[delewaresinglewing]

Under Monty yes two players couldn’t get into Stanford did play in the Ivy League. At least one at Harvard

The Ivies can admit up to 35 football recruits a year and because they don't offer football scholarships (though they offer need-based aid similar to what Stanford offers) their rosters tend to be large -- 118 at Harvard, 123 at Princeton. They evaluate recruits based upon the Academic Index (AI), a three-part evaluation of SAT/ACT scores, SAT Subject scores (if the school requires them) and GPA/class rank or standing. Each element operates on a sliding scale from 20 to 80 points for a possible total maximum score of 240 points. So a 4.0 unweighted GPA/#1 class rank, 1600 on SAT and 800 on subject test would be a 240.

The average student AI is thought to be 220 at Harv/Yal/Princ, 216 at Dart/Brown/Pen and 210 at Colum/Cornell. The average AI of any team must be within one standard deviation (15 points) of the campus AI for that institution. Any recruited athlete has to have a minimum AI of 171 in order to be admitted to an Ivy (think 600 on the SAT). There have been hardship exceptions. Every athlete admitted with a low AI must be offset by an athlete with a high AI. Of the 30 football recruits, only 2-3 will be on the low end. The low is typically a 1220 SAT/27 ACT and top 25% class rank, while the high will be a 1460 SAT and top 5% class rank.

When my son and the other two recruits entered Princeton, their collective AI average was 224. It was high, in part, because the previous coach had gone overboard on recruiting lower AI players the prior year and balance was demanded. During that same year, Stanford recruited an All-American from my son's club whose AI would have been 189. But he was a truly exceptional player and Stanford plays at a substantially higher level than Princeton.

More information on the Ivy's AI here: What Athletes Need to Know About the Ivy League Academic Index - Do It Yourself College Rankings (diycollegerankings.com) and here: Ivy AI Final (mka.org)

Hmm, so it sounds like a strategy to balance things out and raise the average AI is to ask the top incoming students to be nominally on the football team. They don't have to actually play. Of course no one would ever really do that....... would they?

No, I don't believe they would. Admissions is very careful about who they allow to matriculate.

But I'll bite. Why don't you point out who, on the roster below, you think fits that description?
2022 Football Roster - Harvard University (gocrimson.com)

https://gocrimson.com/sports/football/ro...fith/25180

[delewaresinglewing]

Under Monty yes two players couldn’t get into Stanford did play in the Ivy League. At least one at Harvard

The Ivies can admit up to 35 football recruits a year and because they don't offer football scholarships (though they offer need-based aid similar to what Stanford offers) their rosters tend to be large -- 118 at Harvard, 123 at Princeton. They evaluate recruits based upon the Academic Index (AI), a three-part evaluation of SAT/ACT scores, SAT Subject scores (if the school requires them) and GPA/class rank or standing. Each element operates on a sliding scale from 20 to 80 points for a possible total maximum score of 240 points. So a 4.0 unweighted GPA/#1 class rank, 1600 on SAT and 800 on subject test would be a 240.

The average student AI is thought to be 220 at Harv/Yal/Princ, 216 at Dart/Brown/Pen and 210 at Colum/Cornell. The average AI of any team must be within one standard deviation (15 points) of the campus AI for that institution. Any recruited athlete has to have a minimum AI of 171 in order to be admitted to an Ivy (think 600 on the SAT). There have been hardship exceptions. Every athlete admitted with a low AI must be offset by an athlete with a high AI. Of the 30 football recruits, only 2-3 will be on the low end. The low is typically a 1220 SAT/27 ACT and top 25% class rank, while the high will be a 1460 SAT and top 5% class rank.

When my son and the other two recruits entered Princeton, their collective AI average was 224. It was high, in part, because the previous coach had gone overboard on recruiting lower AI players the prior year and balance was demanded. During that same year, Stanford recruited an All-American from my son's club whose AI would have been 189. But he was a truly exceptional player and Stanford plays at a substantially higher level than Princeton.

More information on the Ivy's AI here: What Athletes Need to Know About the Ivy League Academic Index - Do It Yourself College Rankings (diycollegerankings.com) and here: Ivy AI Final (mka.org)

Hmm, so it sounds like a strategy to balance things out and raise the average AI is to ask the top incoming students to be nominally on the football team. They don't have to actually play. Of course no one would ever really do that....... would they?

No, I don't believe they would. Admissions is very careful about who they allow to matriculate.

But I'll bite. Why don't you point out who, on the roster below, you think fits that description?
2022 Football Roster - Harvard University (gocrimson.com)

https://gocrimson.com/sports/football/ro...fith/25180