Ivies in the news

I just came across two interesting stories about the Ivy League -- one on si.com, and one on espn.com via the Associated Press.

First, Seth Davis on si.com writes about the potential Ivy League conference tournament. The article itself is old news, especially to devoted Ivy fans, but the real good stuff is a paragraph on the second page.

Apparently, Jerry Palm, who runs collegerpi.com, has some sway over the NCAA. He convinced the Association to change the Jan. 27 game between Penn and Saint Joseph's from a St. Joe's home game to a Penn home game. This hurts Penn's RPI (giving the Quakers another home loss) and helps the Hawks' (giving them a good road win), and we will see what kind of impact it has on any seeding.

That game was technically hosted by St. Joe's, and the crowd was split, so I'm not sure whether I agree with the decision. I think probably it should have been called a neutral site game. SJU uses the Palestra as a home court for some games. I don't know of any other arenas that are like this (used as home arenas by multiple teams) and if St. Joe's uses the Palestra as a full-time temporary home court in the future, then it will get even more complicated. The NCAA needs to make a ruling on this situation once and for all so that it is never complicated.

The second story talks about Brown recruiting former Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann. While the Bears and Blue Devils are not in the same league, they do compete with one another in the smaller world of NCAA lacrosse. Therfore, I think it's a case involving some stones being thrown by folks in glass houses in Providence.

I know the circumstances surrounding Seligmann are different, but after the whole Keenan Jeppesen affair last summer, where Penn refused to even consider a transfer application by the now former Brown basketball player, where Brown seemed angry with the thought of Penn taking him, it's at least a little ironic that the Bears are involved in this.