But he has no regrets about taking a longshot at the NFL. "It was a big thrill being with such a professional organization and program. I enjoyed working with the athletes, and I learned a lot about the Patriot offensive system."

Was it tough to get accustomed to New England's sophisticated pro system? "Naw, their offense was actually a lot easier than Harvard's."

Buckley's primary blocker last season, big Mike Durgin, was an early cut of the Houston Oilers. Other Ivy football players, however, have fared surprisingly well recently in their trips through the NFL meat grinder.

Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Nick Lowery, a Dartmouth grad, is now widely considered among the most reliable point producers in the league. Two other familiar Big Green names--Jeff Kemp (son of Republican congressman and former Buffalo Bill quarterback Jack Kemp) and Dave Shula--who last season helped wreck Harvard have gained spots on NFL rosters.

Kemp, a quarterback like his budget-balancing, tax-cutting daddy, has caught on with the Los Angeles Rams. He ran into a good deal of luck, as the Rams' quarterbacking ranks were depleted by Vince Ferragamo's defection to Montreal, Bob Lee's tender throwing arm and 'Bama grad Jeff Rutledge's leg injury.

Several pro scouts rated Buckley's potential higher than Kemp's when the two guided their respective Ivy squads last fall. Ironically, the Pats helped Kemp's cause by inflicting the injury on Rutledge in the first pre-season match-up.

Shula, son of Miami Dolphin coaching genius Don Shula, has made the Baltimore Colts as a punt returner and substitute receiver. Shula is noted for his excellent hands and precise pass routes, but is small and slow by NFL standards. How long he manages to stick with the Colts, who were coached into the Super Bowl by his papa, remains to be seen.

The Chicago Bears are probably the strongest beneficiaries of astute Ivy League scouting. Harvard's Danny Jiggets '76 plays offensive guard, and although he no longer gets much action, he has helped spring Walter Payton to many long gains in his career. Yale grad Gary Fencik, a safety with the Bears, is being heralded as one of the hardest-hitting and most effective defensive backs in the NFL.

And there is the usual smattering of Ivy Leaguers hanging on as backups, floating from team to team in an effort to attain the national stature that doesn't accompany Ivy glory. Harvard's Pat McInally '75, punter and substitute receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, offers a good example of a superb Ivy athlete who has never achieved proportionate prominence in pro ball, but nonetheless manages to make a living in a highly competitive business

Another player who has ties to the Ivy League even though he went to Notre Dame was a late cut of the Cleveland Browns. Joseph Restic Jr., punter and defensive back, headeo back to dental school at Penn.