March 21, 2023
Other than two or three very brief (and amiable) chats, I do not know Buddy Teevens at all, but it has been, for a long time, very hard to root against his Dartmouth football teams, even when my beloved Princeton Tigers roll into town. Teevens — who has coached at Dartmouth for 23 years and has won five Ivy League championship trophies in that time — does things the right way: he expects his players to be respectful, to engage in their community and to take their academics seriously. He was the first Ivy coach to ban tackling during practice, and he has long expressed concern for the health and well-being of his players.
That concern is being reciprocated with the news that Teevens was struck by a pick-up truck while bicycling near his second home in Florida. News reports indicate that he is in critical condition, and the fact that his family has chosen not to make any public statements makes me fear that his prognosis is bleak.
I hope I am wrong. Teevens is a class act.