The Ancient Eight

College Football's Ivy League and the Game They Play Today

By: John Feinstein

Narrated by: John Feinstein

From an award-winning, bestselling author, a year inside Ivy League Football, unveiling the heart and soul of college football’s oldest teams as they compete amidst a rapidly changing collegiate sports world.

The history of the Ivy League dates back to 1869 when Princeton played the first college football game against Rutgers. The Ancient Eight explores Ivy League football today. To play in the NFL, one must maintain the highest academic standards and be a great football player. The rivalries are as intense, as are the strict rules–but there is also a genuine purity n the Ivy League.

Through intimate interviews with players, coaches, and key figures, Feinstein uncovers the unique culture that defines football on the Ivy League gridiron, offering unparalleled access to the remarkable coaching staffs and student-athletes who balance their academic ambitions with their passion for the game.

On the field, inside the locker room, and around campus, The Ancient Eight reveals the phenomenal stories of the young men who play in today’s Ivy League and those who coach them.

Not bad, but not as engrossing as most of Feinstein's books

Told a good story about some interesting people, but didn't seem to plunge to the depths of storytelling of most Feinstein books. Repeats himself a LOT. Not nearly as compelling as what I'm used to from this outstanding author.

Interesting read for football purists

As a Yale grad who played on an intramural tackle football team and had several roommates and friends who played varsity football and other sports, I enjoyed reading about the Ivy League I remember - one of the few remaining college conferences that still values excellence in sports, but as just one part of a multidimensional college experience. The book also excelled at sharing the familial bond between coaches, players, and their college communities, especially the back story of Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens’ and Harvard coach Tim Murphy’s lifetime friendship. However, the book read more like a series of standalone articles about each week’s games and each school’s personalities stitched together and stretched out through constant repetition of the same facts and themes and distracting details that embellished but did not add value to the book. Not on the same level of literary journalism as “A Good Walk Spoiled.”

Great stories

Too much repetition. The stories of the 2023 season are very interesting. The problem with this book is the author repeats some of the vignettes 2, 3 or 4 times. The stories also need far more back stories than are exposed. The book reads more like a post game run down rather than a book about Ivy League football.