Adjacent to the title page of THE ANCIENT EIGHT is a page-long list of John Feinstein’s remarkable sports books, which focus on golf, basketball, football, tennis and baseball. Having read many of his works, it is safe to say that he often covers subjects that roam somewhat off the traditional path of the sports world.

This time, Feinstein has chosen college football’s Ivy League, an elite football conference of eight Eastern schools that includes some of America’s most prestigious learning institutions. While Ivy League football traces back more than 150 years, that storied history is not what this book is about. Instead, Feinstein visits the contemporary Ivy League, where we meet coaches, players and other participants.

"These players and coaches exhibit a purity and unique appreciation for the game that is sometimes lacking in the world of major college athletics. It is captured beautifully in THE ANCIENT EIGHT, and football fans will enjoy this engaging account."

While many sports fans might believe that the Ivy League is the minor league of college football, Feinstein informs us that NFL teams often have players from these schools on their rosters. NFL scouts value these athletes for their skill and ability on the football field, as well as their achievements in meeting high academic standards.

The eight schools of the Ivy League comprise a group of teams playing a unique college football season. While many conferences are expanding and now playing 12-game schedules, plus a conference championship and a bowl game, the Ivy League has a 10-game schedule that includes seven league games. The entire season is played in 10 weeks, and there are no bye weeks. There are also no postseason games, although the conference announced just recently that it would consider a proposal that would allow its teams to compete in the FCS playoffs, an NCAA division for smaller football programs.

Feinstein begins the story of the 2023 Ivy League football season by introducing us to coaches Sammy McCorkle of Dartmouth and Tim Murphy of Yale. Coaches in the Ivy League do not have the notoriety of their fellow coaches from major schools who earn multi-million-dollar salaries and appear in television commercials. They are rarely mentioned in the sports pages unless a tragedy strikes or before the traditional final game of the season between Harvard and Yale. We meet McCorkle and Murphy as they face an automobile accident involving Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens, which will have a substantial impact on the season.

THE ANCIENT EIGHT progresses through the season, and we become acquainted with coaches and players from Harvard, Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Princeton and Cornell. Each school has a story to tell regarding their history in Ivy League football, and players from each squad explain what football life in the conference is like. Feinstein also talks about many individual games as the teams battle through the season, which he recounts in dramatic fashion. Though games are played in front of small crowds and in smaller venues, the accounts are still suspenseful as they often come down to last-second plays.

John Feinstein has the wonderful ability to provide the human detail of athletic endeavor. These players and coaches exhibit a purity and unique appreciation for the game that is sometimes lacking in the world of major college athletics. It is captured beautifully in THE ANCIENT EIGHT, and football fans will enjoy this engaging account.