Ivy League Has No Concussion Rule

An Ivy League rule prohibiting athletes from competing within 10 days of suffering a concussion--referred to by the announcers covering the Public Broadcasting System's "Ivy League Game of the Week" last Saturday--apparently does not exist, according to league sources.

Such a rule, mentioned extensively by PBS announcers Dick Galliete and Upton Bell during the broadcast of Harvard's 24-10 win over Brown, would have prohibited Harvard running backs Mark Vignali and George Sorbara from competing in this weekend's pivotal contest against Penn.

Vignali, the league's second leading rusher, and Sorbara, the Crimson's starting wingback, both received mild concussions on consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's game.

But aides to James Litvack, the executive director of the Ivy League, as well as Harvard Athletic Director Jack Reardon, explicitly denied the existence of any medical rule that might prohibit the two Crimson runners from appearing in this weekend's Ivy championship showdown at Penn.