--- You wrote:
>   I believe that (former) Dartmouth coach Brian Mason was right in saying
>that Dartmouth cannot expect to maintain its strict admissions policies and
>have a winning hockey team - they are mutually exclusive.
>
>                                  - Bob
 
>>It would be really sad if this were really the case.  The Dartmouth
>>Cross-Country team has been one of the top 10 teams in division I for
>>years now (and at this level, it's _not_ a wuss sport...we're talking
>>100-110 miles/week and all the other associated scheduling problems of
>>a division I scholar-athlete...).  Dartmouth has become a place where
>>"smart" students (however that is defined...) who are also good runners
>>_want_ to go.  The challenge is to turn it into a place where "smart" hockey
>>players want to go (unless you're suggesting there is no such thing,
>>which I can't imagine you'd do because you would open yourself up for
>>some terrible flames...)
 
-Doug
 
--- end of quoted material ---
Doug-
   I certainly would not suggest that there are no "smart" hockey players.  It
might be a problem of pool size, however (are there more runners than hockey
players?).  My understanding is that of the three major spectator sports at
Dartmouth (football, basketball, and hockey), the recruiting budget for hockey
is by far the smallest.  In addition, the recently departing acting athletic
director was not a major supporter of hockey.  The new director, Dick Jaeger,
is a hockey fan and will do the best possible to find a good coach and support
the hockey team.  Your suggestion that we turn Dartmouth into "a place where
'smart' hockey players want to go" is the right attitude and I think that is
what Dick has in mind.
   There just is not much to start from at this point and, as you might
expect, the team morale is not great either.
                                  - Bob