New-York tribune., 1909-10-24
GOVERNS ALL SPORT
NEW COLOMBIA BODY.
General athletic Association
TO Be Tried at Last.

With only one-half the eighteen hundred
members that wers thought necessary when
the scheme was first proposed, the Board
of Student Representatives at Columbia
decided yesterday that they would give the
plan for a general athletic association
trial. making up any deficit that might
arise by soliciting subscriptions from the
alumni. The plan for the association had
been hanging fire for more than month
since the university opened for the fan term.
and undergraduate subscriptions were re-
ceived much more slowly than had been ex-
pected. When the Student Board called a
general meeting to discuss the scheme yes
terday 1t was found that some $50 ssbscrip-
tions had been received and that members
Of the faculty had promised fifty more.
Although the original idea called for efgh-
teen hundred undergraduate subscriptions,
the board decided that sufficient number
had been received to warrant a trial. 1t
was also understood that assurance had
been gained from the alumni association
that in case the scheme worked out well
the remaining nine hundred subscriptions
would be forthcoming from the graduates.
1t was this assurance that led the board to
decide on the trial Each subscription rep
resents $40. so that the association will have
nearly StoUOD WiIn W1lcn TO IluanCe the dNu-
letic teams which it includes.
Under the new system the rowing. base
ball, track, basketball, lacrosse soccer.
gymnastics, hockey. swimming and fenc-
ing associations at Columbia will be con-
solidated in one central organization, which
shall undertake the financing of the teams
urder its control. The budgets Of the as
sociations call for the expenditure of nearly
$4,000 In addition to the receipts from
membership subscriptions IL Is believed
that the balance will be made up by guar
antees and gate receipts from non-members
of the association, for all holding men,
bership cards are to be admitted to home
games without charge.
This is not the first time that Columbia
has tried a central board Of control for
all athletic teams. There was an old asso-
citation that worked well when the college
was in the old buildings on 18th street, and
then a second association was organized
in the first days of football on Morningside
Heights. This last soon expired. however,
because there was a subordination OF all
other sports to football and the crew was
not enthusiastically in favor Of the scheme
The present attempt TO establish a gem
eral association Is the direct outcome OF the
financial difficulties that beset several or
the COIuTnDla teams last year. HOtdUIy IHc
crew and track associations. There has
been a waning Of interest in sports at Co
lumbia that has become general since the
abolition of football and 1t was this that
led to a lack of financial support of the
crew and caused a deficit.
1t was the idea of the promoters of the
scheme that enough students would join the
association to insure the financial success
of the teams. This would relieve the man
ayers of these teams Of much of the work
of personally collecting the funds for their
respective organizations. At first it was
the intention to include the students in the
graduate departments OF the university, but
some objected so strenuousIy that that plan
fell through. Now only those In the
academic and scientific undergraduate
schools have been asked to Join. The total
number of students in these departments
is only about 1900, so that the new associa-
tom represents a membership of about 65
per cent of the undergraduate body.