Sportswriters coined the nickname "Ivy League" in the 1930s.
The term "Ivy League colleges" refers to a group of eight institutions located in the northeastern portion of the United States that have high academic standards and are members of the same athletic conference. Sportswriters coined the nickname in the 1930s, when these schools were battling for football supremacy. Many of the older buildings on the grounds of these schools were and still are covered with ivy vines, which helped inspire the term.
Yale and Harvard
Located in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University was founded in 1701. The school maintains a major rivalry in all sports, particularly football and rowing, with Harvard University. Harvard is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and was founded in 1636, making it the oldest of the Ivy League colleges.
Dartmouth
Dartmouth College is in Hanover, New Hampshire, and was founded in 1769 with an original goal of educating Native Americans. The school has 39 academic departments and such majors as history, biology, government and economics.
Brown
Originally founded as the College of Rhode Island in 1764, Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, is among the oldest colleges in the nation.
New York Schools
Columbia University, in New York, New York, was founded as King's College in 1754 by the Church of England. Cornell, the westernmost Ivy League school, is also the youngest, founded in 1865. The school, located in Ithaca, New York, is the leading producer of doctors in the U.S.
Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey, is home to Princeton University, founded in 1746. Princeton is one of the very few colonial colleges that at the time of its establishment had no association with any particular religion.
Penn
The University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740 by Ben Franklin. The campus is in Philadelphia, and Penn is recognized for its schools of law and of business.
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