Ivy officials begin search for potential hoops playoff site

With four teams separated by just a game-and-a-half atop the Ivy League men's basketball leaderboard, Ancient Eight officials have begun to look into possible locations for a league playoff.

In the event of a tie for first place at the end of the regular season, several sites are being examined for a possible playoff game that would determine the Ivy League's representative at the NCAA Tournament.

"We're beginning to think about it," Ivy League Associate Director Chuck Yrigoyen said. "We're not to the point where we've narrowed down the field."

With the final game of the Ivy season on March 9, a playoff would have to be completed by Selection Sunday on March 14.

Seven times since league basketball play started in 1956, has there been an Ivy playoff.

The most recent occurrence was in the 2001-02 season, when Penn won the Ancient Eight's first three-way draw.

Princeton (6-1) currently sits atop the Ivy standings, a half-game ahead of Brown (6-2) and a full game ahead of Penn (5-2). Cornell (5-3), which entered last weekend in first place, is now in fourth place.

With the exception of the 2002 first-round showdown between Yale and Princeton at the Palestra, the last four playoffs have been held at Lehigh or Lafayette.

Yrigoyen and Ivy Executive Director Jeff Orleans say that both schools are being considered as the league's neutral playoff site.

Located in Easton, Pa., Lafayette's Allan P. Kirby Sports Center played host to the league's last playoff game, when Penn defeated Yale, 77-58, on March 7, 2002. At that game, 3,651 spectators filled the arena to capacity.

"We had to turn people away from the Penn-Yale game," Orleans said.

On March 4, 1980, 3,400 fans traveled to Lafayette to watch Penn edge Princeton, 50-49. The following year, the same two teams returned to Easton, as Princeton beat Penn, 54-40.

Lehigh -- located slightly more west of Lafayette in Bethlehem, Pa., hosted a sellout playoff game in 1996. The school's Stabler Arena holds 6,700 fans.

Yrigoyen said that a scheduling problem could arise at Lehigh, as a possible Patriot League playoff game is scheduled for Saturday, March 13.

Orleans admits that while both schools are a long drive from Ivy contenders Penn and Princeton, they are "equally inconvenient."

However, other university venues are being considered.

Yrigoyen indicated that officials at SUNY-Stony Brook's SB Sports Complex have been contacted. The 5,226 seat arena is located on Long Island, N.Y.

Larger arenas are also in consideration.

The Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., was mentioned; however, the 9,000-seat complex is booked on March 13 and 14 by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

Ivy officials have also indicated Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J., as a possible venue if Penn and Princeton were to square-off for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

While it holds 8,600 fans, the venue is booked on March 13 for a Harlem Globetrotters game.

Orleans also indicated that while Sovereign Bank Arena's large capacity is appealing, Trenton's close proximity to Princeton makes it "not quite as neutral as Lehigh."

While both arenas have a larger seating capacity, Yrigoyen indicated that the extra seats come at a higher price.

"Those places are in the business of making money," he said.

Though the Palestra hosted a postseason game in 2002, league officials indicated that it is unlikely that a neutral Ivy venue will play host to a game.

Orleans said that he'd prefer to have the event at a "truly neutral site." He noted that the host school's fans could pick a favorite, giving one team an unfair edge.

League officials would ideally like to see the final playoff game played March 13, with a possible first-round game -- in the event of a three-way tie -- the preceding Thursday.

Though Penn will be on spring break the week before Selection Sunday, Orleans is opposed to a Friday game which would force students from other schools to miss class.

"You're also asking people to have to travel on a busy afternoon," he added.

League officials are also opposed to a Sunday game, which will be played while the NCAA selection committee is in deliberation.

"The longer we wait, that could hurt us adversely," Yrigoyen said. "They might have to more or less slot a team into a spot before they know the winner."

The YES Network has first rights to any postseason Ivy games, and profits from the playoff will be split evenly among the league's eight schools.

The Ivy executive director said that once the final Ivy weekend has wrapped up, all potential playoff teams will have a conference call to discuss available venues.

Though he will try to choose a site that is suitable for all teams involved, Orleans will ultimately make the final decision.

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