Robb Newman wrote:
>
> With all due respect, I hate that idea (not the person, just the idea,
> no flame-war here...).
 
Mostly I agree with Robb. It would be absolute homicide on the Ivies to
split them off on their own.  He is correct about why Cornell has been
able to keep up, but I'll mention some points.
 
Remember first that in basketball and football the Ivies used to be
national powers -- then those sports became more popular - the big money
went to the big schools, and they put that money to use -- the Ivies
didn't get as much of an advantage out of it, and tailed off.  I fear
the same thing in hockey, even if the Ivies don't split off -- but as
Robb said, splitting off means the death of the competitiveness of the
Ivies at all.
 
That being said, the Ivies are quite competitive, and I think Robb
doesn't give enough credit.
 
>
> Let's be honest here - the ECAC is perceived as a weaker league.  Its
> top
> few teams are competitive on the national level, but its bottom ones
> (generally) aren't even close.
 
That I would not agree with at all.  The bottom ones of every league
aren't even close -- but if you think about, the ECAC has the most teams
(12) and so there are more at the bottom.
 
To me, I'll repeat what I always say, given all the recruiting
restrictions, the ECAC teams should be given a ton of credit for being
as competitive as they are, not poo-pooed as some second-rate schools.
 
>  The only "perk" that these schools can offer to prospective
> hockey players is (ooooh!) an Ivy League education.
 
What's wrong with that?  But also the great campuses and towns that
these places are in.  But, yeah, mostly that's the only attraction --
though Harvard and Cornell have rich traditions -- and that means a lot.
 
>  Harvard offers, well, a Harvard
> degree.  Cornell is a large enough school with a diverse enough student
> body that (again, let's face it) its admissions standards are not quite as
> high as the rest of the League.
 
This is more or less accurate.  But don't forget, attraction to Harvard
is that it's in Boston, which is a great city, and also is home to many
players.  So, Harvard-Princeton-Yale are equal in education, more or
less, but Harvard has the tradition and is in Boston.
 
However, you'll notice that the great recruiting jobs lately by
PRinceton and Yale -- not to mention the coaching -- has led to Yale and
Princeton surpassing Harvard -- especially Princeton in the last few
years.  In theory, these three schools are competing for the same
players, and might never, therefore, be able to finish all in the top 5
in the league, but it's not ONLY Harvard now -- Princeton and Yale are
doing a better job and perhaps it's their turn to be at the top, while
Harvard struggles.
 
Dartmouth and Brown are similar in standards to Cornell, but don't have
as many students and thus it makes it more difficult to get guys in.
Brown has proven it can win -- I suspect Dartmouth CAN -- but just
haven't in a long time.
 
As for Penn and Columbia -- perhaps they'd have a tough time being
competitive -- but with the spurt of rinks being built and kids coming
out of the Pennsylvania and lower New York areas, I think it's a shame
that those two schools no longer have a program.
 
AW
 
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