gannon, Lindenwood, St. Francis and Cerritos.

 

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

Dynasty is a term reserved for the most special and extraordinary teams in sports history, usually teams with three or more consecutive championships. A dynasty may be brewing in the Patriot League as the Bison men’s soccer team looks for its third straight league championship.

The Orange and Blue, led by head coach Brendan Nash, captured the league title while graduating only three seniors. The nucleus of last year’s team remains mostly intact and features 2010 Patriot League offensive player of the year Brendan Burgdorf  ’13 and 2010 league rookie of the year Mayowa Alli ’14. 

“It was definitely an honor to receive preseason accolades, but now I think the important thing is to live up the expectations set by them,” said Burgdorf. “It’s awesome to have hype surrounding the team, because it gets the campus more involved. I think when that happens, we get more excited to play because we know we are representing the school.”

Alli says he learned much from his rookie season that will help him improve this year.

“I would have to say the most important thing I learned last year was that you can’t take any plays off because games can be won by the slightest lack of effort even if it’s just for a second,” Alli said.

The defense, which proved pivotal in last season’s run to the NCAA tournament, remains intact with two-time all-conference defender Andrew Powell ’12, one of six returning starters along with Ryan Sappington ’12 and goalkeepers Tommy Caso ’12 and Marc Hartmann ’12. The back four defense looks to be formidable with four defenders north of six feet tall: Powell, Nader Sawtarie ’12, Alli, and Jermaine Jarrett ’13. Both Caso and Hartmann have extensive postseason experience, each having started in a league championship match.

Along with a strong returning team, the Bison brought in eight first-year players to solidify the team and provide depth at nearly every position. Also new this year, the Bison will not have one set captain, but will rotate the captain armband among the seniors.

The Orange and Blue’s schedule features some high-profile match-ups, most notably when the team travels to South Bend, Ind. for the Mike Berticelli Tournament to face Indiana and Notre Dame on September 9 and 11, respectively. Patriot League play will begin on September 24 when the team plays host to rival Lehigh, and the Bison will host Penn State on October 26.

Despite being picked second in the Patriot League preseason coaches’ poll, the Bison men’s soccer team is ready to make the dream of a dynasty come true.

“We went through a pretty tough preseason, but it was great to see a lot of the guys on the team coming back to camp in great shape and ready to win another title,” said Burgdorf. “No Patriot League team has ever won the championship three years in a row, so we know we’re going to have to take our game to the next level to be the first ones to do it.”

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

After finishing last season with a five-game losing streak and a 1-10 record overall under the helm of first-year head coach Joe Susan, the Bison football program returns to the field this season with many unknowns and without high expectations.

With a year of experience behind Susan and an opportunity to buck the trend of losing seasons, the Orange and Blue are poised to turn the program around and put together a memorable 2011 campaign. Despite all the uncertainties about how the Bison will fare this year, Susan sees the continuity of the coaching staff as a huge factor in the Bison’s success.

“The important difference is that the men in our program have been around the coaching staff for a year and a half,” Susan said. “The other difference is that the recruited first-year players are men who went through the entire recruiting cycle with us. The importance of familiarity is that they know the staff better and are used to our way of doing things. The team is a year and a half stronger.”

With Duquesne and Marist coming to town in consecutive weekends, starting tomorrow, the Bison will have to be stronger than they were last year, as both schools beat the Orange and Blue last season. The rest of the schedule features three road, non-conference games against Ivy League schools, as well as the always-difficult six games against Patriot League opponents.

But the Orange and Blue have talented players returning on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 should have better production offensively this season with a year of experience under his belt.

“Brandon has improved as a quarterback,” Susan said. “He has always been a great athlete and did a good job last year in learning the offense. He has much better pocket presence now and is more confident in looking downfield prior to leaving the pocket. Brandon will wind up being an important leader of our offense.”

While averaging over 150 yards of passing per game, Wesley threw nine interceptions to just six touchdowns last season and completed just 57 percent of his passes.

Often throwing under duress from the opponent’s defense, Wesley was sacked 38 times last season, nearly 3.5 times per game and twice the number of sacks recorded by the Bison defense. A veteran group of offensive linemen return as seniors, looking to give their young quarterback more time in the pocket to pass.

“We return five seniors on our offensive line and have more depth at that position than in the past,” Susan said.

Defensively, Susan believes the difference will also come from in the trenches.

“I feel that on defense, our difference makes will come from our defensive line,” Susan said. “We are fortunate to have two all-league players, Josh Eden ’12 and Robert De La Rosa ’12, return to the team.”

Combining for 8.5 sacks and 93 tackles last season, Eden and De La Rosa anchor a strong defensive front four. Seniors Sean Rafferty and Bryce Robertson in the defensive backfield and Tim Bolte as linebacker should also play big roles in stopping opposing offenses this year. After finishing last season last in the Patriot League in both points (28.2) and yards allowed per game (379.9), those playmakers must step up in order to solidify the defense and keep opponents out of the endzone.

The Orange and Blue look to avenge a 17-13 defeat to the Duquesne Dukes in last season’s opener and start the season on a high note with a victory, when they host the Dukes tomorrow at 6 p.m. An eager crowd should be on hand, as a win would be the first home victory for the Bison since their upset of Holy Cross to conclude their 2009 season.

 

By Andrew Arnao

Contributing Writer

The Bison men’s soccer team lost 3-1 in their season opener against Binghamton last Friday. In the loss, Luke Joyner ’12 registered the first goal of the season for the Orange and the Blue.

The Bison fell behind early in the first half on a shot that took a favorable bounce off the goalpost for Binghamton and was kicked in for the Bearcats’ first point. The Bison tied the score 1-1 later in the half, but a late goal by Binghamton gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

“We are obviously upset about the loss,” Joyner said.  “Binghamton played a very direct and physical style of soccer, and we struggled to get control of the game from the opening whistle.”

Joyner’s excellent header on the throw-in by Mayowa Alli ’14 scored the game-tying goal. As the first half drew to a close, Binghamton scored on a free kick that looked like it might be headed by a member of the Bearcats’ offense, but instead went untouched and appeared to catch Bison goalie Marc Hartmann ’12 off-guard.

After Binghamton scored again in the second half, the Bison appeared to narrow the deficit to one with a goal that Brendan Burgdorf ’13 headed in off a free kick, but an offside call nullified the point. From there, Binghamton was able to run out the clock.

Despite the loss, the Orange and the Blue still finished with a 17-11 shot advantage, and with six fewer fouls than Binghamton. Hartmann and goalie Tommy Caso ’12 each played one half, with Hartmann recording one save and Caso recording three. Offensively, Andrew Powell ’12 led the team with four shots on goal.

“As a team we have very high expectations for what we can achieve this season,” said Joyner. “The guys are hungry to get back out on the game field to prove what we are capable of.”

After another week of practice, the Bison hope to do just that when they face Saint Francis at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

The women’s field hockey team opened its season last weekend with two losses at Temple and Boston University.

In the first game at Temple, the Owls outshot the Bison 15-4 on their way to a 4-0 victory. Ten of the Owls’ shots were on goal, while the Orange and Blue only had two.

Three of the Owls’ four goals came off the stick of Bridget Settles, who propelled Temple to an early 1-0 lead seven minutes into the contest. Sarah Zargarpour ’12 recorded five saves and allowed four Temple goals in her 49 minutes of play. The Bison have now lost their last four season openers and have been shut out in three of those four.

The Bison fell to yet another tough opponent in their contest against the Boston University Terriers in their second game of the road trip. The Terriers had 20 shots in their 5-0 win and scored all five of their goals in the first half. Bison goalkeeper Erica Perrine ’14 entered the game in the second half and kept the Terriers scoreless for the rest of the game.

The Bison will try to end their losing streak against the No. 7 Princeton Tigers tonight at 6 p.m.