Image courtesy of Dartmouth Football

The prestigious Asa S. Bushnell Cup for the Ivy League’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year was announced and presented in New York on Monday and Dartmouth brought home some more hardware.

Ejike Adele earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, beating out Columbia’s Hayden McDonald (DB) and Harvard’s Ty Bartrum (DB).

Adele is now the Big Green’s first Bushnell Cup winner since the program had back-to-back DPOY winners in 2018 (Isiah Swann) and 2019 (Jack Traynor).

Adele was a huge piece of the Dartmouth defensive puzzle that ranked seventh nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 105.7 per game. The Big Green took home a fourth Ivy League title in five years again this season, clinching a share with Harvard and Columbia. Adele led the Ivy League in TFL’s with 12 and was third in sacks with six. Adele was also tied for second on the team with 54 total tackles along with three quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.

The Asa S. Bushnell Cup has been presented annually since 1970 and honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alum and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (1938-1970). The Bushnell Cup is voted on by the Ivy League’s eight head coaches for the players who display outstanding qualities of leadership, competitive spirit, contribution to the team and accomplishments on the field. From 1970 to 2010, the Bushnell Cup recognized an Ivy League Player of the Year (or co-Players of the Year if there was a tie in voting). In 2011, the Ivy League began recognizing both an offensive and a defensive winner.

Adele is the fourth Ivy Defensive Player of the Year in Dartmouth history and just the 10th player of the year of any kind.

Needless to say, Adele’s name now becomes legendary in Hanover, New Hampshire as the program continues to thrive there first two seasons under Sammy McCorkle and the rest of the Big Green staff.