The Ivy League football teams will send an all-star squad to Japan to face off against a Japanese football team in the Dream Japan Bowl on Saturday, according to an announcement posted on the Ivy League team’s website.
The teams will face off for the second year, with the Ivy League narrowly defeating team Japan 24-20 in last year’s contest, per the announcement.
The game will take place in Japan‘s $1.4 billion National Stadium, which hosted the 2020 Summer Olympics’ opening ceremonies. The three-story venue seats 68,000 fans and is used for soccer, rugby and track and field events, per the announcement.
The Ivy League team is comprised of some of the best players from Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Penn and other Ivy League schools. They will be coached by Brown’s head coach James Perry and the rest of his staff, according to the college’s website.
PUTTING IN THE WORK.
The Ivy League squad has ✔️arrived and ✔️acclimated in Japan. Preparations began earlier today with the team’s first practice of the trip ahead of its game vs. a Japanese all-star team from @xl1996 in Tokyo later this week. 🌿🏈 pic.twitter.com/By1LVYrHTH
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) January 15, 2024
The 52-man roster is made up of seniors, grad students, and recently graduated former players from seven of the Ivy League’s eight schools. Yale has no players listed on the roster. The Daily Caller reached out to Yale for comment on why but has yet to hear back at the time of publishing.
Some notable members of the team include Dartmouth lineman Nicholas Schwitzgebel and Penn lineman Jake Ligos, both of whom made 2023’s First Team All-Ivy. The team also includes Penn defensive lineman Micah Morris, Cornell receiver Nicholas Laboy and Cornell kicker/punter Jackson Kennedy, all of whom made the second team.
The pair of quarterbacks who made the long trip are Columbia QB Joe Green and Dartmouth QB Nick Howard. (RELATED: Grab Your Pitchforks, NFL Fans: The Ratings Are In For NFL’s Streamed Playoff Game And We’re All Doomed)
The players arrived in Tokyo on Sunday and, aside from practicing and preparing for the game, will also attend a number of sightseeing and cultural events. The players have already visited the U.S. embassy and the historical city of Kamakura, which was Japan’s political center from 1185 to 1333 A.D., per the Ivy League website.
VISITING KAMAKURA.
Following their first practice, the Ivy delegation toured the historical city of Kamakura. The coastal city was Japan’s political center during the Kamakura Period from 1185-1333. 🌿🏈 pic.twitter.com/Hnam92VjSj
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) January 15, 2024
The game will be available on ESPN+ in a delayed broadcast on Jan. 24, four days after the game takes place, according to Ivy League’s Twitter.