NEW YORK -- Dartmouth senior linebacker Folarin Orimolade and Princeton junior running back John Lovett were unveiled as the Ivy League’s 2016 Football Players of the Year and Asa S. Bushnell Cup recipients in front of a capacity crowd at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Orimolade was named Defensive Player of the Year and Lovett received Offensive Player of Year before a live audience on The Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN) at a special press conference and reception co-hosted by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

Orimolade is the first-ever Dartmouth defensive player to receive the Bushnell Cup, and the first Big Green to be named Player of the Year since Nick Schwieger in 2010. Orimolade is Dartmouth’s seventh overall Bushnell Cup recipient; that group includes his head coach Buddy Teevens (1978).

Orimolade is the sixth Bushnell Cup winner to come from a team that finished in the bottom half of the League standings, joining Cornell’s Jeff Mathews (2011), Dartmouth’s Schwieger (2010), Cornell’s Derrick Harmon (1983), Columbia’s John Witkowski (1982) and Doug Jackson (1975) and Princeton’s Walt Snickenberger (1974).

Orimolade led the nation with 5.0 forced fumbles and ranked 16th with 9.0 sacks, while leading the Ivy League in both categories. He finished second in the League in tackles for a loss (14.5) and fifth in tackles (83), taking home two Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. He recorded two sacks in a single contest three separate times this season and for his efforts received his second-straight first-team All-Ivy honor after a vote by the League’s eight coaches.

Lovett is the second Tiger to be named Offensive Player of the Year since the League began honoring both Offensive and Defensive recipients in 2011, joining Quinn Epperly (2013). Overall, Lovett is the 10^th Tiger to be receive the Bushnell Cup and the first since Mike Zeuli shared Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2014.

Lovett is the fourth Princeton player to earn the Bushnell Cup over the past five years, following Mike Catapano (2012), Epperly (2013) and Zeuli (2014). Lovett is the sixth player to receive the Bushnell Cup prior to his senior year over the last 10 seasons, joining Princeton’s Epperly and Harvard’s Zack Hodges (2013), Cornell’s Mathews (2011), Dartmouth’s Schweiger (2010) and Yale’s Mike McLeod (2007).

Lovett played running back, quarterback and even wide receiver for the Tigers. He ran the ball 98 times for 411 yards and a Princeton program record 20 touchdowns, which led the FCS. He became the sixth Ivy to rush for at least 20 touchdowns in a single season and the first since 2014 Bushnell Cup Winner Tyler Varga of Yale.

Lovett also completed 51 passes in 77 attempts for 582 yards and 10 touchdowns, while catching 26 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown. In total, Lovett accounted for 31 touchdowns this season, including a Princeton record seven in the Tigers’ win over Cornell in which he recorded four rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Lovett leads the nation not only in rushing touchdowns but also scoring, and he ranks in the top 10 in the Ivy League in rushing yards, yards per game and yards per carry.

Orimolade and Lovett were selected as Bushnell Cup finalists, along with Princeton junior defensive lineman Kurt Holuba Dartmouth and Penn junior wide receiver Justin Watson, in a vote by the League’s eight head coaches.

ASA S. BUSHNELL CUP HISTORY
Presented annually since 1970, The Asa S. Bushnell Cup honors its namesake, a 1921 Princeton alumnus and the commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference from 1938 to 1970. The Bushnell Cup is awarded by a vote of the Ivy League's eight head football coaches to 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). Beginning with the 2010 season, the award was presented as a part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner with four finalists named a week prior to the presentation. In 2011, the Ivy League began recognizing both an Offensive Player of the Year and a Defensive Player of the Year.