For Ivy sports, take the good with the bad

In my four years at Columbia, I became an Ivy League sports nerd, and it is something I have referenced on countless occasions. For my fellow Ivy League sports fans—we’re a small and pathetic troupe—nothing is more infuriating than the league’s seeming refusal to ascend the ranks of the collegiate athletics hierarchy.

There was a time when the Ancient Eight was one of the better leagues out there, but that was back when movies were silent and the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. Fast-forward almost a century and the league struggles to compete in the major sports (sorry, fencing and cross country). Sydney Johnson’s departure from Princeton is just the latest example of the league shooting itself in the foot. Johnson left a school he attended, a school he loved, a school steeped in basketball tradition for…Fairfield. To review, the Stags have made the NCAA Tournament six times in their history. The Tigers went to the Big Dance six times in the 1990s alone.

The universal reaction was that the move was about money—Fairfield offered it, Princeton didn’t. Think about that for a second. Fairfield’s endowment is in the millions; Princeton’s is in the billions. Fairfield’s ‘notable alumni’ include district and appellate court judges; Princeton’s include two presidents, three vice presidents and 11 Supreme Court Justices.

How is it that Fairfield can spend more on its athletics?

The answer is obviously not that Princeton lacks the money to spend, just that it would rather spend it on other things.

My first reaction upon hearing the news was apoplectic shock. Princeton was in the process of resurrecting its storied program thanks to a great young coach. The league was also coming off a four-year stretch that saw tremendous growth. Coaches and players of a higher quality were joining the ranks, which meant the league was getting deeper, which led to talk of two tournament bids. Now, Johnson is gone, some of his recruits are as well and the message has been sent—the Ivy League is a rest stop rather than a destination.

This refusal to spend money is not unique to basketball—just look at the quality of the league’s facilities. Half of the football press boxes are still open to the outdoors, for Christ’s sake (remember, games go into late November).

Admittedly, many students laud this relative frugality when it comes to athletics. I will never forget a friend telling me that Columbia should not have athletics programs because they force the school to admit less intelligent students and divert resources from more important (read: academic) causes. Now, misguided as this friend was (on all points), there is something commendable about the league’s approach.

By refusing to be sucked into the money pit that NCAA athletics have become, the Ivy League has done a pretty darn good job of maintaining its integrity as numerous schools lose theirs. I wrote about this after Jim Calhoun (cheater) won an NCAA basketball title, which was just a few months after Cam Newton (cheater) won the NCAA football title. Just this week it looks like Jim Tressel (cheater) might be forced out at Ohio State.

The Ivy League has not courted national attention for most of its sports. If it has, then why was the Ivy playoff on ESPN3 while the North Southwestern Mid-Continental Athletic Conference championship game was on live TV?

The league also has not offered athletic scholarships for decades, and in doing so avoids the temptation of bribing players and flouting NCAA rules. There may be devious aspects of Ivy recruiting, but if schools were breaking the rules then why did I spend three years debating whether KJ Matsui would be an impact player?

At various times, I have suggested the league do a better job in both self-promotion and talent recruitment. I still find no rational explanation why some of the most famous and exclusive institutions of higher education cannot attract top-flight athletes—especially when one of those institutions is in New York City.

Part of me still feels this way. Some day I would love to tune into an Ivy basketball game and see potential NBA players on the court, or, at the very least, not see players with uglier shots than my own getting minutes.

Yet I have also come to love the league’s idiosyncrasies. From the often-ugly style of play to the overabundance of unathletic ‘athletes,’ the league is, if nothing else, fun.

More importantly, I have grown weary of the corruption now endemic to major NCAA sports. From an ethics standpoint, NCAA basketball and football are broken. It is impossible to determine who is violating the rules and who is not, because the rules themselves are flawed.

By not overemphasizing sports, by not using its unrivaled resources to propel its programs to the top, the Ivy League has stayed true to its commitment to academics.There is unquestionably room to grow and improve. Columbia needs a varsity men’s lacrosse and hockey team (I know, Title IX). All of the schools need to do a better job of courting recruits and coaches. Above all, schools need to engage their student bodies to rebuild fan support. They can use their excessive resources to do this, but not if it means compromising ethics and entering the vacuum.

In that regard, the league is a shining example, perfect the way it is.

Lucas Shaw is Columbia College senior majoring in political science.