Ivy League Sports

The Ivy League is the oldest and most renowned association of universities in North America, and its member schools are among the most well-known and recognized educational establishments anywhere in the world.

These prestigious schools are distinguished from other private and public educational institutions by a number of factors, including the caliber of their academic programs (law, medical, and business), the difficulty of getting accepted to them, and the illustriousness of their teaching staff. However, when it comes to the realm of Ivy League sports, these schools are generally forgotten about, which is a shame because the competition is fierce.

The Ivy League sports program are often overlooked in favor of those in the Big Ten and SEC conferences, despite the fact that these schools have impressively staffed and well-funded athletic departments.

Let’s take a look at the sports played in the Ivy League sports program and rank the institutions to discover which one has the best overall athletic program. In order to obtain an idea of where each school’s athletic programs stand right now, we are going to look at each institution’s record in the last five years. In addition, we are going to discuss the schools’ historic accomplishments and distinctions.

Why do they call it Ivy League?

So, why do they call it Ivy League? Stanley Woodward used the term “ivy” for the first time in 1933 in an article he wrote for the New York Tribune. He wrote, “A proportion of our eastern ivy colleges are meeting little fellows another Saturday before plunging into the strife and the turmoil.” This is likely where the “ivy” association with the schools began.

This line made a reference to the upcoming football season; the schools mentioned, such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale, as well as the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy, all had long-standing traditions that they followed during their respective competitions.

In 1935, The Christian Science Monitor would be the first publication to make specific use of the name “Ivy League.” The phrase “older colleges” would be an accurate synonym for this word.

In 1945, the initial eight colleges that were members of the Ivy League signed the Ivy Group Agreement. The first time that the original Ivy League schools got together was in 1936 when they did so in an effort to continue sharing common athletic interests. This established guidelines for the football teams, and in subsequent years, it would be applicable to other sports as well. In the year 1954, the League would be formally established, and the following year, in 1956, the first season of competition would begin.

What are the Ivy League School’s most Dominant Sports Teams?

The Ivy League is a consortium of highly selective and esteemed educational institutions that have been around for hundreds of years and are renowned for the superior education they give to the students who are accepted to study there. Having known what the Ivy League is, what are the Ivy League School’s most dominant sports teams? Their academic status is the subject of widespread envy; but, in comparison to other division one sports colleges, their athletic teams do not garner nearly as much attention.

Despite this, their teams participate in an independent league that is every bit as elite and competitive as any other. These eight schools compete against one another each year for the top spot in each sport that is offered by their league. Although some colleges perform better than others in specific sports, only one Ivy League institution manages to outperform the competition and come away with the championship for the most successful athletic teams.

Princeton University

Within the Ivy League throughout the previous ten years, the athletics department of Princeton University has been far and away the most successful of any institution. The Princeton Tigers have won more Ivy League championships and postseason championships than any other team in Ivy League history.

In addition, they finished higher than any other institution in the Ivy League in nine other sports, including field hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and more. The accomplishment of being the only Ivy League school to attain a great performance in practically all of the sports in which they play was accomplished by Princeton. This allowed them to earn the title of “most successful Ivy League school.”

“At the core of who we are, our mission and our philosophy is education through athletics. Princeton has a really rich history and tradition of athletic excellence and success. Every student-athlete at Princeton is coming to an athletic department where we share the same values of what it means to be a Tiger and what we’re trying to achieve,” Senior Athletics Communications Advisor Jerry Price said.

In the past decade, 29 out of Princeton’s 33 varsity sports teams have taken home at least one Ivy League sports championship. All of the teams, with the exception of two of them, won at least two championships between them.

The men’s ice hockey team at Princeton finished the 2019-2020 season with an embarrassing record of zero-nine-one, despite the fact that it may appear as though they are the greatest at everything else.

The team finished in dead last place, and their record was an abysmal zero-nine-one. Even still, the fact that Princeton has a lengthy history of beating every other team in the Ivy League demonstrates, without a doubt, the amount of effort and dedication that is required for an institution to win championships.

Harvard University

Home to one of the more successful athletic teams in the Ivy League sports is a university that is widely regarded as being among the most prestigious in the entire country. In the last ten years, no other Ivy League institution was able to top Harvard’s number of national championships in either the team or individual categories.

Harvard dominated the competition in both of these areas. Their women’s squash team has won seven out of the previous ten team championships and six out of the last ten individual championships. On the other hand, Harvard continues to showcase some of its teams, even when those teams do not perform as well as their other teams do.

The Harvard football team finished the 2019 season with a record of two and five, which tied them for a second-to-last place in the Ivy League and made them one of the worst-ranked teams in Harvard’s athletic department.

There is still a chance that Harvard will catch up, but there is still a long way to go until they reach number one, so they may need some assistance to accomplish their goal. Perhaps some of the very talented students at Harvard can contribute to the development of a plan (or even a robot) that will assist the university’s athletic teams in the years to come in achieving greater success.

University of Pennsylvania

Franklin Field, the former home of the Philadelphia Eagles, is considered to be the most interesting football stadium in the Ivy League. Although the University of Pennsylvania‘s athletic programs may not be representative of the school as a whole, the university does take home the award for the most interesting football stadium.

Although Penn’s football team has one of the better records in the Ivy League, the sports team at the University of Pennsylvania that stands out the most is the women’s lacrosse team, which has won four Ivy League titles in the past ten years. Although Penn’s football team has one of the better records in Ivy League sports.

Their men’s lacrosse team also had an outstanding season, finishing the 2019 campaign undefeated with a perfect record of six wins and zero losses. They took first place. Despite this, Penn’s swimming and diving team recently finished in the lower half of the rankings in the 2019-20 season, placing between two and four overall.

Only nine of Penn’s teams finish in the top or bottom three slots among all of the league’s teams, putting them in the center of the pack in terms of average placement. Penn’s teams typically finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. It is very likely that students at the University of Pennsylvania will never be at a loss to locate an entertaining athletic event to attend and cheer on one of their teams.

Yale University

When it comes to overall athletics, Yale University is recognized as one of the most successful colleges in Ivy League sports. The university is home to a number of athletic teams that have distinguished themselves as being of the highest caliber.

A few of these teams include its volleyball squads, which, over the course of the last ten years, have won seven overall crowns and four Ivy League championships. In 2013, Yale won the men’s ice hockey championship, which was the first time an Ivy League school had won the championship since 1989. In addition, in 2018, they were victorious in the men’s lacrosse championship, which was a title that the Ivy League had not won since 2001.

On the other hand, Yale’s men’s tennis team surprised everyone by finishing the 2019 season with a record of 0-7, good for last place in the league. Even though Yale students put in a lot of effort during competition, as evidenced by the number of first-place trophies they bring home, there is little question that they could put in even more effort to move up to the number one spot. If Yale keeps doing what it has been doing over the course of the last several years, the institution will have no problem moving up this list.

Cornell University

The lengthy list of Ivy League sports that Cornell University participates in demonstrates the institution’s remarkable history of achievement in a variety of sporting competitions.

The Cornell wrestling team has won all 10 Ivy League titles in the past ten years, defeating every other team in the competition each and every year. Five of the top nine teams in the Ivy League, including Cornell’s track team, have combined to bring home 13 Ivy League championships. Cornell’s track team is home to some of the best runners in the entire Ivy League.

With a record of four wins and ten losses over the course of the 2019-20 season, the Cornell men’s basketball team is in second-to-last place and could need some help. Over the previous decade, the majority of Cornell’s teams have finished sixth or below out of eight, which is more than any other university, with the exception of Brown, which you probably anticipated.

Nevertheless, the competitive nature of Cornell helps to motivate student-athletes to perform to the best of their abilities when it comes time to show how diligently they have been training and what they have to show for it.

Dartmouth University

Even if Dartmouth University is not significantly superior to Brown University, it does in fact have a little bit more to show for its name. Their men’s soccer team, which many would consider the greatest team that Dartmouth can brag about, took home six championships in the past 10 years

In 2019, the Dartmouth football team concluded the season with a record of six wins and one loss, which tied them for the best record of the season with Yale. This does not make up for the fact that in the swimming and diving competitions that they participated in during the 2019-2020 season, they finished in extremely bottom place, posting a record of 0-5 overall. In addition to its squads in football, soccer, and track and field, Dartmouth does not give a home to a large number of other teams that have been successful in their respective sports.

Columbia University

There isn’t much to brag about when it comes to Columbia’s athletic programs, so it must be challenging for the students who participate in those programs to live in New York City.

Seven Ivy League championships have been taken home by Columbia’s men’s tennis team during the past decade, making them the school’s most successful sports team and one of the most exciting in the Ivy League. Both the men’s and women’s fencing teams at Columbia have combined to win eight Ivy League championships during the past ten years, making them two of the most successful athletic teams at the university as a whole.

With a record of two wins and five losses in the 2019 season, the Columbia football team continues to demonstrate that it is among the worst in the nation. They finished the conference with the same record as Harvard, which was the second-worst overall, behind Brown, of course.

The only award that their men’s basketball team could conceivably win with a record of one through thirteen in the 2019-2020 season would have to be for the title of “laughingstock with the worst record.” If they continue in this direction, Columbia will never even have a shot at being considered for the March Madness tournament. They will never even have a chance. If Columbia were to apply the same level of work ethic to their athletics as they do to their academics, they might see significant improvement.

Brown University

When it comes to the Ivy League’s athletic competitions, Brown University regretfully finishes in last place by a significant margin. In the last decade, Brown University’s athletic teams have had a losing record that is worse than that of every other school in the Ivy League.

The only team that showed any kind of chance to win anything was their rowing teams, as both the men’s and women’s teams made it far in their conference finals. However, they did not win anything. The very last championship that Brown won in recent years was for the men’s lacrosse team in the 2015-16 season. In 19 of their 33 sports over the past decade, the Bears have finished sixth or lower out of the eight Ivy Schools, which is the lowest possible finish.

Brown is a member of the Ivy League Athletics Conference, and one of the guiding principles of the Ivy League is to maintain a level of competitive parity among all eight schools that take part in the conference. However, throughout the ten years between 2009 and 2018, Brown earned only 2.8% of Ivy titles, which was the lowest total in the League, according to Colin Sullivan, Brown’s Deputy Director of Athletics.

What are the Prospective Ivy League Student-Athletes?

When applying to one of the eight institutions or universities in the Ivy League, prospective students must meet stringent requirements in order to be considered. Having already known the Ivy League sports program, what are the prospective Ivy League student-athletes?

In addition to pursuing students who are exceptional in their academic pursuits, the Ivy League is also on the lookout for individuals who are exceptional in their sports pursuits. A student must fulfill a long list of requirements before being considered for admission to an Ivy League school.

Students are accepted or rejected according to a variety of criteria, including their personal achievements and their athletic exploits. The Financial Aid Office is responsible for deciding whether or not students who have financial difficulties may receive financial assistance.

The intensive efforts that Ivy League universities make to attract students who have the highest academic and athletic ability set them different from other colleges in a significant way. This is the distinguishing feature that sets the Ivy League apart from other collegiate leagues. The Ivy League has demonstrated its superiority in a variety of sports over the course of its history.

Want to learn more about getting into Ivy League sports? You’ve come to the right place. At AdmissionSight, we have over 10 years of experience guiding students through the competitive admissions process including our athletic recruitment program.

AdmissionSight can help you put your best foot forward when applying to college this fall. Contact us today for more information on our services.