Next fall, for the first time ever, the Ivy League will be able to compete in Division I playoffs in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), the second-highest level of college football. “This was something that, as a player, I wanted since the early 1990s,” says Head Coach James Perry ’00.
“It was a little ridiculous that [Ivy League football teams] weren’t allowed to be in the playoffs in the first place,” says former Bears wide receiver Mark Mahoney ’24. Phil Lynch ’20, who played offensive line, right tackle, admitted that he didn’t think the move would ever happen: “Harvard and Yale have such a big say with what goes on in the Ivy League, and they try to keep that Harvard-Yale game as the big event every year.”
The decision comes after a long, student-driven process headed by the Ivy League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (ISAAC), and a vote by the Ivy League presidents. “Not a lot of people know what went behind this,” says Wes Rockett ’24. “Representatives from other sports at Brown were on these committees fighting for us. At the end of the day that builds a community, the Brown sports community.”
The initiative was led by Leah Carey ’25, the Division I SAAC representative, representing the Ivy League to the NCAA. After initially bringing up the idea in the summer of 2023, Carey partnered with Yale student Mason Shipp to write the proposal and organized a group of Ivy League football players to gauge interest. While people were mostly excited about the prospective move, she says, some Ivy League administrators had concerns about postseason games overlapping with final exams. Carey says her mission, and that of her student collaborators, was to emphasize that Brown student-athletes “came here for an amazing academic experience, but also to play at the highest level of athletics.”
Carey believes it was helpful that the proposal went through two legislative cycles—it was tabled in Spring 2024, but taken up again and passed in December 2024. “We had amazing support from commissioner Robin Harris and Alec Dominguez.”
Perry says he “thought it was awesome that it was led by the students.” A former player and head coach since 2018, Perry notes that the Ivy League season ending after the regular ten games “was always kind of a frustration.”
In the words of Assistant Head Coach Willie Edwards, the decision was “a long time coming.” When the news broke of the decision, “It took all of two minutes for it to spread around the locker room,” says Perry, who had “anticipated that they’d be excited, but [was] surprised at how excited they were.”
Perry says they’ve already seen the decision have an impact on recruitment. “It is something that is important to these recruits.” But defensive back Noble Cooper ’25 doesn’t see it having much effect on the team’s play: “The goal has always been to win games and nothing will change about that,” says Cooper. Former Bears offensive lineman Jack Connolly ’25 emphasized this point, saying that “The way Coach Perry has built our team, it’s one game at a time, and I think they’re going to go into every game hungry for that win.”
Recent graduates were deeply excited for their younger teammates. “Having the chance to compete for a national title is obviously a huge honor but also a privilege,” says Rockett. Connolly expressed a similar sentiment: “The League itself is such an awesome accomplishment, but to be able to go out and compete against some of the best in the FCS, I think that’s an awesome opportunity.”
As excited as they are for the incoming classes, some alumni are disappointed to have missed the opportunity to play for a national title. “It definitely stings,” said Isaiah Reed ’25, defensive back. “I would’ve loved the opportunity to play against the big FCS top dogs.” Connolly agreed, adding “but I’m happy that the younger guys I have played with are gonna get the opportunity to do that, and some of these awesome recruits are gonna have the opportunity to showcase their skills at a high level.”
