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Ivy League Commissioner Robin Harris is a proud Duke grad and fan and someone with a real love for college basketball. We can say that because she has made many road trips to see Duke play. She loves college basketball as much as anyone. We think the world of her.
So we know it was hard for her to pull the plug on the Ivy League when she did - the Ivy was the first conference to do it.
If you recall, people were really mad at her at the time. Petitions were started, lawsuits were threatened, all the normal American reactions to being denied something desired or expected.
There was a huge amount of pressure on her.
We also know this about Robin: she’s damn smart, she pays attention, and she’s not one to shirk her duty. So when she started hearing from Ivy League presidents about the horrific potential of the Coronavirus pandemic, she moved and did so quickly and decisively.
Not long after she acted, Duke more or less forced the ACC to do so as well, then the NCAA did and then all pro sports and the Olympics too.
In hindsight, she was absolutely correct and deserves a lot of respect for putting lives ahead of games.
To get an idea of the atmosphere at the time of her decision, take a look back at this article. The writer clearly has not considered that while you have to declare a champion, that doesn't mean you a) have to send that champion to the bigger NCAA tournament or b) that that tournament would necessarily be played either.
Or c), that that decision, in a highly fluid environment, would come later at any rate.
She might be perfectly happy where she is. We assume that. She’s a great fit with the Ivy League’s values. She has shown real leadership, vision and strength, however and recognizing that, other conferences or organizations are sure to recruit her. They would be very wise to do so.