The Ivy League announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to host the men’s and women’s postseason basketball tournaments at the PPL Center in Allentown, Penn. for three years starting with the 2027-28 season.
Off the Bench: Dutch Dowdell of Harvard men’s basketball
Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
Basketball has taken Dutch Dowdell ’29 around the world, introduced him to inspirational leaders from every sector, and taught him unforgettable life lessons. Dowdell spoke to IHO as his junior year at Harvard was beginning:
Off the Bench: Hilke Feldrappe of Columbia women’s basketball
Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
From Berlin to Columbia, Missouri and now at Columbia and Barnard in the Big Apple, Hilke Feldrappe ’27 considers herself very lucky to have generally found what she was looking for. As her senior year is set in motion, she’s dreaming big about basketball, architecture and sustainability — and whatever will come next.
Q&A with Yale women’s basketball coach Dalila Eshe
Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with fifth-year Yale women’s basketball coach Dalila Eshe on a wide range of topics:
Ivy Hoops Online: Can you give us a preview of your out-of-conference scheduling and some insight into your scheduling philosophy?
Dalila Eshe: My philosophy around nonconference scheduling has evolved over the last few years. We always want to challenge our team, but we also have to balance several important factors. We try to give our players an opportunity to play close to home at some point during their four years, and we’re mindful of the academic calendar – particularly when they have to manage midterms or other demanding course work. We always prioritize regional games during the week whenever possible to minimize missed class time and travel demands. Ultimately, the goal is to build a balanced schedule that challenges our players appropriately, prepares us for Ivy League play and supports their overall experience as student-athletes.
Off the Bench: N’famara Dabo of Brown men’s basketball
Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
N’famara Dabo ’27 loves asking himself big questions. His curiosity extends from the classroom to his reading list, and to finding his place far from home. He spoke to us on the verge of a senior year he intends to fill with learning, winning and the best of the Providence dining scene.
Off the Bench: Clarke Jackson of Cornell women’s basketball
This summer, Clarke Jackson is getting a glimpse at her future.
Off the Bench: Shanon Simango of Dartmouth men’s basketball
Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
Shanon Simango ’28 is next in our series. Simango has traveled from a small, close-knit family in Maputo, Mozambique to the Blue Ridge School, and now to Hanover. Basketball and education have given him an extended family that keeps expanding. Now the rising junior is paying it forward, and winning much more than games as his story unfolds.
Shanon Simango and his mother Martha Monjane (left) with him at an October 2023 recruiting visit in front of Dartmouth Hall. (photo courtesy of Shanon Simango)
Princeton women’s basketball faces national champion UCLA in challenging 2026-27 schedule
Princeton women’s basketball has released its schedule for the upcoming 2026-27 season, and once again, the Tigers have chosen to run a daunting gauntlet.
Of Princeton’s 29 regular-season games, 16 will come against programs that earned bids to postseason tournaments last March, including the team that won it all at the Big Dance, the UCLA Bruins.
“Our 2026-27 schedule reflects the championship mentality of this program,” newly installed head coach Lauren Gosselin said in a statement released by Princeton Wednesday. “Our non-conference schedule will test us immediately against some of the most successful programs in the country and prepare us to defend our Ivy League Championship while building a resume worthy of postseason competition.”
Gosselin will make her debut as Princeton’s 11th head coach on Nov. 2 when the Tigers open the season against Belmont at Jadwin Gymnasium in a return matchup from a season ago. The Tigers prevailed over the Bruins last year in Nashville, 70-58, in the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Off the Bench: Radhika Garapaty of Yale women’s basketball
Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.
Radhika Garapaty ’29 takes center court in our next installment in the series. After nearly a full year away from basketball due to injury, the rising Yale women’s basketball sophomore has found inspiring answers to the hardest question an athlete has to answer: Who am I without the game? And as she finds her way back into the lineup at Payne Whitney Gymnasium with her teammates, she is bringing strengths she may not have known she possessed before.
Q&A with Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones
Ivy Hoops Online recently caught up with veteran Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones to discuss summer developments and the upcoming season.
Ivy Hoops Online: You obviously planned to have Isaac Celiscar and Samson Aletan on your team in ’26-27 when you recruited them a few years back. What is it like without them? (Editor’s note: Celiscar, a rising junior, signed with Baylor after a Second Team All-Ivy selection in 2025-26. Aletan signed with Providence after three years at Yale and leading the Bulldogs in blocks and field-goal percentage in 2025-26.)
James Jones: You can’t compensate for juniors and seniors. The transfer rules are different for us (Ivies). Hard to replace a junior and a senior.
IHO: Do you look at the [transfer] portal now more than previously?
JJ: Not really, because I never think that any of our guys will be leaving. It is also so hard to get a player into our school and to get one who is willing to pay to win a championship.