<p>I think Tommy Ammaker's win in the first round of the NCAA, might cause a moment of pause........Harvard's win just meant a spike in applications, it means a spike in "real athletes seriously looking into an academic/ competitive athletic experience and it means cold hard NCAA cash coming to the program(unless the league has a revenue sharing agreement) which no doubt will be severed if the conference continues it "de-emphasis" on sports mindset. So congratulations to Harvard, you managed to do what many thought what couldn't be done....the recruit of serious and competitive student athletes in a revenue sport. </p>
<p>Jermy Linn(baksetball) & Ryan Fitzpatrick(football)</p>
<p>^Yes, this is true but TODAY they represent elite educational institutions. I doubt anybody believes these institutions are first and foremost colleges whose main focus is athletics. Times have changed.</p>
The Ivy League is actually much more than that … the schools also share agreements on topics such as admissions policies and financial aid policies.</p>
<p>I agree, it’s great to see Harvard compete successfully against ‘the big boys’. Coach Amaker deserves a ton of credit. Academic standards mean must recruit from a much smaller pool of athletes than the rest of the teams in the NCAA tournament, but I think he’s done a remarkable job of utilizing their strengths - discipline and patience - to compete successfully against teams that may have more raw athleticism.</p>
<p>Agreed. Conference teams are business partners. A good showing by a “business partner” is good for business. Harvard exceeded expectations and busted many brackets. Let’s not forget Cornells 2010 basketball team that made it to the sweet 16 losing to Kentucky. That was very good for Ivy business. </p>
<p>I can’t help but wonder if Harvard could have done better in the tournament if two of their (best) players didn’t get wrapped up in their academic scandal…which BTW was bad for business.</p>