Ivy League to Add Four Team Conference Tournament

The Ivy League is the last remaining Division I conference to send their regular season champion to the NCAA Tournament.  That changes in 2017 though as the league announced today that they'll be instituting a new four-team tournament to decide who gets the conference's automatic bid.

In a release from the conference Peter Salovey, Yale president and chair, Council of Ivy League Presidents, said:

"The presidents adopted the proposal to establish men's and women's basketball tournaments after thoughtful discussions and careful review of the thorough information provided by our athletics directors and head coaches. Ultimately, this decision was based on enhancing the overall experience for our basketball student-athletes, while also paying attention to time demands by shortening the regular season."

The inaugural tournament will take place March 11-12 next season and will take place in the Palestra in Philadelphia.  Future tournament sites beyond 2017 have yet to be determined.

The Ivy League has been on the edge of claiming two NCAA Tournament bids the past few seasons.  The addition of the conference tournament should seemingly add to that effort.