Ivy League colleges

Posted by Bob on September 21, 1999

In Reply to: Ivy League colleges posted by alice Melkonian on September 21, 1999

: I would like to know why certain schools are considered ivy league.

The smart-aleck answer is, of course, that they appointed themselves. (Or anointed themselves.) But, even though that's true, there is a legal entity that is the Ivy League, whose members play each other in sports. That the term has broadened beyond the literal football league to the larger (metaphorical) aren't-we-lofty connotation, many schools of equal prestige (Stanford comes to mind right away) are often referred to in the same category.

• Ivy League colleges ESC 9/22/99