By not playing in the post season, they both achieve much lower academic impact of football, and elevate the Ivy League Championship and conference games to a level even above most FBS.

Playoffs and Bowls for so-so teams have cheapened the regular season, weakened rivalries (which has hurt attendance and interest during the season). The Ivy league has avoided this trap. All the while remaining the Ivy League which every school wishes they were.

(08-18-2018 11:48 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  By not playing in the post season, they both achieve much lower academic impact of football, and elevate the Ivy League Championship and conference games to a level even above most FBS.

Playoffs and Bowls for so-so teams have cheapened the regular season, weakened rivalries (which has hurt attendance and interest during the season). The Ivy league has avoided this trap. All the while remaining the Ivy League which every school wishes they were.

But they also avoided it when there were only six bowl games and generally the only unranked teams in bowls were conference champs or the best available independent in the region.

The dilution argument just can't be used to explain a policy they adopted decades before there was such a thing as dilution.

(08-18-2018 07:52 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  How would “The Game” possibly be diminished if the Ivy League joined the FCS playoffs.

It's the same argument used by traditionalists against the formation of a playoffs in FBS. It "devalues" the importance of the regular season and more specifically "The Game," if at the end people are worried about playoffs. I happen to believe that's a stupid, and untenable position given that literally every other Ivy Team (of like the 35 supported) are allowed to participate in playoffs.

If folks are really interested in this, I suggest looking at the articles in the school newspapers: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/03/0...-unlikely/

The most relevant quote:

"As is the case at Yale, football is the only sport at Harvard that does not see postseason play. Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy conceded that it is “not easy” to argue for a policy that makes football different from all other sports, but he added that unique opportunities in Ivy League football, such as playing in the historic Harvard–Yale game, exceed the experience of the FCS playoff."

H-Y-P are the equivalent of Texas in the Big 12. So long as they view the postseasons as a waste or a distraction from their games against one another, don't expect any changes.

(08-19-2018 10:42 AM)bgwisc Wrote:  

(08-18-2018 07:52 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  How would “The Game” possibly be diminished if the Ivy League joined the FCS playoffs.

It's the same argument used by traditionalists against the formation of a playoffs in FBS. It "devalues" the importance of the regular season and more specifically "The Game," if at the end people are worried about playoffs. I happen to believe that's a stupid, and untenable position given that literally every other Ivy Team (of like the 35 supported) are allowed to participate in playoffs.

If folks are really interested in this, I suggest looking at the articles in the school newspapers: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/03/0...-unlikely/

The most relevant quote:

"As is the case at Yale, football is the only sport at Harvard that does not see postseason play. Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy conceded that it is “not easy” to argue for a policy that makes football different from all other sports, but he added that unique opportunities in Ivy League football, such as playing in the historic Harvard–Yale game, exceed the experience of the FCS playoff."

H-Y-P are the equivalent of Texas in the Big 12. So long as they view the postseasons as a waste or a distraction from their games against one another, don't expect any changes.

I get what you mean, but a better equivalent is to say H-Y-P is the equivalent of Notre Dame staying independent, IMO.

(08-19-2018 09:02 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(08-18-2018 11:48 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  By not playing in the post season, they both achieve much lower academic impact of football, and elevate the Ivy League Championship and conference games to a level even above most FBS.

Playoffs and Bowls for so-so teams have cheapened the regular season, weakened rivalries (which has hurt attendance and interest during the season). The Ivy league has avoided this trap. All the while remaining the Ivy League which every school wishes they were.

But they also avoided it when there were only six bowl games and generally the only unranked teams in bowls were conference champs or the best available independent in the region.

The dilution argument just can't be used to explain a policy they adopted decades before there was such a thing as dilution.

Wasn't explaining, just noting the benefits by never joining the band wagon.

Today it's very obvious the post season has no value for the Ivy.

(08-19-2018 12:57 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(08-19-2018 09:02 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(08-18-2018 11:48 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  By not playing in the post season, they both achieve much lower academic impact of football, and elevate the Ivy League Championship and conference games to a level even above most FBS.

Playoffs and Bowls for so-so teams have cheapened the regular season, weakened rivalries (which has hurt attendance and interest during the season). The Ivy league has avoided this trap. All the while remaining the Ivy League which every school wishes they were.

But they also avoided it when there were only six bowl games and generally the only unranked teams in bowls were conference champs or the best available independent in the region.

The dilution argument just can't be used to explain a policy they adopted decades before there was such a thing as dilution.

Wasn't explaining, just noting the benefits by never joining the band wagon.

Today it's very obvious the post season has no value for the Ivy.

Absolutely. You go from occasional Rose Bowl appearances to playing the Pioneer champion or an HBCU or whatever comes at you in the playoffs.

Plus ruins the whole mythology of the Ivy and what is important.

Whole thread seems like a solution in search of a problem.

(08-20-2018 10:58 AM)Bogg Wrote:  Whole thread seems like a solution in search of a problem.

5 days 6 hours 54 minutes to kickoff...

(08-20-2018 10:58 AM)Bogg Wrote:  Whole thread seems like a solution in search of a problem.

To be fair, that's any number of threads on this board.

From what I've come to understand, the Ivy has no interest in the FCS playoffs. Some within the conference would like to have another game, and some would like to have games against select FBS programs. The Ivy petitioned a waiver to allow them to get those FBS games, as did the Patriot, iirc...this is what started the ball rolling on Patsy offering scholarships to get to play FBS games if they wanted them.

Some time ago, Yale and Army had a game.

(08-20-2018 03:41 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  From what I've come to understand, the Ivy has no interest in the FCS playoffs. Some within the conference would like to have another game, and some would like to have games against select FBS programs. The Ivy petitioned a waiver to allow them to get those FBS games, as did the Patriot, iirc...this is what started the ball rolling on Patsy offering scholarships to get to play FBS games if they wanted them.

Some time ago, Yale and Army had a game.

2014. Army lost in OT at Yale. Army had agreed to come play as part of the centennial celebration of the Yale Bowl.

In case anyone hadn’t noticed. The Ivy League is a little more about academics then sports. Some athletic teams build a few classrooms and call themselves a college. The schools in the Ivy League offer football as an extracurricular activity for some of their students to enjoy if they so choose. For said students, sport sounds like a good bit of fun.

(08-20-2018 07:03 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  In case anyone hadn’t noticed. The Ivy League is a little more about academics then sports. Some athletic teams build a few classrooms and call themselves a college. The schools in the Ivy League offer football as an extracurricular activity for some of their students to enjoy if they so choose. For said students, sport sounds like a good bit of fun.

Unfortunately, you are right about athletic teams building few classrooms & calling themselves a college. A lot of colleges have forgotten what their original purpose was and focus too much on athletics & not enough on academics. Case in point: Wake Forest’s law school is known from coast to coast from what a buddy told me, but Alabama’s law school isn’t known beyond the state of Alabama.

Still, if it were me, I would relish playing in the FCS playoffs if I were an Ivy League athlete.