The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-15
COACH stage
ON ELIGIBILITY
Would Bar Men From Compel
ing With More Than One
College.

The western Conference Intercol-
legiate association is the seat of re-
form In college sports. Many OF the
laws enacted in that association later
have been adopted in other sections
An altogether new thing now is pro-
posed, and by A. a. Stagg of the Uni
Versity OF Chicago. He wants to have
the conference include what is termed
an immigration plank in its platform
This is TO bar from taking part in ath-
letics of the second institute men who
come from another college. The pres
ent regulation is that men coming from
another university must be in resi-
dence for an academic year before they
become eligible. and then may not play
II they have had three years OF var
sity competition in their first institu-
ton. Generally however. there is no
objection to man who has become
eligible properly through his year of
residence taking part in sports
The one-year rule is designed to bar
the athlete tramp. In other days some
men tried as many as three colleges in
turn, leaving one to go to another as
they saw fit. Under the old system. or
lack of system. they became eligible
the moment they paid their fees i'm the
college they entered. II was a very
bad thing, indeed, because it led to all
sorts of actual corruption. It was the
sort of corruption that could not be
proved in many cases, especially where
the athlete in question was supposed 10
have enough money TO put him above
being bought. But it worked out in
many cases Just as if the man were a
professional ball player trading his al
legiance for interest and conducting
himself in sport altogether as if he
were pro and nothing else.
X X
Later on when the demand for some
reform that would put an end TO this
became strongest the one-year rule
was put in force. This. together with
the freshman rule. put an end, 1t is as
sumed, to the old type of floating
However. il is within the possibilities
that a man good enough TO be valuable
To a college athletic association might
even be maintained a year in the instl-
tuition, with the surety that eventually
he would take his place on the varsity
team in the particular sport in which
he excelled to an extent to make 1t
worth while TO keep him on. This pos
sibility. slight though it may seem to
some folks who do not know how
Jealous alumni are in behalf of the
athletic prestige of their universities,
makes a suggestion like that of Pro-
fessor stagg very interesting
Professor Stage purposes 10 have
these men kept but Of sports alto
gether If they come from another uni
versity, i'm theory. it is because they
arc so greatly attracted by some fea-
ture Of the curriculum that they con-
sidered il worth while TO change.
Granted that this is the case. they are
to be left at liberty to indulge them
selves IN the studies that drew them
away from the other university. where
their work was tempered by athletics
If it is another case. such as moving
from some city near their old uni
versity to one nearer Chicago. for in
stance. which impels the change, at
least they are under the same ruling.
This is a perfectly innocent step that
brings with il all the consequences OF
one undertaken with a worse intent
The best that can be said. then. is that
it is unfortunate.
BY preventing the athlete from an
other college ever from taking part In
sports in another university much Of
the unpleasantness which now exists
can be done away with. There can be
no talk Of PROSECUTING and no insinua
ton that the big college gobDles up all
the good men of the smaller one. If n
man changes colleges because he is
after better things in the line of in
struction to some particular line there
at being barred from varsity SPORTS.
Primarily. that should be. at Chicago,
for Chicago men; at Wisconsin. for
Wisconsin mcu-
An example Of the wrong sort of uni
versity team was at Columbia some
years ago. when the football eleven
had man from Williams. WESLEYAN.
MICHIGAN and what not on II. These
men had no real Loyalty to Columbia.
ii may be said without hurting their
feelings They We're in Columbia to
pursue. in most cases. graduate work.
and they were not Colunbia men any
more than an American Rhodes scholar
is really and truly an oxford man.
II is not always the fault Of the col
leee either. Many men who come into
athletic prominence write TO coaches In
bigger universities asking whether
they would be welcomed II they made
a change. Professor Stasg has had oc-
casiou TO deal with some Of these men
and has written in return that he had
no interest in their movements. lat
terly he has been strongly tempted tn
make a sharp reply 10 these men.
whose very actiou ie enough TO bring
Chicago into disrapute. Re cannot hello
what tncv may be intending to DO in
the way Of selling their athletic abli-
ty. hut he ARGUES that if It became i'm
possible for them To find market an
end would be put TO one form of ath-
letic traffic.
He has no objection nor has any
other man in charge OF college snort. to
let these men have every privilege of
exercising in the second university
they may choose 70 adorn. But that is
what few Of them ere after. If they
haven't been apDroa ched by some per
son interested thev are eager for them
selves TO share in the glory that at
taches to being a star man on p big
university eleven or other athletic
team. They want that because they be-
Iieve they are qualified to he big frogs
in big puddles. That is where the ath
lete verv often is to blame Often in
lust such cases folks outside blame the
college for reaching out TO grab up
good men from small colleges.
PENN. 20: MICHIGAN, O.