The sun., 1908-05-24
WITH THE COLLEGE ATHLETES
DOINGS IN THE FIELD OF SPORT
IN EAST AND WEST.


A New Conference. OF New EngIana Cot.
Iegcs THIS Time, with Reform Pro.
gramme-strcng FcelinS Against has
ketbail-An Honor for Jack Moaklcy.
Hereafter when thsre 10 discussion OF
conference methods IL win DO nccossary to
specify which conference is meant. For
merly it meant only the colleges Of the
Big Fight Of the middle West. but now
there is conferences Of New England col
eses, comprising all the important ones
save Yale and Boston College. Il Is an
association designed to further tho plans
Tor reform in summer baseball, basketball
and schedules that the intercollegiate
Athletic Association OF the United States
promulgated at its recent meeting Ia this
city. The colleges cannot lot these prob
lens alone to be handled by the individual
Institutions. Yale apparently kept In line
with its customary policy by staying away
IRON the meeting. The habit sccms TO be
at Yale 10 settle these difficulties without
resorting to outside advice.
II seenis not unnatural to believe that q
college should be able 10 handle its internal
affairs bettor than some associations OF
professors outside who do not know what
are the conditions in that particular uni
vefsity, However. the new body is chiefly
an advisory affair Whatever it resolves
s not binding upon its members. but Ia
solely by way OF friendly tip, as 1t were.
Under those conditions it is hard TO see
where the good Of it is. The best the new
organization can do Ia to discuss, and those
who are interested in college athletics
doubtless feel by this time that there is
discussion enough and to spare.
Spesking OF college basketball, it is in
.eresting TO note that this game has fallen
considerably from It's estate in the last
rew months. When the intercollegiate
pssociation voted to suspend. that was
sign enough that tho faculties were opposed
to the Spirit Of the game. Recently the
authorities at Swarthmore took action to
give up intercollegiate basketball alto
sether II is>to be expected that other
colleges will be in line to curtail the excess
sive participation in winter sports. which
means practically basketball and little
else. Those who have had the handling
Of the game In the colleges have themselves
to blame, The game was overdone. There
were too many competitions and too much
rough play. The game, as they exploited 1t.
worked its own undoing.
Colleges which ran the schedules up to
twenty-five or thirty games were putting
too much time on It, and the men In those
colleges could not we'll expect faculty
approval Of It. Furthermore, when teams
went away on long trips and report after
report came in OF roughness and foul play
ing, II was not far to seek to find the fac
ulties eager toeshut down on a sport OF this
kind. There will be much less basketball
the next winter. II will not be at ali sur
prising to see Harvard for one shut down
on the game as an intercollegiate sport.
Yale and Princeton certainly viii play only
the shortest Of schedules. II the game
persists at Cornell. Columbia and Pennsyl-
vania It will be In modified form, What
will be done In the West after this start it
is hard to say The short schedule move
nent began there, and the Western confer
ence colleges are not likely to be left be-
hind in making reform.
The senior class at Cornell has paid an
unusual honor to John F. Moakley, the coach
Of the track team. The senior class book
ia ordinarily dedicated to some prominent
alumnus or public man friendly TO Cornell.
This years book In dedicated to Moakley.
1t contains his picture and hattering
biographical sketch. Jack has been, paid
his need OF honos at Cornell. The stu
dents there have been raising money for a
house for him on lot they already have
bought. When a man Is successful there
the students are willing to do great deal.
But Moakley is a very earnest, sincere,
hardworking sort Of chap who would come
close to getting praise whether or not his
teams won Probably one reason they do
ia that the men like him SO well.
The board Of directors in charge OF ath-
Ietics at Pennsylvania has decided that
men who eat at the training table must pay
for all their meals at the fiat rate Of s. a
week whether they eat one meal week or
all the twenty-one 1t has been decided
in the case of men who live in Philadelphia
but who drop in occasionally TO eat at a train
ing table that they shall pay the same prls,e .
rs any other man. There was some trouble
earlier in the season over men who did not
pay their bills and were kept on the field
because Of 1t. These men were not taxed
at the end Of the fall football season for
their board bills becasue these matters
ordinarily have gone rather by default.
In order that there may be no repetition Of
such happening the rule will be enforced
strictly In the future.
Although most OF the colleges, even
Princeton now, award the varsity letter
for a first place in dual track and field
An agitation is on to give the A for a VIC
tory OF this kind. Curiously enough. the
letter Is given to a man who makes college
record, so that an Amherst man who rar
first in record breaking time In an inter
class meet would be entitled to the letter
although under the rules 1t is not for the
man who wins first In dual meet and
thereby perhaps wins the meet for Amherst
The Amherst letter Ia awarded for being
on winning relay team at the Boston A.
games, and ordinarily in few colleges is ar
indoor team considered worthy Of the
letter. At Princeton, where the varsity
letter is hedged about by all sorts Of regu.
lations, II has been voted to give it for the
Yale dual meet, Amherst is considering
giving II for firsts In the meets with Williams
and Dartmouth. At present there aEe
fewer track than football AS
Regarding the Yale-P Princeton dual meet
il is Interesting TO note that on the day oi
those games the Yale Daily Nsps published
forecast of the probable result, figuring
the meet tie at 50 points apiece. After
the meet which resulted 75 to 81 for Yale
there was an impression among Princeton
men that all the bear stories from New
Haven before tho games had been intended
70 dAosive tho Tigers. Judged from that
forecast, however, Yale seems to have been
unaware itself OF the quality Of some OF
the men on the team. For instance, regard
ing the 100 yard and 100 yard runs, the Yale