BOSTON — Junior Vaughn Seelicke, a member of the Tufts University football team, has witnessed the success of various sports at the prestigious college, including national championships in men’s lacrosse and women’s rowing, as well as a remarkable track record of its men’s soccer team, which has qualified for the NCAA tournament for a decade, securing the title four times. However, the Jumbos football team has never had the opportunity to compete for a national championship.
As part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), the Jumbos face a limitation that prevents them from participating in the Division III football playoffs, a unique circumstance among varsity teams at Tufts. After the Ivy League recently announced an end to its long-standing postseason football ban, players from the NESCAC are now motivated to pursue a similar change.
“The attraction of NESCAC for many athletes lies in the combination of high-level sports competition and academic excellence,” Seelicke expressed during an interview. “I aspire to excel at both higher education and athletics. If this regulation were to change, it would facilitate that opportunity.”
NESCAC is an assembly of 11 small colleges in New England, along with Hamilton College in New York, and is recognized for its esteemed academic institutions, with Williams and Amherst ranked as the top liberal arts colleges in the U.S. News and World Report. Their commitment to prioritizing academics over athletics contrasts sharply with major football programs, where the season typically extends through significant academic periods like final exams. In NESCAC, players are usually sidelined shortly after their midterms in early November.
The landscape shifted when the Ivy League announced its intention to allow teams to enter the FCS playoffs starting in 2025. Seelicke indicated that the longstanding parallels in regulations between the Ivy League and NESCAC could lead to change for his conference too. “The NESCAC has been discussing this for quite some time—especially given the Ivy League’s new approach, there’s growing support in our conference,” he stated.
Seelicke also underscored that if Ivy League institutions can manage postseason play, then so could Tufts. Citing examples like Johns Hopkins University, which reached the semifinals in the recent playoffs, he questioned the notion that academics are compromised in such circumstances.
Representing Tufts on the NESCAC Football Players Association, which includes players from each of the 10 schools with football programs, Seelicke and his peers are advocating to eliminate the postseason restrictions. They have launched an online petition that has garnered more than 3,200 signatures, aiming to put forth a proposal for discussion at the conference’s upcoming athletic directors’ meeting in April.
He mentioned that Tufts athletic director John Morris had given his support to push the proposal forward, though Morris has not publicly commented on the matter. A spokesperson for NESCAC also remained silent regarding inquiries about the initiative.
The petition highlights that participation in a national playoff would yield greater exposure for the programs, noting that the NCAA covers expenses incurred during the playoffs, ensuring no financial burden would fall upon the universities.
However, players emphasize that their primary concern is fairness, as every other sport on campus has the opportunity to compete for championships, leaving football as the lone exception. The arguments made by Ivy League coaches regarding equity echoed over the years, leading to the Ivy League’s recent decision to lift its postseason restrictions.
“The key issue is equity—being the only sport excluded from the playoffs disrupts fairness,” Seelicke pointed out.
The movement within NESCAC coincides with a broader trend in college athletics, as athletes nationwide assert greater influence within their institutions, whether through lucrative endorsement deals or collective actions, such as the efforts of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team to unionize.
Seelicke emphasized that the push for change reflects the lessons athletes have adapted from their education. “The NESCAC often emphasizes the student-athlete experience. What we’re advocating for embodies that ultimate student-athlete experience,” he remarked, expressing how his aspirations for attending Tufts align with the purpose of modifying this rule.
