CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Football's Cooper Barkate and Ty Bartrum have been named 2024 Bushnell Cup finalists, which honors the Ivy League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, the conference office announced today. The Crimson is the only Ivy school with two finalists.
 
For the 14^th straight year, the Ivy League and the National Football Foundation (NFF) are partnering to co-host the presentation of the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honors the Ivy Football Players of the Year. The midday ceremony, presented by Bruin Capital, is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 16, in New York City in the iconic Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. College GameDay host, and longtime ESPN on-air personality Rece Davis, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
 
A native of Newport Beach, California, Barkate was one of the top receivers in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The first-team All-Ivy League selection finished the regular season ranked second nationally in receiving yards per game (108.4), sixth in receiving TDs (11), seventh in receiving yards (1,084), 10^th in receptions per game (6.3), 32^nd in yards per reception (17.21), 33^rd in all-purpose yards (109.00), 36^th in total touchdowns (11) and 58^th in scoring (6.6). When accounting for the Ivy League's delayed start compared to the rest of the FCS, Barkate's numbers were even more elite nationally. From the Crimson's first game on Sept. 21, Barkate finished first in among all FCS players in receiving yards, tied for first in receiving TDs, third in receiving yards per game, eighth in receptions, tied for 17^th in total TDs, 30^th in yards per reception, and tied for 41^st in scoring.
 
Barkate's 2024 campaign was also one of the best in Crimson single-season history as he threatened to break numerous single-season categories only to fall short to Carl Morris '03. The junior finished second to Morris in receiving touchdowns (12 in 2001) and receiving yards (1,288 in 2002), and third in receptions behind Morris' 90-catch season in 2002 and his 71-reception effort in 2001.
 
Bartrum for the second straight season, meanwhile, led the Crimson on defense en route to All-Ivy First-Team accolades. The junior, who was elected Harvard team captain for the 2025 campaign, posted the most tackles (solo, assisted, total) on the team (83), a figure that ranked third in the Ivy and 40^th nationally at the end of the regular season. Bartrum also posted third-most tackles for loss and pass breakups among his teammates, and the fifth-most sacks.
 
Feared on a weekly basis, Bartrum recorded at least eight tackles on six different occasions and had two double-digit tackle performances, including a 16-stop afternoon in the Crimson's win at previously undefeated and nationally ranked Dartmouth, while playing with a club on his hand. Two weeks earlier, he had 13 tackles vs. in-state foe Holy Cross to go with an 88-yard fumble return for a TD.
 
Barkate and Bartrum are looking to become the 13^th and 14^th Harvard players to earn top Ivy League honors, and the first since Truman Jones '23 in 2022. The defensive lineman and future Super Bowl champion was the just fourth Crimson defensive player to be honored. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Scott Hosch '16 was the last Harvard recipient, capturing the award in 2015. Hosch was the eighth offensive player in program history to earn the award.
 
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). In 2011, the Ivy League began recognizing both an offensive and a defensive player of the year. Beginning with the 2010 season, the Ivy League and the NFF have partnered at the end of the season to present the award. 
 
Harvard finished the 2024 campaign with an 8-2 record (5-2 Ivy) and was the first team to clinch at least a share of the conference title before Dartmouth and Columbia earned a piece of the crown. The Crimson, which posted an 8-win campaign for the third time in the last four years, ended the regular season ranked No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll after rising to as high as No. 17. Harvard now has 19 Ivy League titles to its credit after winning back-to-back championships.

2024 Asa S. Bushnell Cup Finalists

Offensive Player of the Year

Cooper Barkate, WR, Harvard
Malachi Hosley, RB, Penn
Jameson Wang, QB, Cornell

Defensive Player of the Year

Ejike Adele, DL, Dartmouth
Ty Bartrum, DB, Harvard
Hayden McDonald, DB, Columbia