Longtime readers will undoubtedly remember my opinion that Cornell might be better served in the Big Ten as an athletic conference due to Cornell's democratic character and historical linkages to institutions such as Michigan and Iowa. So imagine my pleasant surprise when Isaac Kramnick channels the same meme in the latest edition of the Cornell Alumni Magazine: Speaking of athletic leagues, has anybody else noticed how red hot the Big Red teams are this winter? You would think that we are a Big Ten institution and not in the wimpy ol' Ancient Eight. -- Wrestling is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation entering its Ivy season. At the national duals last weekend, they beat out then ranked No. 2 Iowa State before losing to Iowa in the finals. The State of Iowa takes its wrestling very seriously, so this was no easy feat. Look for Cornell to produce a national champion or two to complement the one earned last year by Jordan Leen '09, and maybe even make a run for the national championship as a team. -- The defending Ivy League basketball champs are attempting to run 14-0 again, already besting Columbia to start Ivy play. The preseason favorites increased the quality of their out of conference opponents this year, including the likes of Minnesota and St. John's, so hopefully they won't suffer the same embarrassing fate they encountered last year when playing Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Of course, let's not count our chickens before they hatch -- they still need to best the Quakers of Pennsylvania, a perennial power, as well as upstart Harvard. Harvard made some waves by beating Boston College (which had knocked around national championship contender UNC) but subsequently was only able to beat Ivy laggard Dartmouth by one point. The best thing about this Cornell team is that we still have Jeff Foote, Louis Dale, and Ryan Wittman to play for us next year. In fact, this basketball team is becoming so good even Kentucky Wildcats want to play for us! -- And let's not forget Big Red Hockey, which is having its most exciting season since 2006 -- way too long for the Lynah Faithful among us. The No. 3 Red are currently earning first place votes in the weekly polls, and are being led by a red hot goaltender in Ben Scrivens '10. He has already had five shutouts this season, and is being talked about as a possible pick for the Hobey Baker award for the best player in college hockey. There's still a number of games to play down the ECAC stretch, and the Ivy title isn't in the bag yet despite wins against Dartmouth, defending champion Princeton, and hated Harvard. But by all accounts we should make it to Albany and the NCAA tournament this year. And depending on who you listen to on the Internets, we may just be the number one seed for the tournament if our play continues at its current pace. There's also the ever-dominant track team, not to mention the fact that lacrosse season starts in just a few short weeks, and Cornell ranked No. 6 in a preseason poll!I have come to love this place in my thirty-six years of teaching here, to love this Ivy League school with its Big Ten soul, this university that since its birth has played such a rebellious and innovative role in American higher education.
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