Sammy McCorkle to Lead Dartmouth Football Through 2023 Season

HANOVER, N.H. — Mike Harrity, the Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation at Dartmouth College, today announced that acting head football coach Sammy McCorkle will serve as the interim head coach for the 2023 season while Buddy Teevens, the Robert L. Blackman Head Coach, continues his recovery from injuries he suffered in a bicycle accident on March 16.

McCorkle was originally elevated from his position as associate head coach to acting head coach on April 4 to lead the football team through spring practice, which concluded on Saturday, May 6, with the annual Green-White scrimmage.

"Sammy has done a remarkable job leading the team during this challenging time," Harrity said. "He has kept everyone within the program focused and purposeful as we prepare to compete for another Ivy League title this fall and make Buddy proud."

"As Buddy continues to focus on his recovery, he has complete confidence in Coach McCorkle and his staff leading the program for the 2023 season ahead," said Teevens' wife, Kirsten. "Buddy and I are both proud of the captains [Quinten Arello, Macklin Ayers, Nick Howard and Tevita Moimoi announced after the Green-White scrimmage] selected by their peers and always cheering all the players from afar while missing our Dartmouth Football family every single day."

In his 18 years coaching under Teevens, McCorkle has coached the defensive secondary as well as special teams and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the start of the 2014 season. A total of 26 of his players in the defensive backfield have earned All-Ivy honors a total of 39 times, including a spot on the first team on a dozen instances. That total does not include the four players to earn All-Ivy honors as return specialists five times.

Two of his players have earned All-America honors as well, most recently cornerback Isiah Swann '20, a consensus first-team pick in 2018 when he led the nation in interceptions and on the first team again the following year. Shawn Abuhoff '12 also was named a first-team All-American as a return specialist in 2010 by the Sports Network after returning three punts for touchdowns that season.

McCorkle's defensive secondary unit has played a big role in the three Ivy League titles won by the Big Green since 2015. The 2021 team was fourth in the nation in passing yards allowed, and in 2019, the defense had four pick-sixes among five defensive scores, fourth among FCS programs. In both campaigns, the Dartmouth defense ranked in the top three nationally as well. And in 2015, the Big Green were ninth in the country in passes intercepted while leading the nation in scoring defense.

Prior to Dartmouth, McCorkle spent two seasons as the head coach at Martin County High in Stuart, Florida, following a three-year stint as an assistant coach at UT-Martin. He began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Florida, where he was a standout defensive back. McCorkle played on four SEC championship teams, competed in four bowl games (Gator, Sugar twice and Fiesta) and a national title game, and graduated in 1996 with Florida's single-season and career records for blocked punts. He was named Florida's special teams player of the year two times.

"I appreciate the confidence and the support from Mike and the Senior Administration," McCorkle said. "At the start of the spring, I made a promise to Coach T and Kirsten that I would give 100 percent every single day to this football program. I am extremely proud of the effort and commitment our staff and players have made these past two months and our expectation is for that to continue. I am honored to lead this team as we move forward preparing for the 2023 season."

Dartmouth will kick off its 2023 campaign at New Hampshire for the Granite Bowl, the showdown between the state's two Division I schools, on Saturday, Sept. 16. The home opener will be played the following week with Lehigh coming to Memorial Field on Sept. 23.

FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2023 season are still available at early-bird pricing through the end of the day on Monday, May 15.

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