Too much turnover

I came across an uncharacteristically great story in The Dartmouth yesterday about a rash of players independently quitting the school's baseball program.

Ignoring the coach's guess that players quitting Ivy League sports programs is a new phenomenon, the scariest thing I took away from the article was that programs can often be set back by quittings even if the team is successful on the field, and even if the coach has been around forever. Turnover in the ranks isn't an issue confined to programs in a rut, or even programs with new staffs.

The Penn coaching ranks are currently filled with newbies: in baseball, gymnastics, men's and women's rowing and, of course, basketball.

An obvious thing to watch over the next few years is not just how well these teams perform, but how well the programs can retain athletes.

But no one should give the veterans a pass either. For example, Penn's coaches for soccer, football, and many Olympic sports -- many of those that are entrenched in the school -- need to be held to the same standard as anyone else.

With Ivy teams falling behind in certain sports, the last thing schools needs in any sport is an exodus like the one in Hanover.