<p>Took a closer look at the web link I included in the above post, specifically at how the rankings are done & what the numbers were for Ivy & NESCAC.</p>
<p>First, not sure I totally understand them, but the rankings by Division are done by awarding points for defined fall, winter & spring sports based on how the varsity team is ranked overall in that division. Those points are totalled up and then all colleges within a division are ranked. There are a few more sports in Div 1 compared to Div 3 (e.g., Div 1 includes Womens Golf & Womens Rowing, all others are the same for D3), so the ranking rewards both depth of sports covered and how well an individual college team places in the season.</p>
<p>Div 1 has 274 ranked and Div 3 has 280.</p>
<p>Here's how the numbers stack up:
IVY. ... 03-'04 RANK... POINTS
Princeton ..33 ..........537
Harvard
..58 ..........344
Penn
...... 70 ..........250
Brown
.. ..73 ..........234
Cornell...... 80 ..........206
Dartmouth 87 ..........194
Yale .........101 ..........157
Columbia ..121 ..........136
Average ....78 ..........257</p>
<p>NESCAC .03-'04 RANK.. POINTS
Williams.... 1 ..........1082
Middlebury. 3 ..........780
Amherst.... 6 ..........687
Bowdoin... 20 ..........417
Tufts....... 31 ..........338
Trinity...... 44 ..........279
Bates....... 48 ..........257
Colby....... 88 ..........166
Hamilton.. 108 ..........145
Wesleyan.. 158 ..........91
Conn Coll.. 197 ..........55
Average..... 64 ..........391</p>
<p>If one takes a BIG leap and calls the point system apples&apples for the sake of this comparison, then it looks like NESCAC as a whole looks a bit better, although there is greater variability from top to bottom. NESCAC's higher standing is largely carried by the strong programs that Williams, Middlebury & Amherst apparently have. Relative to all universities & colleges ranked in D1 & D3, both Ivy & NESCAC look good, i.e., their average rankings are in their respective division's top end of second quartile. I'd bet if one did this same exercise with other leagues & conferences, both Ivy & NESCAC would show strong overall sports programs (granted ACC and other large university conferences would probably prove to be the powerhouses).</p>