Ivy League football to compete in FCS playoffs beginning next season

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) - The Ivy League announced Wednesday its football programs will compete in the FCS playoffs beginning next season.

The league said the decision to compete in the playoffs followed a year-long process initiated by its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Mason Shipp, a senior football player at Yale who serves as the committee's chairman, called this a monumental day and said to the future generations of Ivy League football players: "go win us some hardware!"

The 2024 season culminated with Columbia, Dartmouth and Harvard earning a share of the Ivy League title. It was Colombia football's first Ivy League title since 1961.

The league said it will develop a tiebreaker system to determine how its automatic-qualifier for the playoffs will be determined.

"The Ivy League prides itself on a storied tradition of impact, influence and competitive success throughout the history of college football. We now look ahead to a new chapter of success and to further enhancing the student-athlete experience with our participation in the NCAA FCS playoffs," said Robin Harris, the league's executive director.