April 15, 2025 • 20 mins
On this episode, Sam is joined by Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich.
They discuss:
-Leading the Harvard football program
-The Ivy League now sending its champ to the FCS playoffs
-Recruiting to the Ivy League
-Being protected from the transfer portal
-The Game
-Harvard's one captain tradition
-2025 outlook
-And more
They discuss:
-Leading the Harvard football program
-The Ivy League now sending its champ to the FCS playoffs
-Recruiting to the Ivy League
-Being protected from the transfer portal
-The Game
-Harvard's one captain tradition
-2025 outlook
-And more
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
All right, welcome back to the FCS Football Talk podcast
as we bring on another guest here, we welcome to
the show, Harvard head coach Andrew Oric coach. Great to
have you on, Great to connect with you as well.
How was everything going for you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Thanks for having me on. Everything's been going well.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We actually finished up spring practice on April fifth, so
have a little time here before guys start finals. We're
we're getting back into some offseason training. So it was
a really good spring though.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, and you know, you've spent a good chunk of
the two thousands in the Ivy League as a player,
assistant coach, and now head coach leading Harvard, And just
you know background for further readers. You played at Princeton
in the early to mid two thousand, then an assistant
coach at Princeton twenty eleven, also twenty thirteen to twenty nineteen,
(01:05):
and then after that you spent a few years at
Rutgers and then was named the Harvard head football coach
before the twenty twenty four season. So what's it been
like this last what year and a half or so
being back in the Ivy League after you know, a
brief stint in the FBS.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
It's been great.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
You know, my goal was always being an IVY League
head football coach, So you know, when I did leave Princeton,
you know, the goal was still that And you know,
my opportunity to work at Rutgers was really really important
to me because working for Greg Ciano, I learned a
ton that kind of helped me be prepared to be
a successful head coach, not just be ready to be
head coach. And but the goal was always to be
(01:46):
back in the IVY League. The type of student athletes
year round are so great and you really enjoy coaching them.
They want to be coached hard, but they're really self driven.
So I really enjoyed being back in the league.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And you know, those few years being at a power
conference level school, how valuable was that experience just seeing how,
you know, things were done differently, you know a little
bit outside the IVY League for you to you know,
bring back into the conference and leading your own football program.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, there's done.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Uh, there's definitely a tendency within the IVY League that
things have been done a certain way for a long time.
And having a pretty extensive experience in that, you know,
you know, I thought that's how it was always done,
and then the four years ahead at Rutgers, like, things
are a lot different and you're trying to maximize your
player's potential anyways, you can't. Any way you can, whether
it's sports science, nutrition, but reality is like our time
(02:39):
constraints are a lot different. So my time there, like
I got a viewpoint of like, can we do this
within the IVY League constraints we have and a lot
of those things. It's yes, it's about you know, figuring
out how you balance those two because we're not going
to take away from their academic experience here.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, you mentioned a bit ago that your goal was
to be an IVY League head coach, and you briefly
answered my next question, you know, just about the level
of student athlete that you're around. But I wanted to
circle back to that and like why why the IVY League,
Like why was it your goal to stick in this
conference obviously, but also lead an IVY League football program.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
The the experience I had as a player at Princeton
was so enjoyable, and there's a there's a tendency with
the IVY League where you can be very transactional as
a head coach because these student athletes are so you know,
self motivated, and I just looked at it as like,
I want to help these guys have as good experience
as I had and beyond by really digging in their
(03:39):
lives and knowing about more than just you know, how
well they understand the ex's and those football And that's
been my goal to like just help them have a
great experience beyond the one that I had. And and
you know, the I guess, like I said, this type
of student athlete around, like they're so enjoyable to be around,
and they go out and be really really successful in
the real world is build those relationships with them and
(04:02):
see them be so successful is really enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
One thing that and I've talked about this of what
makes the FCS so interesting is you have one hundred
and thirty a little lesson one hundred and thirty teams now,
you know, summer full scholarship, non scholarship, partial scholarship. You know,
the meek and the swack kind of are in a
sense in their own bubble as far as their their postseason.
And then you know, for most of this time, the
(04:26):
IVY League was in its own bubble as far as
not being a part of that football postseason. Obviously now
that it has changed, you know, coming into this year,
the IVY League champion will will send how much champion
and accept that auto bid into the FCS playoffs, which
you know that was graded with great excitement around the FCS.
What was your reaction when that finally crossed the finish
(04:48):
line of all the approvals that were needed for that.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, I had similar excitement. Just having been in the
league for a while.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I've seen some really really good teams that I thought
could compete for the national Championship, and now to get
the to see them actually have a shot, Everyone's really excited.
It hasn't really changed how we work and the players
and the work they're putting it in, but you know,
to have that is an opportunity. You know, everyone's really
excited about, you know, having that on the table for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Was this something that you think Ivy League players and
coaches have wanted for a while Now it's obviously past
that finish line, But is this something in your experience
all the years in the IVY League, has this kind
of been something from a coaching players perspective that like, hey,
like that's eventually like we want to be playing in
the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, I mean it was something when I was a
student athlete was talked about and then you know, my
time at Princeton it was talked about, and my time
here it was talked about.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Before it actually happened.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
That you know, everybody wanted the opportunity and you know,
obviously we get it now and we're just so thankful
that the presidents saw saw what we saw that the
opportunity should be there.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Kind of putting you on the on the spot here,
but how do you think the IVY League can stack
up nationally? You know, in the FCS, a lot of
it is you know, the Montana Schools, the Code of Schools,
and then you know a team from the CAAA or
the South and will kind of you know, bubble up
and challenge them in the quarterfinals or the semi finals.
But how do you think from a broad perspective, how
do you think the IVY League can stack up?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I think the IVY League is really unique because of
who were able to recruit. You know, our roster is
full of guys to turn down FBS offers because they
wanted the opportunity to get a Harvard degree. So with
that type of talent coming into your program and you're
developing the right way, there's no reason we can't compete
for a national championship. And that's, you know, been the
mindset since that was announced. It's like, we got an opportunity. Now,
(06:34):
now you have to make sure you're developing the guys
the right way to put them in a position to
reach their full potential.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Because their full potential is really high.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So looking for the type of guys who understand that
and they're going to do the extra stuff that will
allow them to reach the full potential as the football
player's going to be really important moving forward because now
we got the opportunity, like we got to back it
up now, you know, the celebrating of getting the opportunities done.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Now it's someone needs to go out there and win
some games.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You mentioned recruiting, and I was curious about because there's
obviously high academic standards you know, when you're recruiting players,
and that you know, shortens your pool up a little
bit as far as being selective. Does that make things
easier or does that make things tougher when it comes
to recruiting to an IVY League school And what We'll
just obviously use Harvard as an example for you guys.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I think it makes it easier.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It definitely shrinks your pool a little faster, but it
doesn't shrink our pools such a way that we're not
able to get really really good players here because we
are able to recruit nationally. So you know, you talk
to recruit about Harvard, doesn't matter in the country where
they're from, if they had the grades to back it up,
to give them an opportunity, like, they're going to take
you seriously, regardless of what offers at what level they
(07:42):
have at that point in the recruiting process.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, and we've seen I mean, recruiting rankings are what
they are, but I mean we've consistently seen IVY League
schools in the top five, top ten, So you guys
are recruiting high level talent there. When it comes to
the transfer portal, getting a degree from an IVY League
school is you know, obviously incredibly valuable. Do you think
that protects you guys a little bit from the transfer portal?
(08:08):
I know, like I do an FCS to FBS transfer tracker,
and FCS fans see a lot of IVY League guys
on there. But that's a majority of them, if not
all of them, are grad transfers, which means if they
have to if they want to play one more year,
that they have to go elsewhere. But overall, like your underclassmen,
do you think you guys are a little protected from
from the transfer portal.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I think we're really protected.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
It's just you know, anybody who chose Harvard or like
to come to school here, like their mindset was, I
want to get this Harvard degree. So there aren't people
leaving before they graduate. Rare cases. And there's nobody within
the football program that I know of that that's happened.
Like you said, all all of our guys are graduate
transfers where they need to go somewhere else to continue
(08:52):
to play.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So it hasn't really touched us at all.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
On the opposite side of that, help and I should
have pulled up my tracker before this, But you don't
see a whole lot of mid year transfers going into
the IVY League. So when it comes like, do you
look at the transfer portal much at all when it
comes to possible additions or how does that work on
your end?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
I mean, uh, there's an opportunity for transfers. I think
it's very rare that it happens, and have to be
a special case where you had recruited that student athlete
while they're in high school and you knew that the
academics matched up then, and then there's got to be
you know, some type.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Of comparable.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
School they chose that you know, one that that it
would kind of you know, the the classes would match
up and it would work out. But it's not really
something we're spending a lot of time of We're focused on,
you know, high school recruiting and yeah, midyear enrollies don't exist,
so not even on our radar.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Right, Yeah, yep. This might be more of a president's
conversation or an athletic director's conversation. But you know, the
IVY League starts shoe or three weeks after everyone else
in the Yes, yes, has there now with you know
the playoffs and you know playoff resumes and all that,
has there been much discussion about starting games earlier and
(10:09):
also maybe branching out when it comes to non conference scheduling.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Uh, there haven't been any conversations about starting earlier. Maybe
that's something that will happen down the road. Uh, you know,
just getting the opportunity to play in playoffs. I think
all the head coaches were really excited about that, and
I would say, you know, non conference scheduling like definitely
on my radar moving forward that I want to make
sure we're challenging ourselves and also helping ourselves out in
(10:37):
the in the case that we do get the bid
that we're maximizing, you know, what are our spot would
be in the in the playoffs for sure?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Have you heard from you know, different schools now in
the in the last year since this announcements about hey,
like home and home or anything like that, have you
heard from some from different schools that maybe you weren't
hearing from the past. As far as non conference.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Scheduling, we're scheduled pretty far out.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
So I put it on the radar for the future
that in these open dates, we want to make sure
we're exhausting the opportunities to you know, expand our horizons
a little bit on who we are playing.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
So last season you got to you know, experience the
game for the first time. That's the legendary rivalry game
between Harvard and Yale. Last year was the one hundred
and fortieth meeting between those two schools. So just overall,
what was that experience.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Like Outside of the result, It was a really really
cool experience. You know, full stadium crowds really into it,
the pageantry of you know, college football and full full display.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
It was.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It was a lot of fun. I know the players
look forward to it every year, whether it is homework away,
because it is a different it's just a different experience
than you know, some of the other games that they
play in.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
And you're obviously familiar with with that Rallery game, but
you know, experience it for the first time that week,
Like were you talking to a lum or anything to
kind of get get get a feel for it or
anything like that.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I'm lucky to have a couple on staff that can
give me some perspectives. So Scott Lark, he's our defensive coordinator,
and then Steve Williams is our special team scoring and
wide receivers coach, and then Joe Lamb is on our
staff as well. So all three of them, you know,
played at Harvard and have experienced that as a player
then as his coach as well, So I got some
good perspective on them that you know, there is definitely
(12:31):
a different feel within practice that week, and you know,
got to make sure that you're keeping the guys focused
on you know, the work that work at hand and
not trying to waste away time and speed things up
and get the game day because there's a lot of
work that has to go into being ready for that game.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Yeah, another kind of cool historical thing. Harvard has a
really cool tradition where you guys select you know, the
one captain every year. And I believe this tradition dates
back to eighteen seventy two. So just like an unbelievable
honor to be that sole captain you know, every year
for for Harvard. So just explain kind of that that
(13:08):
tradition and how important that honor is.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
It's it's really really important.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the team votes on it the day after the
last game for the next year's captain, so the you know,
outgoing seniors are part of that vote, and you know,
my first time through it, it sounded like, you know
a lot of the team they're talking about it leading
up to that vote because they want to make sure
that they picked the right leader for the team for
(13:34):
the following year, and then we announce them at the
banquet that year and they have an opportunity to speak
to the team. I should say it to everyone at
the banquet, but it's a it's a really really big deal,
and you know, the reality is, like one person, they
can't truly lead the entire team all the time. So
you know, part of that job is to make sure
you're you know, bringing along some other guys who can
(13:56):
help you with the leadership role, because really it's one
side of the ball the other there's gotta be somebody
on the other side of the ball who's also in that
leadership role.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And then one we have for next year.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Todd Bartram is doing a great job so far, and
I'm really excited to, you know, see his leadership continue
to grow as we kind of continue with this thing.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
There are some football programs out there that I've had
three head coaches just in the last few years, and
you are just the fifth Harvard football head coach since
nineteen fifty six. So just a model of consistency, you know,
obviously some longtime coaches a lot of stability there. So
(14:35):
just what's it mean to you to be able to
lead a program like this?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, I'm I'm really honored, and I know I'm blessed,
and you know I take it very seriously. You know,
Coach Murphy had such a great run here for thirty
years and built a program that I walked into that
was in really really good shape. And you know, I
took it, took the responsibility of understanding, like the expectation
(14:59):
is pion chips here and even if I'm coming in
as a new head coach, I got to make sure
that we were in a position to do that last year,
even with the new head coach. And you know, a
big part of that was the players, Like coach Murphy
had done a really really good job recruiting, so there
was talent still there and great leadership and a great
culture when I got here.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Did you hear from any former teammates when you got
the job?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah? I did. I did, and I took note of
who was supportive and who was not as supportive. But
you know they were.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
They were happy for me and excited, and there was
a lot of jokes made about it. I hope you go
nine to one every year, but you know, secretly they
told me leading up to that week that they were
cheering for me. I won't call anybody by name, I
don't want to get them any trouble with their other teammates.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, what's what's the NIL space like, whether the IVY
League as a whole or you can just talk about
Harvard specifically, what's kind of the NIL space like over there?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, I mean, the i Beleague is just you know,
holding true to what it was intended to be, which
was truly name, image and likeness, and it's something that
the student athletes pursue on their own and we're completely
out of it. And I don't even know if any
of our guys have it. I know there's probably opportunities
for them, and I think the university does a good
job of putting them in position to take advantage of
(16:18):
it if if it does exist for them out there.
But it is a lot different than definitely, you know,
power for football and how that works with collectives, Like
collectives don't exist, they're not allowed to exist.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
It's true, nil.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I know, talking with a lot of FCS head coaches
that have you know FBS experience as well, they just
they just really like the purity that that still exists
within the FCS and it's starting to blur a little bit,
you know, there's there's definitely some nil going on, you know,
elsewhere in in the FCS, But like talk a little
bit about like that purity, you know, in the IVY League,
(16:52):
it still is kind of college football to its core,
and I think for the most part, the FCS still
has that as well.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Yeah, I mean, what we have here are true student
athletes that are choosing here because they want to have
that balance and they want to maximize both those opportunities,
and they come in knowing that, and you know, in
the recruiting process, if that's not what they're looking for,
it's made very clear to them early on. And we
don't really have anybody who's coming in here with you know,
(17:21):
different ideas of what the experience is going to be here,
and you have to be really intentional with, you know,
helping them balance those two things and working around their
academic schedule and challenges because they did choose here to
be a true student athlete and embracing that and helping
them maximize that opportunity at both ends.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
And then last question here the upcoming season. Here are
twenty twenty five team. You mentioned that you had springball
going on. Just overall thoughts and vibes about the upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I'm really really excited.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
We have a team coming back where we have a
number of positions where we have guys who maybe don't
have a ton of actual game experience, but they're older
players who are talented who've been kind of waiting their turn,
you know, namely defensive line and linebacker. But combine that
with who I think are the best offensive player and
(18:13):
the best defensive player returning in the league, and Jayane
Craig at quarterback and Type Archerham at safety, they're super talented.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
So it's gonna be a really fun group. In the spring.
You can see guys.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Growing as players and you know, kind of earning their
roles at different spots. And like I said, like coach
Murphy did a great job recruit in here, so the
talent is here. Now the number of those spots, those
guys got to step up and be the ones that
are producing on Saturdays. But I was really happy with
the growth we made from the beginning of spring ball
to now and excited to see the growth they make
(18:44):
from now till we get the training.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Camp and then one more final one. I've always been
curious about when it comes to first year head coaches,
you're you're kind of in a sense of learning as
you're going, and so now that you're in your second year,
are there are some things that you learn that you've
now changed when it comes to the day to day operations,
month to month operations, how you practice or do you
think it's important to kind of be consistent from year
one to year or two. What was kind of that
(19:07):
that that blend there.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Yeah, we definitely made significant changes in you know, how
we practice from how maybe they had done it previously.
So to me, it was about sticking with the consistency
of that for them through springball and then in the
training camp. But there are a lot of areas where
you know, I says like I didn't know what I
didn't know. So there was a lot of things that
(19:29):
came up, you know, just as a head coach and
how you're working within the university that you know, I
was learning on the job. But you know, again with
the you know, coach Lamb who'd been here for a
long time, in coach Larkie, like, there were a lot
of situations where I was like we should do this
and like, actually that doesn't really work here, And I
was like, oh okay, and I had to rethink how
we did it to make sure I kind of avoid
(19:51):
some of those unforced airs for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Absolutely, well, Hey coach, thank you so much. This has
been great. I really appreciate your time and thank you
for coming on the podcast today.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, thank you verry much for having me on. Appreciate it.
All right, welcome back to the FCS Football Talk podcast
as we bring on another guest here, we welcome to
the show, Harvard head coach Andrew Oric coach. Great to
have you on, Great to connect with you as well.
How was everything going for you?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Thanks for having me on. Everything's been going well.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We actually finished up spring practice on April fifth, so
have a little time here before guys start finals. We're
we're getting back into some offseason training. So it was
a really good spring though.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah, and you know, you've spent a good chunk of
the two thousands in the Ivy League as a player,
assistant coach, and now head coach leading Harvard, And just
you know background for further readers. You played at Princeton
in the early to mid two thousand, then an assistant
coach at Princeton twenty eleven, also twenty thirteen to twenty nineteen,
(01:05):
and then after that you spent a few years at
Rutgers and then was named the Harvard head football coach
before the twenty twenty four season. So what's it been
like this last what year and a half or so
being back in the Ivy League after you know, a
brief stint in the FBS.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
It's been great.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
You know, my goal was always being an IVY League
head football coach, So you know, when I did leave Princeton,
you know, the goal was still that And you know,
my opportunity to work at Rutgers was really really important
to me because working for Greg Ciano, I learned a
ton that kind of helped me be prepared to be
a successful head coach, not just be ready to be
head coach. And but the goal was always to be
(01:46):
back in the IVY League. The type of student athletes
year round are so great and you really enjoy coaching them.
They want to be coached hard, but they're really self driven.
So I really enjoyed being back in the league.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And you know, those few years being at a power
conference level school, how valuable was that experience just seeing how,
you know, things were done differently, you know a little
bit outside the IVY League for you to you know,
bring back into the conference and leading your own football program.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, there's done.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Uh, there's definitely a tendency within the IVY League that
things have been done a certain way for a long time.
And having a pretty extensive experience in that, you know,
you know, I thought that's how it was always done,
and then the four years ahead at Rutgers, like, things
are a lot different and you're trying to maximize your
player's potential anyways, you can't. Any way you can, whether
it's sports science, nutrition, but reality is like our time
(02:39):
constraints are a lot different. So my time there, like
I got a viewpoint of like, can we do this
within the IVY League constraints we have and a lot
of those things. It's yes, it's about you know, figuring
out how you balance those two because we're not going
to take away from their academic experience here.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, you mentioned a bit ago that your goal was
to be an IVY League head coach, and you briefly
answered my next question, you know, just about the level
of student athlete that you're around. But I wanted to
circle back to that and like why why the IVY League,
Like why was it your goal to stick in this
conference obviously, but also lead an IVY League football program.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
The the experience I had as a player at Princeton
was so enjoyable, and there's a there's a tendency with
the IVY League where you can be very transactional as
a head coach because these student athletes are so you know,
self motivated, and I just looked at it as like,
I want to help these guys have as good experience
as I had and beyond by really digging in their
(03:39):
lives and knowing about more than just you know, how
well they understand the ex's and those football And that's
been my goal to like just help them have a
great experience beyond the one that I had. And and
you know, the I guess, like I said, this type
of student athlete around, like they're so enjoyable to be around,
and they go out and be really really successful in
the real world is build those relationships with them and
(04:02):
see them be so successful is really enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
One thing that and I've talked about this of what
makes the FCS so interesting is you have one hundred
and thirty a little lesson one hundred and thirty teams now,
you know, summer full scholarship, non scholarship, partial scholarship. You know,
the meek and the swack kind of are in a
sense in their own bubble as far as their their postseason.
And then you know, for most of this time, the
(04:26):
IVY League was in its own bubble as far as
not being a part of that football postseason. Obviously now
that it has changed, you know, coming into this year,
the IVY League champion will will send how much champion
and accept that auto bid into the FCS playoffs, which
you know that was graded with great excitement around the FCS.
What was your reaction when that finally crossed the finish
(04:48):
line of all the approvals that were needed for that.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yeah, I had similar excitement. Just having been in the
league for a while.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I've seen some really really good teams that I thought
could compete for the national Championship, and now to get
the to see them actually have a shot, Everyone's really excited.
It hasn't really changed how we work and the players
and the work they're putting it in, but you know,
to have that is an opportunity. You know, everyone's really
excited about, you know, having that on the table for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Was this something that you think Ivy League players and
coaches have wanted for a while Now it's obviously past
that finish line, But is this something in your experience
all the years in the IVY League, has this kind
of been something from a coaching players perspective that like, hey,
like that's eventually like we want to be playing in
the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah, I mean it was something when I was a
student athlete was talked about and then you know, my
time at Princeton it was talked about, and my time
here it was talked about.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Before it actually happened.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
That you know, everybody wanted the opportunity and you know,
obviously we get it now and we're just so thankful
that the presidents saw saw what we saw that the
opportunity should be there.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Kind of putting you on the on the spot here,
but how do you think the IVY League can stack
up nationally? You know, in the FCS, a lot of
it is you know, the Montana Schools, the Code of Schools,
and then you know a team from the CAAA or
the South and will kind of you know, bubble up
and challenge them in the quarterfinals or the semi finals.
But how do you think from a broad perspective, how
do you think the IVY League can stack up?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I think the IVY League is really unique because of
who were able to recruit. You know, our roster is
full of guys to turn down FBS offers because they
wanted the opportunity to get a Harvard degree. So with
that type of talent coming into your program and you're
developing the right way, there's no reason we can't compete
for a national championship. And that's, you know, been the
mindset since that was announced. It's like, we got an opportunity. Now,
(06:34):
now you have to make sure you're developing the guys
the right way to put them in a position to
reach their full potential.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Because their full potential is really high.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So looking for the type of guys who understand that
and they're going to do the extra stuff that will
allow them to reach the full potential as the football
player's going to be really important moving forward because now
we got the opportunity, like we got to back it
up now, you know, the celebrating of getting the opportunities done.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Now it's someone needs to go out there and win
some games.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You mentioned recruiting, and I was curious about because there's
obviously high academic standards you know, when you're recruiting players,
and that you know, shortens your pool up a little
bit as far as being selective. Does that make things
easier or does that make things tougher when it comes
to recruiting to an IVY League school And what We'll
just obviously use Harvard as an example for you guys.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I think it makes it easier.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
It definitely shrinks your pool a little faster, but it
doesn't shrink our pools such a way that we're not
able to get really really good players here because we
are able to recruit nationally. So you know, you talk
to recruit about Harvard, doesn't matter in the country where
they're from, if they had the grades to back it up,
to give them an opportunity, like, they're going to take
you seriously, regardless of what offers at what level they
(07:42):
have at that point in the recruiting process.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, and we've seen I mean, recruiting rankings are what
they are, but I mean we've consistently seen IVY League
schools in the top five, top ten, So you guys
are recruiting high level talent there. When it comes to
the transfer portal, getting a degree from an IVY League
school is you know, obviously incredibly valuable. Do you think
that protects you guys a little bit from the transfer portal?
(08:08):
I know, like I do an FCS to FBS transfer tracker,
and FCS fans see a lot of IVY League guys
on there. But that's a majority of them, if not
all of them, are grad transfers, which means if they
have to if they want to play one more year,
that they have to go elsewhere. But overall, like your underclassmen,
do you think you guys are a little protected from
from the transfer portal.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
I think we're really protected.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
It's just you know, anybody who chose Harvard or like
to come to school here, like their mindset was, I
want to get this Harvard degree. So there aren't people
leaving before they graduate. Rare cases. And there's nobody within
the football program that I know of that that's happened.
Like you said, all all of our guys are graduate
transfers where they need to go somewhere else to continue
(08:52):
to play.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So it hasn't really touched us at all.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
On the opposite side of that, help and I should
have pulled up my tracker before this, But you don't
see a whole lot of mid year transfers going into
the IVY League. So when it comes like, do you
look at the transfer portal much at all when it
comes to possible additions or how does that work on
your end?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
I mean, uh, there's an opportunity for transfers. I think
it's very rare that it happens, and have to be
a special case where you had recruited that student athlete
while they're in high school and you knew that the
academics matched up then, and then there's got to be
you know, some type.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Of comparable.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
School they chose that you know, one that that it
would kind of you know, the the classes would match
up and it would work out. But it's not really
something we're spending a lot of time of We're focused on,
you know, high school recruiting and yeah, midyear enrollies don't exist,
so not even on our radar.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Right, Yeah, yep. This might be more of a president's
conversation or an athletic director's conversation. But you know, the
IVY League starts shoe or three weeks after everyone else
in the Yes, yes, has there now with you know
the playoffs and you know playoff resumes and all that,
has there been much discussion about starting games earlier and
(10:09):
also maybe branching out when it comes to non conference scheduling.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Uh, there haven't been any conversations about starting earlier. Maybe
that's something that will happen down the road. Uh, you know,
just getting the opportunity to play in playoffs. I think
all the head coaches were really excited about that, and
I would say, you know, non conference scheduling like definitely
on my radar moving forward that I want to make
sure we're challenging ourselves and also helping ourselves out in
(10:37):
the in the case that we do get the bid
that we're maximizing, you know, what are our spot would
be in the in the playoffs for sure?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Have you heard from you know, different schools now in
the in the last year since this announcements about hey,
like home and home or anything like that, have you
heard from some from different schools that maybe you weren't
hearing from the past. As far as non conference.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Scheduling, we're scheduled pretty far out.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
So I put it on the radar for the future
that in these open dates, we want to make sure
we're exhausting the opportunities to you know, expand our horizons
a little bit on who we are playing.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
So last season you got to you know, experience the
game for the first time. That's the legendary rivalry game
between Harvard and Yale. Last year was the one hundred
and fortieth meeting between those two schools. So just overall,
what was that experience.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Like Outside of the result, It was a really really
cool experience. You know, full stadium crowds really into it,
the pageantry of you know, college football and full full display.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
It was.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It was a lot of fun. I know the players
look forward to it every year, whether it is homework away,
because it is a different it's just a different experience
than you know, some of the other games that they
play in.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
And you're obviously familiar with with that Rallery game, but
you know, experience it for the first time that week,
Like were you talking to a lum or anything to
kind of get get get a feel for it or
anything like that.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I'm lucky to have a couple on staff that can
give me some perspectives. So Scott Lark, he's our defensive coordinator,
and then Steve Williams is our special team scoring and
wide receivers coach, and then Joe Lamb is on our
staff as well. So all three of them, you know,
played at Harvard and have experienced that as a player
then as his coach as well, So I got some
good perspective on them that you know, there is definitely
(12:31):
a different feel within practice that week, and you know,
got to make sure that you're keeping the guys focused
on you know, the work that work at hand and
not trying to waste away time and speed things up
and get the game day because there's a lot of
work that has to go into being ready for that game.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Yeah, another kind of cool historical thing. Harvard has a
really cool tradition where you guys select you know, the
one captain every year. And I believe this tradition dates
back to eighteen seventy two. So just like an unbelievable
honor to be that sole captain you know, every year
for for Harvard. So just explain kind of that that
(13:08):
tradition and how important that honor is.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
It's it's really really important.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And the team votes on it the day after the
last game for the next year's captain, so the you know,
outgoing seniors are part of that vote, and you know,
my first time through it, it sounded like, you know
a lot of the team they're talking about it leading
up to that vote because they want to make sure
that they picked the right leader for the team for
(13:34):
the following year, and then we announce them at the
banquet that year and they have an opportunity to speak
to the team. I should say it to everyone at
the banquet, but it's a it's a really really big deal,
and you know, the reality is, like one person, they
can't truly lead the entire team all the time. So
you know, part of that job is to make sure
you're you know, bringing along some other guys who can
(13:56):
help you with the leadership role, because really it's one
side of the ball the other there's gotta be somebody
on the other side of the ball who's also in that
leadership role.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And then one we have for next year.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Todd Bartram is doing a great job so far, and
I'm really excited to, you know, see his leadership continue
to grow as we kind of continue with this thing.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
There are some football programs out there that I've had
three head coaches just in the last few years, and
you are just the fifth Harvard football head coach since
nineteen fifty six. So just a model of consistency, you know,
obviously some longtime coaches a lot of stability there. So
(14:35):
just what's it mean to you to be able to
lead a program like this?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, I'm I'm really honored, and I know I'm blessed,
and you know I take it very seriously. You know,
Coach Murphy had such a great run here for thirty
years and built a program that I walked into that
was in really really good shape. And you know, I
took it, took the responsibility of understanding, like the expectation
(14:59):
is pion chips here and even if I'm coming in
as a new head coach, I got to make sure
that we were in a position to do that last year,
even with the new head coach. And you know, a
big part of that was the players, Like coach Murphy
had done a really really good job recruiting, so there
was talent still there and great leadership and a great
culture when I got here.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Did you hear from any former teammates when you got
the job?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah? I did. I did, and I took note of
who was supportive and who was not as supportive. But
you know they were.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
They were happy for me and excited, and there was
a lot of jokes made about it. I hope you go
nine to one every year, but you know, secretly they
told me leading up to that week that they were
cheering for me. I won't call anybody by name, I
don't want to get them any trouble with their other teammates.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, what's what's the NIL space like, whether the IVY
League as a whole or you can just talk about
Harvard specifically, what's kind of the NIL space like over there?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, I mean, the i Beleague is just you know,
holding true to what it was intended to be, which
was truly name, image and likeness, and it's something that
the student athletes pursue on their own and we're completely
out of it. And I don't even know if any
of our guys have it. I know there's probably opportunities
for them, and I think the university does a good
job of putting them in position to take advantage of
(16:18):
it if if it does exist for them out there.
But it is a lot different than definitely, you know,
power for football and how that works with collectives, Like
collectives don't exist, they're not allowed to exist.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
It's true, nil.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I know, talking with a lot of FCS head coaches
that have you know FBS experience as well, they just
they just really like the purity that that still exists
within the FCS and it's starting to blur a little bit,
you know, there's there's definitely some nil going on, you know,
elsewhere in in the FCS, But like talk a little
bit about like that purity, you know, in the IVY League,
(16:52):
it still is kind of college football to its core,
and I think for the most part, the FCS still
has that as well.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Yeah, I mean, what we have here are true student
athletes that are choosing here because they want to have
that balance and they want to maximize both those opportunities,
and they come in knowing that, and you know, in
the recruiting process, if that's not what they're looking for,
it's made very clear to them early on. And we
don't really have anybody who's coming in here with you know,
(17:21):
different ideas of what the experience is going to be here,
and you have to be really intentional with, you know,
helping them balance those two things and working around their
academic schedule and challenges because they did choose here to
be a true student athlete and embracing that and helping
them maximize that opportunity at both ends.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
And then last question here the upcoming season. Here are
twenty twenty five team. You mentioned that you had springball
going on. Just overall thoughts and vibes about the upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I'm really really excited.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
We have a team coming back where we have a
number of positions where we have guys who maybe don't
have a ton of actual game experience, but they're older
players who are talented who've been kind of waiting their turn,
you know, namely defensive line and linebacker. But combine that
with who I think are the best offensive player and
(18:13):
the best defensive player returning in the league, and Jayane
Craig at quarterback and Type Archerham at safety, they're super talented.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
So it's gonna be a really fun group. In the spring.
You can see guys.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Growing as players and you know, kind of earning their
roles at different spots. And like I said, like coach
Murphy did a great job recruit in here, so the
talent is here. Now the number of those spots, those
guys got to step up and be the ones that
are producing on Saturdays. But I was really happy with
the growth we made from the beginning of spring ball
to now and excited to see the growth they make
(18:44):
from now till we get the training.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Camp and then one more final one. I've always been
curious about when it comes to first year head coaches,
you're you're kind of in a sense of learning as
you're going, and so now that you're in your second year,
are there are some things that you learn that you've
now changed when it comes to the day to day operations,
month to month operations, how you practice or do you
think it's important to kind of be consistent from year
one to year or two. What was kind of that
(19:07):
that that blend there.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Yeah, we definitely made significant changes in you know, how
we practice from how maybe they had done it previously.
So to me, it was about sticking with the consistency
of that for them through springball and then in the
training camp. But there are a lot of areas where
you know, I says like I didn't know what I
didn't know. So there was a lot of things that
(19:29):
came up, you know, just as a head coach and
how you're working within the university that you know, I
was learning on the job. But you know, again with
the you know, coach Lamb who'd been here for a
long time, in coach Larkie, like, there were a lot
of situations where I was like we should do this
and like, actually that doesn't really work here, And I
was like, oh okay, and I had to rethink how
we did it to make sure I kind of avoid
(19:51):
some of those unforced airs for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Absolutely, well, Hey coach, thank you so much. This has
been great. I really appreciate your time and thank you
for coming on the podcast today.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, thank you verry much for having me on. Appreciate it.
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