The faster alternative. Sprint football isn’t an NCAA-sponsored sport, but it’s still extremely cool. Sprint football, which uses the same rules as regular football, requires that no player weigh more than 172 pounds. The sport was developed in 1934 and is generally regarded for its fast-paced action. Currently there are five teams in the Collegiate Sprint Football League – Army, Navy, Cornell, Princeton and Pennsylvania. Now it looks like a sixth team will join the league, as Mansfield announced it will begin sponsoring sprint football in 2008. The Division II university discontinued its varsity football program in 2006 due to a large projected financial loss, but administrators have determined that sprint football offers an affordable alternative for the campus community. Mansfield all-time wins leader Tom Elsasser will come back to the university as director of football operations.

Intelligence on the mats. Ohio State’s men’s gymnastics program won its third straight Big Ten championship title last spring, marking the fifth time in seven years the Buckeyes have gotten it done on the mats. More importantly, Ohio State’s gymnasts are excelling in the classroom as well, as the team was honored as the 2007 National Academic Team Champion for its cumulative GPA of 3.4. Seven Buckeye gymnasts secured GPAs of 3.5 or higher and were named College Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athletes - Jake Bateman, Tony Duong, Kristopher Kline, Mike Marino, Andy Saurber, Shachar Tal and Jimmy Wickham. Fans came out in droves to support the Buckeyes at the award ceremony this week, and the Buckeyes responded with an autograph session afterwards.

Tourney time! The Division III field hockey and men’s soccer tournaments begin this afternoon. Trinity (Texas) headlines the men’s soccer bracket with a perfect 18-0-0 record and the support of a campus still fired up over the football team’s 15-lateral play. Defending field hockey champ Ursinus received a bye to the second round and could face undefeated Bowdoin in the national semifinals. It’s tourney time, baby!