Ivy football playoffs may happen in future

For more than a few Ivy League coaches and athletic directors, sending the league's football champion to the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs is an idea whose time has come. But that does not mean you should look for an Ancient Eight team in the Sweet 16 anytime soon. At issue is Section I-14/I-B Paragraph D of the 1954 Ivy Group agreement, which prohibits postseason play in all sports. Over the years, exceptions to the rule have been proposed and accepted by Ivy Presidents for every sport except football. Some feel the current situation constitutes a hypocrisy that has to be resolved. "Football is the only sport that discriminates against its athletes by not sending them to the NCAA playoffs," Brown athletic director David Roach said. Even if there is little or no opposition to the idea around the league, the process of getting it approved will be extremely lengthy. It will require a great deal of review before it is even put up for a vote. Not since the decision to make freshmen eligible for varsity competition has an issue of such significance come up in the athletic spectrum. Talks began regarding freshman eligibility at the end of 1990. The athletic directors approved the proposal in June 1991, and the Council of Presidents passed it six months later. It was not implemented, however, until the 1993 season. If anything, the issue of football playoffs is even weightier and could take longer to resolve. "With an issue as major as this one," associate director of the Ivy Group Chuck Yrigoyen said, "you're bound to have a divergence of opinion. People will feel the need to have in-depth study and discussion." The athletic directors could opt to formally raise the issue next spring at their annual May meeting. If approved, it would next pass to the league's Policy Committee, comprised of one dean from each school, and then to the Council of Presidents, which makes the final decision. In theory, all this could be done by June, and the 1995 champion could be eligible for the playoffs. But that timetable is next to impossible, according to most league officials. "There's a lot of lobbying and behind-the-scenes work you have to go through," Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky said. "That could take as much as a year or two. As much as you think some people may believe in the issues, you have to go through the proper channels." "You're talking about three committees of eight people each," Yrigoyen said. "And every one of those people might have a further constituency of some sort." Witness Larry Moneta, Penn's associate vice provost for University life, who became a member of the Policy Committee this year. He intends to consult both Bilsky and the faculty-laden University Council Committee on Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics, of which he is a member. "I'd like to have a balanced perspective," he said. "I'll probably be swayed by both of them." Much of the behind-the-scenes introspection will involve one of the basic tenets of Ivy League athletics -- maintaining the academic welfare of the student-athlete. Even those in favor of the idea are quick to say their support will be forthcoming only if they are convinced schoolwork would not be jeopardized by the extra games. Were an Ivy League team to make the final, it would add four games to its 10-game regular season schedule and play into the third week of December, final exams time for some Ivy schools. "It's a concern of everyone -- no matter what any coach thinks -- to work it out so players don't fall behind," Columbia coach Ray Tellier said. "It's not the easiest thing to do." The infringements on time spent on academics will be of most concern to the eight school presidents, who in years past have refused to even formally consider extending the season. There are signs the presidents are now willing to listen. According to Bilsky, Penn president Judith Rodin has indicated her support for informal conversations with him. "It's about being a student advocate," Bilsky said, "and she is?.As long as it's not constraining, but rather enriching the education of the student-athlete, I think we should always look to expand opportunities for participation." A second potential deterrent is the concern that Ivy teams are not ready to compete with I-AA powerhouses. For all Ivy schools, virtually every non-league game is against the Patriot League, the only other I-AA conference that does not offer athletic scholarships. Even the best Ivy team might be outmatched against a top-ranked scholarship school. "The disadvantage is that football is the sport with the least national scheduling, so it's not as logical to send the champion into a national playoff," Ivy Group executive director Jeff Orleans said. Penn coach Al Bagnoli thinks steps need to be taken to bring the league up to the level of the top playoff-bound teams before competing against those schools. He cited a better financial aid package and an early signing date, so coaches do not have to recruit in December while the playoffs are occurring. "Once you do those things, you're ready to start talking about competing on a national level," he said. Bilsky has a compromise in mind that might ease trepidation about both missed class time and mismatches against the top national teams. He is thinking of a bowl structure in which the Ivy League champion could take on the champion of, say, the Patriot League. "Would fans want to go to Who-Knows-Where in North Dakota for a playoff game in December or down to Florida for a bowl game?" he said. "It would mean another chance to play, and it would be a championship-type game, just in a different format." There is growing sentiment, however, for the Ivy League champion to have the opportunity to test itself against the nation's elite, especially after Penn finished last season undefeated. Since the league champions in every other sport do, the pressure is growing. "We'll never know how good we can be," Cornell coach Jim Hofher said. "Not unless we get ourselves out of the arena of our own schedules and our own league."

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