1997 Dartmouth Big Green football team

1997 Dartmouth Big Green football
ConferenceIvy League
Record8–2 (6–1 Ivy)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRoger Hughes (6th season)
Defensive coordinatorTom Gilmore (1st season)
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Field
1997 Ivy League football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Harvard $   7 0     9 1  
Dartmouth   6 1     8 2  
Brown   4 3     7 3  
Cornell   4 3     6 4  
Princeton   3 4     6 4  
Columbia   3 4     4 6  
Yale   1 6     2 8  
Penn *   0 7     1 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * Standings reflect Penn's forfeit of five conference wins due to use of an ineligible player

The 1997 Dartmouth Big Green football team was an American football team that represented Dartmouth College during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Dartmouth finished second in the Ivy League.

In their sixth season under head coach John Lyons, the Big Green compiled an 8–2 record and outscored opponents 208 to 165. William Harper, Lloyd Lee and Zachary Walz were the team captains.

Walz, a junior linebacker, earned his third consecutive unanimous First-Time All-Ivy selection. The Arizona Cardinals subsequently selected Walz in the 6th Round (158th overall) of the 1998 NFL draft, making him Dartmouth's first NFL Draft pick since 1978. Walz went on to log more than 100 tackles in four seasons with Arizona, where he was roommates with safety Pat Tillman, whom he had played against in high school in northern California.

The Big Green's 6–1 conference record placed second in the Ivy League standings. Dartmouth outscored Ivy opponents 116 to 103.

Dartmouth played its home games at Memorial Field on the college campus in Hanover, New Hampshire.