The Ivy League will not join the antitrust settlement that will allow schools to pay their players directly, a decision that leaves the conference of eight elite academic institutions clinging to college sports' amateur model even as it is increasingly abandoned by the NCAA's biggest powers.

The Ivy League announced Tuesday that it will opt out of a proposed National Collegiate Athletic Association settlement, declining to provide current and former student athletes with direct compensation through revenue sharing.

Ivy League executive director Robin Harris said in an email to players and coaches this week that the conference will maintain its scholarly focus rather than accept the roster and endorsement regulations included in the House settlement.