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[[Image:Earlycollegesvert.png|thumb|right|150px|Left: Ivy League; Right: the two Colonial Colleges that are not in the Ivy League.<ref>Founding dates are those self-reported by the institutions: Harvard 1636, William & Mary 1693, Penn 1740, Princeton 1746, Columbia 1754, Brown 1764, Rutgers 1766, Dartmouth 1770, Cornell 1865.</ref>]]

[[Image:Earlycollegesvert.png|thumb|right|150px|Left: Ivy League; Right: the two Colonial Colleges that are not in the Ivy League.<ref>Founding dates are those self-reported by the institutions: Harvard 1636, William & Mary 1693, Penn 1740, Princeton 1746, Columbia 1754, Brown 1764, Rutgers 1766, Dartmouth 1770, Cornell 1865.</ref>]]

The '''Ivy League''' is an [[athletic conference]] of eight private universities in the Northeast. During the first half of the 1900s, teams from the schools played each other frequently. By the 1930s they were referred to informally as the "Ivy League," but the organization was not formalized until 1954.  

The '''Ivy League''' is an athletic conference of eight private universities in the Northeast. During the first half of the 1900s, teams from the schools played each other frequently. By the 1930s they were referred to informally as the "Ivy League," but the organization was not formalized until 1954.  

By extension, the term also refers to the eight schools considered as a group, and to social characteristics perceived to be common to their group. The schools of the Ivy League are all old&mdash;all but Cornell having been founded before the [[American Revolution]]. They are sometimes referred to as the Ancient Eight.<ref>Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were at one time referred to as the Ancient Three. The phrase Ancient Eight may be an extension of that phrase. The Ivy League is ''not'' comprised of the eight oldest colleges in the U. S., however. It fails to include William and Mary or Rutgers, and includes Cornell, which is younger than many other colleges.</ref> They are all stellar in academics, and all of them have a traditional connection with social prestige.

By extension, the term also refers to the eight schools considered as a group, and to social characteristics perceived to be common to their group. The schools of the Ivy League are all old&mdash;all but Cornell having been founded before the [[American Revolution]]. They are sometimes referred to as the Ancient Eight.<ref>Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were at one time referred to as the Ancient Three. The phrase Ancient Eight may be an extension of that phrase. The Ivy League is ''not'' comprised of the eight oldest colleges in the U. S., however. It fails to include William and Mary or Rutgers, and includes Cornell, which is younger than many other colleges.</ref> They are all stellar in academics, and all of them have a traditional connection with social prestige.