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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Please stop shopping this line.

It is NOT accurate any more. Your knowledge is dated at best.[b] I was an all-Ivy athlete/team MVP in the late 1980s (a woman's team sport). I would not make the roster now, and would be hard-pressed to make the roster at a strong Division III program. [/b]If you look at strong athletes at area independent schools, the coaches will tell you that this generation's NESCAC player (the multiple all-ISL player who is 5'6" and not 6", and not All-Met), was a former generation's Ivy athlete. In the 1980s, still fairly early days from a Title IX perspective, a determined and competent athlete, particularly in women's sports, could often find a roster spot. Recruiting was fairly haphazard and coaches relied in large part on athletes of strong academic standing self-identifying. Now, recruiting has become "industrialized." Coaches used to hopefully see a few dozen players (the assistant coach driving around the East Coach in a rental car). Now they can see hundreds and even thousands of athletes at club tournaments, showcase events, and it is also easier for players to send in game tape (just upload to YouTube). The number of roster spots are the same but the pool has increased exponentionally. The team at my alma mater in my sport looks like Amazons now! (In the best possible way -- they are BIG BIG BIG and STRONG and FAST and very, very skilled.)

Bottom line: The Ivies are Division I. They require size, speed, and athleticism. At the Division III schools you might be able to have a little less speed or a little less size but you need to be very, very good -- Ivy league starter or even all-Ivy caliber a generation ago.

It is easier to play squash for Princeton than basketball for Duke, but it is not easy. An average or even above average athlete who has played sports since childhood will NOT be good enough to get a look at Princeton, in large part because squash is a sport with a very big international presence. Many Ivy league teams have very few American players. Check out the crew roster for the Harvard heavys -- lots of international athletes. There is a growing international presence for women's sports as well.

Parents -- you don't need to take this on faith (me or the other anonymous poster -- who can tell, right?). Go to a roster for field hockey, or squash, or lacrosse. You will see names and hometowns (and the international presence). For most schools, the Sports Information Dept. has a blurb for each athlete and you will be able to see Under Armour All-American status; junior national team status; all-state status; tennis and squash rankings. You will see the credentials are very, very impressive. And you will see some very strong credentials for Division III teams as well. [/quote]

Nonsense.  We know 2020 is different from 1980 in terms of standards.  This applies to the Ivies as well as the SEC or Big Ten.  That said, golf, water polo, squash, tennis, sailing etc. all remain easier activities and hooks for the average athlete who begins early enough before their college application to the big and little "Ivies".  This was true in the 1970s and 80s and and it is true in the 20 teens.  Much easier than trying for the SEC or Big Ten in football, basketball and Track for the barely average athlete. Fact. 
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