Take Magnolia: The Story of the Original Magnolia League

Take Ivy

When you hear the word Ivy, your first thought isn’t plants. You might think of JFK sailing around the cape in his trademark Wayfarers and effortless cool. Perhaps it’s Take Ivy style with Groton-bred gentleman jocks wearing OCBD’s on bicycles. Or vintage Ralph Lauren ads with the American Dream stitched in madras.

The Ivy League may have started as an athletic conference, but Ivy became much more: a style, an American archetype, a cultural shorthand for pedigree and aspiration.

Then “Ivy Style” became the quintessential all-American look. A sporty, preppy, effortless look–with staples like the oxford cloth button-downs (OCBD), chinos, and penny loafers.

The look became an international sensation as well. Embodied by the 1965 coffeetable book classic from Japan, Take Ivy. J. Press and Brooks were the traditional outfitters. Ralph Lauren built an empire selling the fantasy of the Ivy lifestyle to the masses.

From Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise to Elle Woods strolling Harvard’s hallowed grounds, the idea of an Ivy Leaguer has been ingrained in our culture for over a century. Not just an educated person — but polished, rooted in the dynastic East Coast prep tradition, the coxswain in America's “river of power.”

While the idea of an Ivy Leaguer is entrenched into our national subconscious as an archetype, style, and cultural icon—few know that the South had its own answer…

Southern Ivy: The Magnolia League

Following World War II, small private universities in the South struggled to compete against larger public universities in football.

Harvie Branscomb, then-chancellor at Vanderbilt, hoped to create rivalries with Ivy League universities. However, after Vandy dominated Yale 35-0, that school in New Haven declined to play any further games.

So in the early 1950s, Branscomb attempted to form a new conference that was the Southern equivalent of the Ivy League. With universities such as Duke, Tulane, Virginia, and others joining Vanderbilt.

A secret meeting was held to quietly float the idea of the “Magnolia Conference,” informally referred to as the Magnolia League. The vision gained momentum in the following years, but never came to fruition.

Though the Magnolia League never took root as a formal conference, the spirit lingered. Investment and population flowed into the South at an exponential rate during the ensuing decades. And more sought the warmer climates, culture, and hospitality of a world lined not with ivy—but magnolia blooms.

The Magnolia Leaguer was never mythologized in the way of the Ivy Leaguer. And yet, you can find them everywhere. You can find them in the krewes hosting Mardi Gras balls of New Orleans and Mobile. In the well-tailored styles of the haberdasheries lining King Street in Charleston. In the golf clubs of Atlanta and Charlotte, the duck hunting camps from the Outer Banks to the Arkansas Delta.

If the Ivy Leaguer represents America’s East Coast pedigree, the Magnolia Leaguer represents Southern charm and grounded ambition: equally aspirational, but warmer, more fun-loving, more ruggedly athletic and rooted in the land; clad in seersucker instead of tweed. Driven…but unwilling to sacrifice family, roots, and the values that matter most.

Like the idea of Ivy, the spirit embodies far more than a collegiate athletic conference. Magnolia represents a culture, style, character and way of life. Though there’s some overlap, the Magnolia Leaguer embodies uniquely Southern traits—which we’ll elaborate on in the next section.

I found little to no writing on this concept. So I did some work constructing a field guide. Let’s dive into an anthropological comparison: Ivy vs. Magnolia…

Ivy vs. Magnolia

The Ivy Leaguer checks his watch and finishes the last sip of his dry martini before boarding his flight at JFK. He’s heading south for Thanksgiving in Savannah, to visit his cousin — a Magnolia Leaguer. It’s been years since they’ve seen each other, and while they share many of the same values, the distinctions are about to become clearer.

The moment he steps off the plane, the feel of the sweet, balmy air — and the sight of Spanish moss dripping from live oaks — instantly puts him at ease. The climate is warmer, and so are the people. The dinner conversation is less about fund returns and more about this…“Iron Bowl” (what is that?)...quail hunting, and pouring generous helpings of Wild Turkey. The loamy red clay feels much nicer under his Gucci horsebit loafers than the pavement of Park Avenue. And when his cousin offers him a tee time, at a club where the greens are as manicured as Yale’s quad, he begins to think: I could get used to this.

He takes some lighthearted ribbing for the copious amount of black in his wardrobe — “too much Manhattan, not enough magnolia” — but it’s a welcome change from the self-serious New York crowd. Here, life is less about guarding the gates and more about opening the porch door, bourbon in hand. The Magnolia world feels familiar, yet different.

Here are some of the distinctions (and similarities) Ivy notices first:

Hospitality vs. Exclusivity: Where the Ivy Leaguer guards the gates with pedigree, the Magnolia Leaguer opens the porch door with a bourbon in hand.
Intellectual vs. Athletic: Ivy’s identity is rooted in scholarship and polish; Magnolia blends academic rigor with football obsession, low handicaps, and hunting grounds.
Nurture vs. Nature: Whereas Ivy’s outdoor pursuits are rare and deliberate–e.g. a planned weekend in Hudson Valley or Alta–Magnolia centers his life around the outdoors; he can’t fathom how people live like sardines in the concrete jungles.
Coolness vs. Warmth: The Ivy Leaguer can be admired from afar; the Magnolia Leaguer draws you in with charm. The weather, and the people, radiate warmth.
Similarities: Both embody certain aspirations, respect for tradition, refined style, well-roundedness, and the pursuit of “the good life.”

As Ivy spends more time with his cousin down in Savannah, he begins to pick up on some of the finer contrasts such as:

*Category*	IVY LEAGUER	MAGNOLIA LEAGUER
“The City”	New York	Atlanta
Natural Habitat	Upper East Side/Back Bay	Buckhead/Myers Park
Summer Habitat	Nantucket/Hamptons	Sea Island/30A
“Mountain” Weekend	Hudson Valley	Highlands
Golf Cathedral	Pine Valley	Augusta National
Leisure Gear	Squash Racquet	Golf Clubs
Keep What You Kill	Wall Street	Tryon Street
Cocktail	Dry Martini	Old Fashioned
Seafood	Clambakes & Lobster Rolls	Lowcountry & Crawfish Boils
Fall Outerwear	Barbour	Beckbe
Jacket	Tweed	Seersucker
Footwear	Horsebit Loafers	Cowboy Boots
Car	Tesla (or MetroCard)	Restored Land Cruiser
Prized Plant Life	New England Maple	Southern Live Oak
Literary Icons	T.S. Eliot & F. Scott Fitzgerald	William Faulkner & Walker Percy
“Been to 27 Shows”	Phish	Widespread Panic
“The Hunt”	The Far Hills Races	Quail hunting in Albany, GA
Prep Feeders	Exeter, Andover; the “Eight Schools”	Episcopal, Woodberry Forest, McCallie

The Magnolia Leaguer: Personified

Back Then (1960s)

Him: A Vanderbilt gentleman in a linen blazer, sipping bourbon on the KA porch, equal parts polished and rugged. Studying law while playing on the golf team, but he doesn’t let that detract from priorities: hunting, tailgates, and his family horse farm in Franklin. He wears seersucker without irony, greets you with hospitality, and has one eye on family tradition and another on the “New South’s” future. Dreams of being a writer, but ends up developing real estate during Atlanta’s boom years.
Her: A Tulane belle in pearls and a sundress, with a hint of rebellion as she reluctantly plays the New Orleans society game. Top contender for this year’s Mardi Gras Queen. She knows her Faulkner, plays tennis in the morning at NOCC, and carries herself with warmth and wit. Appreciates the Quarter as much as the Rex ball. Currently being courted by an offshore oil heir named Jacques, but dreams of escaping the “where’d you go to high school” Newman crowd and moving to California (her parent’s worst nightmare).

Today (2025)

Him: Lives in Atlanta, Nashville, or Dallas. Spends Fridays on the golf course, Saturdays tailgating, Sundays taking his mom to church. Works in real estate, healthcare, or enterprise software sales. Drives his LR3, with UVA decals and little Hunter & Ainsley in the back seat, to the Cherokee pool on summer weekends. Wears quiet luxury, listens to Huberman, and partakes in wellness retreats but lives for fishing trips with the boys; taking his dog to the ‘Hooch on sunny Friday afternoons with a six-pack.

Her: A product of Hockaday and Wake, stylish without ostentation, equally at home in a boardroom or on a veranda. Successful career at a family office, but most dedicated to little Hunter & Ainsley. Enjoys growing hydrangeas, “Mom’s Mahjong Night,” and vacations to Rosemary Beach where she ponders quitting said family office to create lifestyle content. Approachable, athleisure clad, open-minded yet adherent of traditions.

If Ivy Leaguers are defined by brick, tweed, and restraint, Magnolia Leaguers are defined by porches, seersucker, and charm. Both signal a way of life that transcends the schools themselves. Which brings us to the next chapter: the Magnolia League institutions — each with its own campus culture, alumni archetypes, and place in this Southern Ivy constellation.

The Magnolia League Schools: Field Guides

If the Ivy League has its hallowed halls and centuries-old traditions, the Magnolia League has its magnolias in bloom, its esteemed tailgates, and its equally mythic campuses scattered across the South.

Each school in "The League” carries a distinct flavor. A personality shaped by geography, history, and culture. To know the Magnolia League is to know its institutions—not just the stately quads and libraries, but the cultural shorthand that alumni carry into boardrooms, cocktail parties, and hunting lodges for decades to come. These are not interchangeable campuses; they are ecosystems of style, sport, and Southern identity.

So here’s a field guide to each storied Magnolia League institution. Complete with cultural artifacts, natural habitats style guides, work & play, and its closest Ivy comparison.

Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)

Artifacts: Hurricane glass, crawfish, beads, jazz trumpet.
Style: Perlis Mardi Gras rugby with festival wristbands that never come off.
Sporting/Leisure: Crawfish boils, Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras balls.
Ivy Comparison: Brown — more fun, more creative, sometimes more hedonistic than the rest.
Student Feeders & Habitats: Northeastern prep schools (Horace Mann, Dalton), Miami, LA private schools; local Louisiana elite.
10 Years Later: Ad agency creative in Brooklyn with Mardi Gras posters framed on the wall, or startup product manager in New Orleans or Austin.

University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)

Artifacts: Landon lacrosse shorts, blue blazer, Foxfield race tickets.
Style: Seersucker, pastels (especially orange), Barbour jackets, pearls.
Sporting/Leisure: Lacrosse, equestrian, Thomas Jefferson biographies.
Ivy Comparison: Princeton — aristocratic club, stately grounds, genteel self-regard.
Student Feeders & Habitats: Richmond elite, DC area prep schools, Charlotte, Charleston, Northeast boarding schools.
10 Years Later: Working in a family office or big tobacco exec in Richmond; lobbyist in DC. Using alumni cocktail parties to show they still “work hard play hard.

Duke University (Durham, NC)

Artifacts: Krzyzewskiville tent, JJ Reddick jersey, fantastic lies.
Style: Vineyard Vines + Gucci loafers, with smugness as accessory.
Sporting/Leisure: Basketball dynasty, lacrosse, hedge fund recruiting events
Ivy Comparison: Harvard — self-styled as the pinnacle, dripping with status anxiety.
Student Feeders & Habitats: “I lived in North Carolina my whole life…except for the 4 years I went to Duke.” Strong Northeast prep school contingent that moves back to New York after graduation.
10 Years Later: Still making where they went to school their entire personality; Timothy Ratliff

Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)

Artifacts: Cowboy boots, guitar, Belle Meade CC golf polo.
Style: Nashville chic — honky-tonk boots with linen blazers.
Sporting/Leisure: SEC tailgates, Belle Meade golf, Broadway music nights.
Ivy Comparison: Yale — mix of creative + old money patrician
Student Feeders & Habitats: Top private schools from Tennessee, Dallas, Atlanta, and Florida. The Chicago/New York crowd grows bigger each year (both as a feeder and post-grad destination).
10 Years Later: Health care private equity or country music power broker in Nashville; house in Belle Meade, Jeep with fly rod and nine iron.

Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC)

Artifacts: TP rolls from the quad, golf bag, soft chips from Putters.
Style: Polished country club prep, understated Brooks Brothers.
Sporting/Leisure: Golf at Old Town, basketball pride (CP3!), oak-shaded tailgates.
Ivy Comparison: Dartmouth — smaller, tight-knit, rugged meets refined.
Student Feeders & Habitats: 72% of the student body hails from New Jersey. The rest are from NC private schools, Atlanta suburbs, Charlotte, Charleston.
10 Years Later: Investment Banking VP in Charlotte with a Quail Hollow membership.

Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)

Artifacts: Lucchese boots, G-Wagon keys, Hermès belt, bottle service receipt.
Style: Dallas glam — designer everything, larger-than-life.
Sporting/Leisure: Boulevarding, pony excess, hitting the slopes, CO/NM vacation homes.
Ivy Comparison: Penn — Wharton energy, big wallets, all about networking.
Student Feeders & Habitats: Texas private schools, LA/Orange County, New Orleans elite.
10 Years Later: Real estate developer in Dallas or Houston, vacation home in Taos, kids already on the waitlist for St. Mark’s.

Emory University (Atlanta, GA)

Artifacts: Coca-Cola fridge, General Muir brunch menu, Dooley.
Style: Jericho jersey to the day party…A-MAZING
Sporting/Leisure: Maggie’s late night, mediocre tennis, driving yellow Audi back to Long Island for the summers
Ivy Comparison: Columbia — urban, cosmopolitan, professional.
Student Feeders & Habitats: Long Island, Westchester, and Manhattan. Miami. LA. An occasional Atlanta private school kid is as Southern as it gets.
10 Years Later: Partner-track at King & Spalding or NYC BigLaw. Kids at Paideia.

Rice University (Houston, TX)

Artifacts: Chess board, NASA badge, craft coffee mug, quirky band uniform.
Style: What style? Purely functional with a comic book t-shirt to spice things up.
Sporting/Leisure: What sports? Programming AI systems. Trig proofs.
Ivy Comparison: MIT meets Cornell — brainy and quirky; the school that doesn’t quite fit with the others but they’re glad to have them anyway.
Student Feeders & Habitats: Texas magnets, Houston prep, West Coast STEM schools, high-achieving internationals.
10 Years Later: Engineer at NASA or data scientist in Silicon Valley, home library filled with first-edition Asimov novels.

Taken together, the Magnolia League schools form more than just an academic conference—they are a cultural constellation. Each campus may have its own rituals, reputations, and alumni archetypes, but they share the throughlines of Southern hospitality, athletic prowess, and a certain ease that the Ivies sometimes lack. If the Ivy League prides itself on producing statesmen, CEOs, and cultural critics, the Magnolia League produces raconteurs, hosts, entrepreneurs, and leaders whose strength is as much in character as in credentials.

The Idea of the Magnolia League: Inspiration for Our Brand

In the end, the story of the Magnolia League isn’t really about a collection of Southern colleges or an athletic conference. It’s about something larger—how place, culture, people, and meaningful experiences converge to shape who we are.

We’ve seen how the Ivy became more than eight schools in the Northeast: it became shorthand for an entire way of life. The Magnolia League, even if it never formally existed, offers the same opportunity for the South: a cultural symbol that captures the grace, grit, and hospitality of its people.

But let’s be clear—this isn’t about exclusion or birthright. The Magnolia Leaguer isn’t reserved for those who happen to be born into established families or old money. It’s about values, lifestyle, and character—things anyone can embody with the right mix of talent, work ethic, and charm.

It’s about carrying yourself with quiet confidence. Having ambition without putting it above your family and faith. Valuing tradition while embracing a roughish yet refined Southern sense of fun. Someone just as comfortable drinking out of a brown bag at a Mississippi juke joint as they are sipping martinis at Cherokee Town & Country Club. At ease with people from all walks of life.

That’s why Magnolia League became our brand’s namesake. Just as the Ivy League once came to symbolize excellence, style, and aspiration–the Magnolia League offers a Southern counterpart: aspirational yet approachable, rugged yet refined, rooted in heritage but embracing modern innovations.

It’s a name that evokes magnolia blossoms and longleaf pine–as well as golf fairways, Tuscaloosa tailgates, Nashville honky tonks, and long summer evenings with friends that are more like brothers–driving on a rural two-lane road with the windows down, blasting some old Hank and wishing the night would never end.

So who is a Magnolia Leaguer? He or she is the embodiment of the South’s best qualities in 2025—polished but never pretentious, ambitious yet welcoming, with a taste for the good life but an appreciation for hard work and authenticity.

They might be spotted at The Grove in Oxford on a fall Saturday, sipping bourbon at Keeneland, or catching the last nine holes at Augusta on a Sunday afternoon. They care about craft and quality over trends. They blaze their own trail. Have the courage to build the lifestyle they want–not society, not their family, not to fit in with the crowd. They take responsibility and take action to solve problems. They’re proud yet humble. They’re open minded…but hold firm when it comes to the people, places, and values that make them who they are.

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