Our loyal readers have shown a great passion for Penn Athletics marketing initiatives, weighing in with (mostly insightful) comments and suggestions on this blog and on the DP' website.

So I thought I would point you to today's editorial, which focuses on the Red and Blue Crew's reorganization efforts. (Note that the editorial represents the opinion of the DP, as determined by a majority of the Opinion Board. The organization maintains a clear separation between reporting and commentary; no sports editors or sports reporters currently sit on the nine-person Opinion Board).

The DP''s bottom line: "[W]e're happy to see that the Athletic Department is investing more heavily in the Red and Blue crew, giving the loose-limbed organization more structure. ... We question, however, whether or not they can accomplish their goals on the low budget of $500 a year."

1) Tomorrow's big game is approaching as the the W. Lax team heads to Towson, Md., for the Final Four contest against Northwestern (much more on The Buzz tomorrow). Here's the last interview with some Quakers before they left West Philadelphia.

2) Today Penn Athletics formally announced the incoming football freshmen class. Perhaps the highlight of the 34-person class is quarterback Billy Ragone (Chesire, Conn.), who was a 2008 Wendy's Heisman nominee and Connecticut State Player of the Year, as voted by some publications.

3) Here's an interesting look at the commercialization of college sports. It's not specifically relevant to Penn (the Ivy League is the conference the least worried about increasing its profits, in my opinion), but it's a compelling look at the NCAA as a whole. However, you need an account with The Chronicle of Higher Education to read the article, so I'll paste the full text after the jump.

(more...)