Following excellent performances on both sides of the ball in last week’s Red-White game, the Cornell sprint football team looks forward to its Alumni Game this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Schoelkopff. The game is just one part of a whole weekend planned out for the alumni as a thank-you for keeping the sprint football program alive and well over the years. Sprint football is not funded by the university — only by private donations from the alumni.
The game also provides a chance for the Big Red to work out the kinks that develop over the offseason as well as a chance for the coaches to make final decisions on the starting squad.
“The alumni game is the most unusual event in America,” head coach Terry Cullen noted. “You’ve got guys from age 60 all the way down to 22. We’ve got actors, lawyers, CEO’s, and doctors – a little bit of everything.”
In a strange turn of events, a few years ago a player was injured on the field, and after a call for medical attention, four doctors jumped out of the huddle to help him.
The Big Red squad has only won four times since the game’s inception, but that doesn’t faze any of the players.
“There’s a lot of camaraderie between us and the alumni,” wide out David Minami said. “It will be a fun game.”
“It’ll be a rock ’em, sock ’em-type game,” Cullen laughed.
This will be the first game for the high-powered and experienced defense, led by senior tri-captains Imad Baggar and John Krautmann. It will also be the first look for junior quarterback Ryan Dwyer since his unfortunate knee injury last season.
Archived article by Sumeet Sarin