Dartmouth Sending Four to Japan-U.S. Dream Bowl

HANOVER, N.H. — The Ivy League roster for the Japan-U.S. Dream Bowl in Tokyo was announced Wednesday afternoon with four former Dartmouth football players joining the U.S. team for the cultural event — defensive lineman Luca Di Leo, offensive linemen Michael Flores and Jake Guidone, and tight end Joe Kramer.

Di Leo, a fifth-year senior from Elmhurst, Illinois, played in 23 games in his Big Green career, making 37 tackles. His final campaign in the Green and White was cut short due to an injury suffered in the Granite Bowl against New Hampshire in the fifth game of the season.

Flores was the third brother in his family to suit up for Dartmouth (and fourth to play in the Ivy League). A native of Arlington, Texas, the senior started all 10 games this past fall at left guard and seven more as a junior in the fall of 2021.

The other offensive lineman, Guidone, finished his Big Green career in 2021 and was not only a two-time All-Ivy League selection, receiving honorable mention as a tight end in 2019 and first-team honors as a fifth-year senior two years later, but also an Associated Press Third Team All-American in 2021 as well. As a graduate transfer this past fall, the East Walpole, Massachusetts, native served as the center for UConn, helping the Huskies earn a bid to the Myrtle Beach Bowl, their first bowl game in seven years.

Kramer, out of Westwood, New Jersey, played in 24 games in a Dartmouth uniform, catching 21 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in his career. In his final season last fall, the fifth-year senior hauled in 10 passes for 108 yards, including a career-long 27-yard reception in the season finale against Brown.

The U.S. roster consists of seniors and graduate student-athletes from all eight Ivy programs. The group comprises of 22 players that earned All-Ivy honors throughout their careers. The team will be led by Columbia head coach Al Bagnoli and the Lions' coaching staff.

The game will be held on January 21 at 11 p.m. EST in the United States (Sunday, January 22 at 1 p.m. JST locally) at the newly-built National Stadium, site of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The event will be broadcast live in Japan.

The Ivy League delegation will arrive in Tokyo on January 15 and balance its time between preparation for the game along with several Japanese cultural and educational events, including a planned visit to the U.S. Embassy, interaction with Ivy League alumni, discussions with Japanese students and social exchanges with the Japanese team. The league's group will be joined by two professors from Ivy League institutions to further the educational experience of the travel party.

Schedules