The Ivy League seems to kind of pride itself on being one of a kind, from not giving out athletic scholarships to eliminating tackling at football practices.
But the Ivies are following the crowd in one regard: Beginning in 2016-17, the Ivy League will determine its automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by holding a conference tournament, just like every other conference in Division I.
According to ESPN, the conference’s council of presidents approved a four-team postseason tournament for both men’s and women’s basketball on Thursday. Via Jeff Goodman’s report:
“I’m very excited for our league,” Yale men’s basketball coach James Jones told ESPN. “This tournament will give us a platform to help showcase our conference.”
Harvard coach Tommy Amaker echoed Jones’ enthusiasm for the new format.
“This is a terrific opportunity to showcase the depth of our league — and to provide our student-athletes with the always meaningful experience of playing in the post-season,” Amaker said in a statement.
To accommodate the tournament, which will be held next year at The Palestra in Philadelphia, the conference will cut its regular season by one game.
Though the Ivy League’s reasoning f0r not holding a conference tournament — namely that the event would put too intense of a time demand on athletes — is admirable, it was about time the league caught up with the rest of Division I. The new Ivy League tournament will consist of no more than two games for any team and can be easily fit into a weekend. Meanwhile, it will create drama and give the conference some extra attention in March.
Sometimes doing what everyone else is doing makes some sense.
