Dartmouth University is not only an acclaimed private university, but the 235-year-old institution is also known for excellence in NCAA sports. Many of the Big Green’s oldest traditions are steeped in football, and it is in football that some of Dartmouth’s student-athletes have found success. Both club sports and team sports are considered an intricate part of the Dartmouth experience
The academically intense school is also renowned for its excellence in community service. As a matter of fact, in 1980, the Dartmouth Board of Trustees endorsed the following “Principle of Community” for Dartmouth College: The life and work of a Dartmouth student should be based on integrity, responsibility, and consideration.
Continue reading to discover how some of the university’s football greats, such as Dennis Durkin and Reggie Williams, have not only been constant and reliable athletes on the football field but have also made a difference off the field and in the community.
Defensive Back Murray Bowden
Not only did Murray Bowden graduate cum laude from Dartmouth College he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 with many notable individual achievements on the field. As co-captain of the undefeated Ivy League champions in 1970, it was Murray Bowden who helped the team win the Lambert Trophy as the East’s outstanding team.
Mr. Bowden went on to have business success when, in 1984, he co-founded The Hanover Company, a private real estate development company based in Houston. But, his unwavering service to the football community did not go unnoticed. In 2018, he was awarded the NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award for unwavering advocacy in bringing the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta.
Dartmouth’s Best Kicker, Dennis Durkin
Dennis Durkin is responsible for some of Dartmouth’s best years of points earned on field goals. As a matter of fact, in Mr. Durkin’s senior year, he was 13 for 13 and was named First Team All Ivy and First Team AP All American. But, the accolades don’t stop here. Dennis Durkin still holds many career and season kicking records, and is still the third all-time leading scorer in Dartmouth history.
After receiving his MBA from Harvard, Dennis Durkin pursued a successful career in business at Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, where he has helped many companies grow their digital entertainment business operations. Dennis Durkin continues to be a humanitarian and community supporter for college football teams.
An All-Time Receiving Leader Casey Cramer
Today, Casey Cramer is the pastor of children and families at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN, after serving as chaplain of the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans. But, it was his rigorous academic studies at Dartmouth that prepared him for the mental demands of being an NFL player. Drafted into the NFL by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, the All-America and All-Ivy tight end became one of Dartmouth’s all-time receiving leaders from 2000-03.
Today, Pastor Cramer combines faith and football and “thoroughly enjoys pouring into the lives of NFL players, coaches, and their families, and helping them see the hope that I so desperately needed as well.”
Dartmouth is known for developing extraordinary intellectual talent, but the university has also produced some of the best football on and off the field.
