I would just like to mention that Cornell University, an Ivy League known more for its hockey, engineering, and agriculture schools, made it to March Madness this year - the first time since 1988. Also, they were the Ivy League champs in basketball, beating of course Harvard AND Princeton. Now tell me: why wasn't Cornell mentioned at all in this article?
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Roger Noll, a sports economist at Stanford, is skeptical of the idea that Ivies might become a presence in March Madness. "Too few top prospects qualify academically," he says, "and even those that do typically are not academically serious."
But Noll suggests that the Ivies' new tuition policies could transform the power structure of other sports. Noll notes the distinction between "head count" and "equivalency" sports. In head-count sports like football and basketball, athletes usually get full scholarships. In equivalency sports like baseball, soccer, tennis and track and field, schools divvy up a limited number of scholarships among many students—so many students get partial grants. Under the Ivies' new tuition plans, every student would qualify for at least a partial scholarship, making them instantly competitive with schools that give athletic scholarships.
If there's one sport in which the Ivies should be able to compete, it's probably basketball. As Vedder says, "You just have to find the Bill Bradleys."
Euchner, who teaches writing at Yale, is the editor of the Web site startsimple.info .
© 2008
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