The Ivy League may finally be ready to fall in line with the rest of college basketball, according to a report by CBS Sports.

Yep, you read that right. The Ivy League could have a conference tournament as early as next season. The Ivy is the only conference that currently doesn't have a tournament and gives its NCAA Tournament automatic bid to the regular-season champion.


Why would the Ivy League finally give in?

Coaches and athletic directors have been on board for a conference tourney for some time, but proposals were usually shot down by university presidents. According to the report, citing an anonymous source, that is about to change.

A conference championship game would allow the Ivy League a marquee game on a big network. That equals more exposure for its programs.

This is my first year covering Princeton, so I'm just getting to know the Ivy League. In the past, I've written about why I'm in favor of conference tournaments, so, although I'm surely in the minority, I like this idea.

Remember the Princeton team from two seasons ago, it went 21-9, but lost its first three Ivy games. Sunk. The Tigers were essentially playing out the string in the first week of February.

Injuries? Suspensions? Not playing well? Conference tournaments allow for a slight margin of error. I would propose the Ivy League take the top four teams to the campus of the No. 1 seed. Obviously, the regular-season champ gets the NIT bid if it doesn't win the conference title.