Dartmouth College, one of the nation’s oldest institutions of higher learning, is a major draw for high-achieving student-athletes. With an impressive list of athletic programs, they offer dozens of varsity sports teams. While this school isn’t known for high-impact football, it has been home to over 40 high-level football players. With names like Dennis Durkin and Reggie Williams, Dartmouth has certainly made a more impressive mark on the world of college football than it gets credit for. Indeed, players like these have put the school on the map, but their contribution still deserves a closer look.
We took a quick look at some of this school’s most accomplished football stars including the famous Reggie Williams, the stunning defensive end Niko Lalos, the quarterback to replace Dan Moreno, Jay Fielder, tight end Casey Cramer, and Dartmouth’s most reliable kicker, Dennis Durkin. This is just a small sample of the great football players to pass through Dartmouth, and they deserve a little more recognition.
Easily, the most famous football star to come through this school, the legendary Reggie Williams was named to All-New-England and All-East teams for two years in a row. With 23 recoveries, he was a sure bet for Dartmouth’s Hall of Fame. Another Dartmouth great, defensive end Niko Lalos was a graduate of the class of 2020 who achieved acclaim early on with his stunning interception which resulted in a field goal and victory against the Bengals.
Dartmouth’s most recent star, tight end Casey Cramer has gone on to become an NFL draftee. He was recognized as one of Dartmouth’s best all-time receiving leaders in the early 2000s. Likewise, the class of 94’s Jay Fielder was named Ivy League Player of the Year in 92. He holds several passing records for Dartmouth to this day. Fielder replaced Dan Moreno as quarterback for the Miami Dolphins and helped the team reach the playoffs in 2000.
Jay Fielder went on to play for the New York Jets in 2005. He sustained several injuries that season which continued to affect his performance during his stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His injuries forced him to retire in 2006, but not before tallying up a 37-23 win-loss record, 69 touchdowns, and 11,844 total yards passing.
This brings us to the reliable, All-American, Dennis Durkin. Like all kickers, Durkin rarely enjoys the limelight, but if any kicker deserves it, it is Durkin. He has been credited for playing his position flawlessly. He turned out several of Dartmouth’s best years for kicking. One of these years happened to be his senior year in 1992 when he hammered out a stunning 13 out of 13 field goals. This earned him the distinction of being named First Team All-American and First Team Ivy.
Durkin still holds a number of records to this day, one of which is his being the third-best all-time leading scorer in the history of Dartmouth College. His reliability as a kicker was a key ingredient in the consecutive Ivy League Championship wins for Dartmouth College between 1991 and 1992.
He went on to enjoy a noteworthy business career, helping to scale up the international digital entertainment companies Activision, Blizzard, and Microsoft. He has also held a seat on the board of directors at On Running. His MBA from Harvard was surely an important part of his qualifications for these positions.
But Dartmouth College is well known for its high-quality undergraduate education standards, giving its athletes of all calibers something reliable to fall back on at the end of their careers. Like its great kickers such as Durkin, Dartmouth continues to be heavily underrated for its truly noteworthy contribution to college-level and professional sports.
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