Internally, the Ivy League faces conflict over the traditional domination of the League by the so-called Big Three--Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Other members of the league occasionally complain that the Big Three receive more than their fair share of the glory and publicity.

For example, the Public Broadcasting System this week plans to televise The Game instead of the Ivy League championship game between Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, the two teams with undeafeated league records this season.

The recent wake of drug scandals and recruiting violations at colleges known for big-time sports has increased the Ivy commitment to amateur athletics.

In light of the death last summer of University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias from cocaine intoxication and the crisis in sports revenue that many smaller schools are facing, the Ivy League philosophy seems to be on the upswing, according to some athletic officials.

Many cite the development of parallel leagues in football and hockey as evidence of a trend toward academics over athletics. The Colonial League, a consortium of private colleges with similar academic philosophies and geographic locations, began play this fall after agreeing to accept Ivy League-type standards, including a ban on athletic scholarships.

The president of the Ivy Group, the League's administrative body, Jeffrey H. Orleans, says that these trends bode well for the future of Ivy League sports. "The Ivy League," he says, "demonstrates that you can maintain standards and still have very good competition."