The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-27
REFORM OF FOOTBALL
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA E PROPOSES PLANS.
Rules are Fermulated Which are De- signed te Do Away With Pr0- fessionalism in IHter-CoIle-
 giafe COnteSts.

HI uniform eligibility in college athietlcs and for the elimination of unnecessary
 roughness, brutality and foul play m
 the game of football the University | of Pennsylvania has taken initiative suggestive reforms, and has addressed Fl a circular on the subject to the heads If of all colleges. preparatory schools ana other institutions in the United States
 interested in athletics.
 III This action was taken after a num- Der of meetings of the University Com
 mittee on Athletics of the University III of Pennsylvania at which the Presi- dents thoughts on the subject were dis Il cussed. The committee formulated II rules which it thought would meet the | situation. and decided to send them to | the authorities of all educational fnsti- l tutions in the country for consideration
 and adoption if they met with approval. l The letter is as follows:
 l President Roosevelt, in a recent in- ] terview with a member of the commit l tee Professor White). expressed his | opinion as to the urgent need of Jan | earnest and concerted effort to secure simplicity and uniformity in the eligi-
 bility rules of the colleges and univer- sities of this country
 Professor Hollis, of Harvard, has ex- pressed the same thought. In his opin- l ion, the backbone of college regulation of athletics rests in three rules: I,
 
 | which should require all members of the athletic teams to be genuine stu dents of the college which they repre- | sent and to be satisfactory in their | studies; 8, rule to prevent the pro- | curement of good players from other | colleges by social or money induce | ments.'
 "The University Committee on Ath-
 letics of the University of Pennsylva- I mia. in an endeavor to cover these | points and to make a code which will | meet the desired requirements, with | thoroughness and with brevity and 1 clearness at the same time, had -formu-
 lated the inclosed rules and will ad-
 vocate adoption not only by their own I institution. but by the others whom | they may meet in athletic competition.
 It believes that they will provide for all the exigencie5 which have hitherto
 arisen or that may arise. and if inter- | preted and accepted in the broad spirit | which was appropriately described by President Roosevelt as a gentleman's agreement will do away with the evils | which have meaaced intercollegiate | athletics and will promote the best in- 1 terests of clean. gentlemanly amateur | sport.
 l Tt therefore, sends them to you for your consideration in the hope that
 they may be generally adopted by the
 educational institutions of the country
 that meet one another in friendly ath-
 letic rivalry
 "A reply conveying your opinion as l to both the matters thus submitted would be greatly appreciated" l The rules proposed by the Universi- l ty in accord with the suggestion of l President Roosevelt are as follows: 1 "No student shall be allowed to rep
 resent any college or university in in-
 tercollegiate athletic contests until he
 has been in residence there as a bona | fide student for an academic year, and
 shall have passed satisfactory exami-
 nation on a course of study as can
 didate for degree, or. if a partial
 student. shall have taken a course | which requires at least fifteen hours per week and shall have passed satis- l factory examinations in subjects ag- gregating at least twelve hours of l such courses.
 NO student shall represent his col
 lege or university in intercollegiate
 athletics contests unless he shall be at | the time in good academic standing in | the class where he is a member. "No student shall be allowed to rep
 resent his college or university in in- | tercollegiate athletic contests who shall
 at any time have taught or engaged | in any athletic sport for a pecuniary
 or other consideration, or who shall at | any time have received for taking part
 tn any athletic sport or contest, any | pecuniary gain or emolument whatev-
 CT. direct or indirect, with the excep-
 tion that he may have received the | amount by which the expenses necessa- | rily incurred by him in taking part in | such sport or contest exceeded his or
 dinary expenses. In applying this rule I the constituted authorities shall dis criminate between the deliberate use of athletic skill as means to a live- lihood and the unintentional or youth
 ful infractions of the rule. No student shall represent one or
 more universities or colleges in inter- collegiate contests for more than four years. In determining what consti- tutes a university or college within the meaning of this rule. due consideration shall be given to the athletic and scho- lastic standing of institutions repre- sented. A student who from any cause participates in intercollegiate athletic contests, during only a small fraction al part of year, may in succeeding year he charged with only that part of the year which is equivalent to that in | which participated during the complet- ed year.
 The rules regulating eligibility as | formulated in this code should be inter- | preted as representing merely re- l quired minimum. No student shall be | considered eligible to represent his col lege or university in athletics merely | because he satisfies the minimum re- | quirements, but it shall be the duty of | the constituted authorities to determine | whether it IS best. all things consid- | cred. for any particular student or for | the institution, that he be permitted to | become its representative in any l branch of athletics.
 The board of coaches of the Jniver- | sity of Pennsylvania in a communica- tion enclosed in the letter discusses the abuses to which football has been sub jected and ventures the opinion that the danger of injury in mass play Is more aparent than ever. Nine tenths of the injuries. the board says, occur in so-called open plays. The board suggests the following changes in the playing rules: For unnecessary rough ness, "piling up,' the use of the open hand or elbows" etc, penalty of 25 yards being inflicted For the offensc of "slugging with fist" or ''kneeing.' or other equally unsportsmanlike action
 that the player not only be disuuaIif1ed by removal from the game but that for the remainder of the half in which tbe offense occurred his team to9 he ! obliged to continue the game without substitute for him: and that the |