Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Back-to-back PL champs 2016 and 2017.... but need to get back to relevance in the national FCS scene.
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lfnadmin
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Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by lfnadmin » Mon Sep 13, 2021 11:42 am

This got me thinking about what a national Ivy League might look like, and perhaps an associated Patriot League. Obviously this would only happen in a radical rethink of college sports, prying teams like Vanderbilt and Stanford away from their traditional P5 conferences. This would be something along the lines of the original Ivy League agreement in the 1940s - a philosophical union of schools, but something national and including schools that weren't in the same place back in the 1940s.

Let's say for the sake of argument: no roster limits, redshirting, but all admissions go through the admissions office instead of the athletics department, with a academic "floor" under which you cannot recruit. Maybe add some small, other, cosmetic restrictions to athletic aid.

At the FBS level that could theoretically take the form of something like this:

FBS Ivy League

East
Army
Navy
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Penn
Rutgers

West
AFA
Duke
Rice
Northwestern
Tulane
Vanderbilt
Stanford

If something like the above were to happen, that could potentially make a Patriot League that looks like:

Bucknell
Brown
Colgate
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Georgetown
Fordham
Holy Cross
Lehigh
Lafayette

This group could compete under FCS - or could, theoretically, compete with the exact same new methodology as the "Ivy League" above. So: no roster limits, redshirting, but all admissions go through the admissions office instead of the athletics department, with a academic "floor" under which you cannot recruit.

If you added Villanova, Richmond, and William & Mary, that makes two divisions: For regional balance, add UNH (also UNH academically is a pretty good school):

Patriot League
North
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Colgate
Dartmouth
Fordham
Holy Cross
UNH

South
Bucknell
Lehigh
Lafayette
Villanova
Georgetown
Davidson
Richmond
William and Mary


NOTE: I am not saying this WILL happen, or is LIKELY to happen. But what we do know is that a radical rethink of college athletics, is being undertaken, and it's possibly there could be a deep philosophical division where the schools that want minor league football and the schools that actually care about graduating students might force the hands of some of these schools to at least passively contemplate joining forces.

I mean, you have to wonder if something like this isn't on a Powerpoint slide somewhere - all the academic -minded schools forming their own league at the FBS level, and the rest either following along in a sort-of G5 FBS or FCS. I mean, if you had a academically-oriented league based on the principles I described - hard admissions floor, no roster limits, redshirting, maybe a few other cosmetic academic concessions - wouldn't it be possible to do such a thing?


mookie
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Re: Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by mookie » Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:42 pm

Lehigh would be far better off joining the Centennial Conference and playing Division 3 sports - - and this includes wrestling. Recognize that Lehigh's true purpose is in the classroom and control costs by eliminating unrealistic athletic dreams.
Sundayamqb
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Re: Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by Sundayamqb » Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:51 pm

I never thought I'd agree with Mookie, but ... I'm almost there.

What is the cost of an FCS, low-level DI reputation? Is it worth it?

Would we be better served by being a DIII powerhouse?

Let's see that economic analysis.

Maybe the new prez and new AD will work on this.
LU808
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Re: Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by LU808 » Tue Sep 14, 2021 12:43 am

At least get to DIV II level....better TV coverage and a National title
LUopa
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Re: Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by LUopa » Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:33 am

The pioneer league maybe a great place for us. St Thomas just joined from DIII.
mookie
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Re: Rethink of NCAA: National Ivy League

Post by mookie » Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:43 am

Or just drop football. Maybe 50 students would notice.
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