By Stephen Smith
IEF Education Foundation

Many American colleges and universities belong to special conferences for the purpose of promoting intercollegiate athletics while keeping the emphasis on such competition in harmony with the educational objectives of the member institutions. Each conference is comprised of a group of schools that both compete and cooperate with one another in the areas of athletics and academics. Usually, the member institutions in a conference are located in an area of the USA. that is regionally defined. This article will briefly introduce several of the major American college conferences.

The Ivy League

In the USA., the expression "Halls of Ivy" metaphorically refers to institutions of higher learning in general, but only a few schools officially belong to what is called the "Ivy League." The Ivy League consists of a group of eight schools in the northeastern United States: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. All of these schools, except for Cornell, were established before the American Revolution, and all have very selective admissions standards. Academic and athletic competition among the schools dates from the late 19th century. Considered by many people to be the most academically prestigious college conference, the Ivy League is the alma mater of numerous American and world leaders.

According to one theory, the origin of the term "Ivy League" dates back to 1937, when a writer for a New York newspaper coined the term in reference to the ivy-covered buildings on the campuses of America's oldest and most elite schools. Another theory purports that the expression is much older, coming from the name of an earlier athletic association called the "Four League" whose members were Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. According to this second theory, in keeping with the academic tradition of the times, the name of the "Four League" was written in Roman numerals as the "IV League." When read as letters of the English alphabet, "IV" has the same pronunciation as "Ivy." No matter which theory is correct, it was not until 1954 that the "Ivy League" (also known as the Council of Ivy Group Presidents) was officially formed. The headquarters of the Ivy League is located at Princeton University.

The Big East

The Big East Conference was formed in 1979. Schools belonging to the Big East Conference are: Boston College; Connecticut; Georgetown; Miami; Notre Dame; Pittsburgh; Providence; Rutgers; Seton Hall; St. John's; Syracuse; Temple; Villanova; Virginia Tech; and West Virginia. As a group, the Big East Conference has a tradition of broad-based programs, led by administrators and coaches who place a constant emphasis on academic integrity. Its student-athletes have significantly high graduation rates and their record of scholastic achievement reflects a balance between intercollegiate athletics and academics.

The Big Ten

Established in 1896, the Big Ten Conference celebrated its Centennial anniversary in 1996. Founding members of the Conference were: University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin. Indiana University and the University of Iowa were admitted to the Conference in 1899, and Ohio State joined in 1912.
Chicago withdrew in 1946 and Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) was added three years later in 1949. The newest member of the Big Ten Conference is Penn State University, which joined in 1990.
Member institutions of the Big Ten Conference cooperate in many academic and research areas as well as in athletics. This cooperation is facilitated through two organizations: Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) and Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities, Inc. (MUCIA).

The Pacific 10

The roots of the Pacific 10 Conference, also known as the "Pac 10," go back more than 80 years to 1915, when the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was founded. Original membership consisted of four schools: the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Oregon State College (now Oregon State University). Today, the members of the Pacific 10 Conference are University of Arizona; Arizona State University; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Oregon; Oregon State University; University of Southern California; Stanford University; University of Washington; and Washington State University.

Within the Pacific 10 Conference there exist numerous areas of cooperation and exchange among its member institutions academic departments, faculty members, and research centers.
The Southeastern Conference

Formed in 1933, the Southeastern Conference superseded an earlier organization that had existed since 1894. Member institutions of the Southeastern Conference are Alabama; Arkansas; Auburn; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; Louisiana State University; Mississippi; Mississippi State; South Carolina; Tennessee; and Vanderbilt.
Schools in the Southeastern Conference collaborate with one another on a wide variety of academic and research projects that are beneficial to the participating institutions as well as to the communities they serve.
Other Conferences

Altogether, there are approximately thirty college conferences in the USA. The member institutions of these conferences include many notable schools that are too numerous to list here. Conferences not mentioned above are: America East; Atlantic Coast; Atlantic 10; Big Sky; Big South; Big 12; Big West; Colonial Athletic Association; Conference USA; Metro Atlantic Athletic; Mid-American; Mid-Continent; Mid-Eastern Atlantic; Midwestern Collegiate; Missouri Valley; Northeast; Ohio Valley; Patriot League; Southern; Southland; Southwestern Athletic; Sun Belt; Trans America; West Coast; and Western Athletic. Schools that do not belong to a specific conference are referred to as "Independents."