We have been to a variety of schools since the fall and we come away thinking the NESCAC and Patriot League schools just seem to have the most to offer students. There just seems to be an intangible quality to these schools that is hard to pinpoint. We have visited other highly selective schools outside these conferences and they just come across rather bland.
Thoughts as to why?
This may come down to the temporal relationship between the founding of the conferences and the founding of the schools themselves. These colleges existed well before these official athletic leagues, and may have formed their athletic associations based on some of the same factors you are seeing today.
Having said that, I think the parallel Liberty League colleges are definitely not bland, though the athletic rivalries themselves within this conference will generally be less intense.
Looking just slightly less selective than Ivies, also consider: