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Message: [QUOTE="broooce, post: 4558635, member: 9941"] I think the Ivy League was one of the last to add a conference tournament, which they did in 2017. Only the top 4 of the 8 teams qualify, so at least the season stands for something. This season the league could send two teams to the NCAA tournament, Columbia and Princeton, which I believe is the first time they will have done that for either women or men (Creme's bracketology). IMO the Ivy tournament adds the same kind of excitement and possibility to teams in the league to make the NCAA tournament and in so doing help with overall league recruiting, quality of teams, competitiveness and ultimately some success in the tournament. Last year Princeton upset Kentucky in the first round and lost to Indiana by only one. The only thing I don't like is that the Ivies decided on a court rotation system for the tournament, that is, over eight years each school will get to host the tournament. To me that's ridiculous and antithetical to a goal of increasing the league's prominence in either the men's or women's game. Really, what is the benefit of having a tournament in a college gym in Hanover, NH, Ithaca, NY, Princeton, NJ or even Providence, RI when you could be playing in a NYC/Philly/Boston area arena? Or at least have a venue like Mohegan Sun or the XL Center? "A rising tide lifts all boats" and the Ivy League can do better and help themselves to build upon their current success. Especially since it seems that their long-standing policy of not offering athletic scholarships could soon change. Like Stanford, many academically strong young women who also happen to be very good athletes might find the Ivies a compelling place to play and get a degree. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach