If you were one of the 46 people tuned into the Ivy League’s men’s media day hosted by the Field of 68 and Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman Tuesday, then you learned a lot on certain topics.
You know the difference between Boston and Cambridge. You are schooled in the athletic prowess of Goodman. You have a good feel about 2K games. You certainly know who the best dunkers are on most of the teams. You might be able to bet on Mitch Henderson winning a one-on-one basketball game. You were told that James Jones was once a great card player and was known as the professor. You even heard about a guard at The Palestra.
What you don’t know a whole lot about is why the Ivy still does not give out athletic scholarships. You were told that the Ivy does not embrace the existing NIL deals at most places, but left uncertain about what legitimate Ivy NIL would look like. And you probably still have no idea why the Ivy joined the Patriot League in opting out of revenue share, when all other conferences and most other conferences’ teams partake in it. There was no mention of the prospect of the league allowing one year of graduate eligibility like other universities do.
Yes, going to Yale, Harvard or Princeton is most certainly a 40-year and not a four-year decision. But the same is true at the likes of Duke or Vanderbilt.
Two years ago, the Ivy had a chance to have an in-person media day in New York City. Nine of the league’s 16 coaches voted in favor. It did not happen despite the fact that Ivy Madness was going to be held at Columbia.
Last year, with the normal format of the Ivy media asking questions, over 700 people tuned in. Many fans. many media, some coaches. Probing questions were asked about teams by dozens of media who cover the league day in and day out, both as a vocation and an avocation.
Not this year. Perhaps never again. We would have asked the tough and not the fluff.
Another lost opportunity for Ivy League basketball.
Richard Kent is a longtime Ivy Hoops Online contributor who has developed NIL programs for schools as an attorney.
Hi Richard, I couldn’t agree more. Even more annoying was the fact that there was very little discussion about the specific strengths and weaknesses of each team and how they might be addressed. Also minimal discussion about young players hoping to make an impact. In the Cornell segment they spent more time talking to the coach about the Cornell sweet 16 team than the current team. All in all I don’t think they knew much about the league. Last years media day was much better!