Or the tendency toward entropy, a lack of order or predictability; a gradual decline into disorder. It seems inevitable for NU football, and possibly also for the other academic elites who also strive for high level athletic programs. Duke found the magic in basketball, Stanford in football for a while, and NU has had its shining moments. But if entropy is the degenerative condition of major sports at academic universities such as NU, that is the natural descent toward a Dark Age, either the Ivies are telling us something or there is a remedy that no one has yet to figure out. In NU's current situation, working harder can only mean, toward the inevitable decline. One would think that "academic elite" also means "smarter."