Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Ivy League Names Players of the Year

NEW YORK - Princeton senior quarterback John Lovett and Dartmouth junior defensive back Isiah Swann were announced as the Ivy League's 2018 Football Players of the Year and Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients in front of a capacity crowd at the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown on Monday, Dec. 3.
 
Lovett was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second time over the past three seasons, while Swann took home Defensive Player of the Year honors at a press conference and reception co-hosted by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF), presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Swann is the eighth Big Green player to be honored with the Bushnell Cup-and the second from the defensive unit, joining 2016 recipient linebacker Folarin Orimolade.
 
Lovett is the fifth two-time winner of the Bushnell Cup, joining an esteemed club that includes Cornell's Ed Marinaro (1970-71), Yale's John Pagliaro (1976-77), Harvard's Carl Morris (2001-02) and Harvard's Zack Hodges (2013-14). He is the 12th Bushnell Cup winner from Princeton and the third-straight Tiger quarterback to be named Offensive Player of the Year (John Lovett, 2016; Chad Kanoff, 2017).
 
A three-time First Team All-Ivy selection, Lovett led the Ivy League with 303 yards of total offense per game, while ranking second in the League in both rushing (99.3 yards per game) and passing (203.7 yards per game). The senior quarterback tallied 894 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground-the second-most in the League-while concluding his collegiate career with a rushing touchdown in an Ivy League record 20-straight games. Lovett also accumulated 1,833 yards and an Ivy League-best 18 touchdowns through the air. The Wantagh, N.Y., product, who ranked fourth in the FCS with 20.9 points responsible for per game, led a Princeton offensive unit that ranked second in the FCS with 47.0 points per game and third with 536.8 yards per game.
 
Off the field, Lovett claims a 3.29 GPA as a history major and is the co-director of Teams and Toys, a charity event that provided over 300 gifts to low-income families during the 2017 holiday season through Athletes in Action, a Christian fellowship on Princeton's campus.
 
A two-time All-Ivy honoree, Swann set a Dartmouth program record and led all of NCAA Division I with nine interceptions on the season. The Queen Creek, Ariz., native also led the Ivy League and ranked third in the FCS with 18 passes defended, while recording 39 tackles and recovering a fumble. Swann propelled a Dartmouth defensive unit that allowed just 12.0 points per game-second in the FCS-and just 280.4 yards per game-fifth in the FCS. Having appeared in every Dartmouth contest during his career, the junior defensive back will open his senior campaign with 110 tackles, 13 interceptions (tied for the Big Green career record) and 21 passes broken up for a total of 34 passes defended.
 
In the classroom, Swann is an environmental studies major that owns a 3.00 GPA. His post-football career aspiration is to enter sustainability or environmental consulting.
 
Lovett and Swann were selected as Bushnell Cup finalists, alongside Princeton senior wide receiver Jesper Horsted and Harvard senior defensive lineman Stone Hart in a vote by the League's eight head coaches.
 
Each of this year's four Asa S. Bushnell Cup finalists were First Team All-Ivy selections, with Lovett and Swann earning unanimous nods. Lovett is 1-of-25 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS. Swann is 1-of-25 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS.
 
Tuesday evening the NFF will stage its 61st Annual Awards Dinner, also at the New York Hilton Midtown. As the culmination of the regular season, the event provides the stage for the induction of the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame Class; the presentation of the 2018 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards; and the bestowing of the 29th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy®, named for the former Columbia player and head coach, to the nation's top football scholar-athlete.
 
Among the honorees will be Atlanta Hall Management Chairman and College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Dartmouth Murry Bowden (NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award), Harvard athletic director Bob Scalise (NFF John L. Toner Award for excellence in athletics administration) and retired Yale athletic director Thomas Beckett (NFF John L. Toner Award for excellence in athletics administration).
 
ASA S. BUSHNELL CUP HISTORY
Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field.

From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award was presented as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation. Beginning with the 2011 season, the award began recognizing Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, honoring each as a recipient of the Bushnell Cup. Two offensive finalists and two defensive finalists are named, with the Players of the Year unveiled at the presentation.

All-Time Recipient List
1970 - Jim Chasey, QB, Dartmouth & Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1971 - Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1972 - Dick Jauron, RB, Yale
1973 - Jim Stoeckel, QB, Harvard
1974 - Walt Snickenberger, RB, Princeton
1975 - Doug Jackson, RB, Columbia
1976 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1977 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1978 - Buddy Teevens, QB, Dartmouth
1979 - Tim Tumpane, LB, Yale
1980 - Kevin Czinger, MG, Yale
1981 - Rich Diana, RB, Yale
1982 - John Witkowski, QB, Columbia
1983 - Derrick Harmon, RB, Cornell
1984 - Tim Chambers, DB, Penn
1985 - Tom Gilmore, DT, Penn
1986 - Rich Comizio, RB, Penn
1987 - Kelly Ryan, QB, Yale
1988 - Jason Garrett, QB, Princeton
1989 - Judd Garrett, RB, Princeton
1990 - Shon Page, RB, Dartmouth
1991 - Al Rosier, RB, Dartmouth
1992 - Jay Fiedler, QB, Dartmouth
1993 - Keith Elias, RB, Princeton
1994 - Pat Goodwillie, LB, Penn
1995 - Dave Patterson, LB, Princeton
1996 - Chad Levitt, RB, Cornell
1997 - Sean Morey, WR, Brown
1998 - Jim Finn, RB, Penn
1999 - James Perry, QB, Brown
2000 - Gavin Hoffman, QB, Penn
2001 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2002 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2003 - Mike Mitchell, QB, Penn
2004 - Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard
2005 - Nick Hartigan, RB, Brown
2006 - Jeff Terrell, QB, Princeton
2007 - Mike McLeod, RB, Yale
2008 - Chris Pizzotti, QB, Harvard
2009 - Buddy Farnham, WR, Brown & Jake Lewko, LB, Penn
2010 - Gino Gordon, RB, Harvard & Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth
2011 - Offensive Player of the Year: Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell
Defensive Player of the Year: Josue Ortiz, DT, Harvard
2012 - Offensive Player of the Year: Colton Chapple, QB, Harvard
Defensive Player of the Year: Mike Catapano, DL, Princeton
2013 - Offensive Player of the Year: Quinn Epperly, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard
2014 - Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Varga, RB, Yale
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Zack Hodges, DE, Harvard & Mike Zeuli, LB, Princeton
2015 - Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Hosch, QB, Harvard
Defensive Player of the Year: Tyler Drake, LB, Penn
2016 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Folarin Orimolade, LB, Dartmouth
2017 - Offensive Player of the Year: Chad Kanoff, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Matthew Oplinger, LB, Yale
2018 - Offensive Player of the Year: John Lovett, QB, Princeton
Defensive Player of the Year: Isiah Swann, DB, Dartmouth

Player of the Year Finalists
2010 - Trey Peacock, WR, Princeton & Billy Ragone, QB, Penn
2011 - Erik Rask, LB, Penn & Nick Schwieger, RB, Dartmouth
2012 - Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell & AJ Cruz, DB, Brown
2013 - John Spooney, RB, Brown & Caraun Reid, DL, Princeton
2014 - Dalyn Williams, QB, Dartmouth
2015 - Will McNamara, LB, Dartmouth & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2016 - Kurt Holuba, DL, Princeton & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2017 - Richard Jarvis, DL, Brown, Nick Miller, LB, Penn & Justin Watson, WR, Penn
2018 - Stone Hart, DL, Harvard & Jesper Horsted, WR, Princeton

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