Every now and then I hear someone refer to a reputable institution as an "Ivy League college," as if the term simply denotes high quality. In fact, "Ivy League" and "high quality" are synonymous for most people, but the Ivy League is a specific set of colleges and universities, namely:

Brown UniversityColumbia UniversityCornell UniversityDartmouth CollegeHarvard UniversityPrinceton UniversityUniversity of PennsylvaniaYale UniversityThese "Ancient Eight," as they are frequently called, have various traits in common.

1) They're old (all but Cornell were founded before the 19th century);
2) They're located in the Northeast;
3) They're private (again, except for Cornell, which combines private and public elements);
4) They focus on the traditional arts and sciences, and offer prestigious professional schools at the graduate level;
5) They're expensive;
6) They're ostensibly non-sectarian;
7) They're tough to get into; and, most notably,
8) They compete against each other in athletics.

Yes, strip away all the social connotations and the Ivy League is, simply, an athletic conference. That means Stanford, Chicago, Amherst, Duke and Michigan, while all outstanding, aren't among the Ivies. They may compete with the Ivies for students and faculty, but they don't face them very often on the fields and courts.