The Ivy League next season will join the other 31 D-1 basketball leagues when it "begins holding men's and women's conference tournaments" to determine which teams "receive automatic bids into the NCAA tournament," according to Kelyn Soong of the WASHINGTON POST. The Palestra in Philadelphia "will host" the two tournaments next year on March 11-12. The locations of future tournaments "have yet to be announced." The format for both the men's and women's events "will be two semifinal games on the first day, followed by the championship game the next day" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/10). In N.Y., Marc Tracy wrote the Ivy League tournaments "will feature only the top four teams after the full conference season," and the men's event will "take place shortly before" the NCAA tournament bracket is released. In addition to the postseason games, the Ivy League "announced that its teams' regular seasons would be reduced by one game, though the 14-game conference schedule. ... with each of the league's eight members playing every other team home and away, will be unaffected" (NYTIMES.com, 3/10). In Philadelphia, Dick Jerardi writes the tournament will "give the league some juice and absolutely be a celebration of the game" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 3/11).
LONG TIME COMING: In Philadelphia, Jonathan Tannenwald noted most Ivy League coaches and ADs for years have "expressed a desire for the league to launch conference tournaments." It has "long been an open secret" that the Council of Ivy League Presidents Exec Dir Robin Harris "wanted to get the campaign over the line." Recent turnover among coaches and administrators across the league, especially the arrival of Columbia AD Peter Pilling, "gave Harris a big enough caucus to go to the eight school presidents and persuade them to make the change." It is also "a safe bet that the creation of conference tournaments is a major factor in the Ivy League's ongoing search for a new media rights partner." Sources said that ESPN and Fox Sports "are the leading candidates" (PHILLY.com, 3/10).
