IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS"Ivy League" refers to eight of the most historic and prestigious universities in the United States. The schools have an agreement to play sports in the same league and to have similar expectations for athletes' academic performance. Since the colleges were among the first established in the United States, most have distinguished and historic campuses featuring old, ivy-covered buildings; their league, and the member colleges, became known as the Ivy League. All eight schools are among the top schools in the United States; they are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. The names of the schools and the name Ivy League continue to evoke the image of excellence in American higher education.