The term Ivy League is now most commonly used to refer to eight universities who formed the 'Ivy League' athletic conference. 'Ivy League' became, like WASP, a way of referring to this elite, and elitist, class. However, at this time, none of these institutions made efforts to form an athletic league. These schools were known for their long-standing traditions in intercollegiate athletics, often being the first schools to participate in such activities. Several sports-writers and other journalists used the term shortly later to refer to the older colleges, those along the northeastern seaboard of the United States, chiefly the nine institutions with origins dating from the colonial era, together with the United States Military Academy (West Point), the United States Naval Academy, and a few others. The first known instance of the term 'Ivy League' appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on February 7, 1935. The first usage of 'Ivy' in reference to a group of colleges is from sportswriter Stanley Woodward (1895-1965): 'A proportion of our eastern ivy colleges are meeting little fellows another Saturday before plunging into the strife and the turmoil.' However, it has been noted that Stanley Woodward actually took the term from fellow New York Tribune sportswriter Caswell Adams. Princeton's 'Ivy Club' was founded in 1879. Ivy planting ceremonies are reported for Yale, Bryn Mawr, and many others. 'Planting the ivy' was a customary class day ceremony at many colleges in the late 1800s. The term 'Ivy League' came from the ivy plants that cover many of these institutions' buildings Thus, the education of significant early Americans can be traced predominantly to these schools. They also provided the teachers and administrators for many of the institutions of higher education founded subsequently. These universities were foundational in the development of education in the United States, seven of them predating the American Revolution. The term 'Ivy League' is now most commonly used to refer to those eight schools as academic institutions. Athletic competition continues among the schools, and although no longer dominant, they remain competitive on the national level in many sports. The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education located in the Northeastern United States.

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