New-York tribune., 1911-01-22
RULE BALKS COLUMBIA
To Join with Smaller Colleges
AGAINST Three Year Limitation.
ROWING MAY BE DROPPED
Sports Must Show vigor or Be
Abolished by Athletic Board
- New Stadium Plans.

The Columbia Track Association has not
held a meeting since the executive and ad-
yisory committees OF The intercollegiate
Amateur Athletic Association Of America
recommended that students be limited 10
three years of competition. but It is under
stood that a strong fight will be made
against the adoption OF the rule az an
amendment 10 the constitution of the Inter
collegiate association. Were such an amend
ment 10 be accepted Colurnbias track team.
none 100 strong as 1t Is, would be hope
lesslv weakened for the 1912 games. and the
meeting next year would lose a star per-
former in Harry 8. Babcock, captain OF the
Blue and White track squad for the pres
ent season
Babcock Is II man. and so has another
wear I'm college. but 10 the association ac-
cepts the amendment as proposed he would
he unable 10 compete in his senior year
because as n freshman he won points for
Columbia in the broad Jump. He took part
In the games last May and is training 70
enter the meet this spring. He holds the
national championship in the pole vault
and last summer vsulted consistently ar 12
feet inches. His loss would be one that
Columbia could III afford. As the amend
ment has no retroactive clause. Babcock
would consequently be out of the meet.
II Is with this as the basis for argument
that Columbia will make It's fight against
the ruling, and it expects TO be backed UP
BY the smaller colleges OF the association.
At Princeton. Yale. Cornell, Harvard and
Pennsylvania freshmen are not permitted
10 participate on varsity teams by faculty
regulations, but az Columbia the faculty
regulations apply only 70 scholarship and
the one-year residence rule, in so far as Il
concerns a man who is Just matriculating
from another college or university where
7 he has taken part in athletics. To the Co
lumbia way of thinking the proposed rule
would work material hardship to the col
| leges which have hard enough time as Il
/ is in getting enough men out for track tc
/ make A respectable showing In the dua
meets and 10 pick up en- occasional point
( in the intercollegiates. Cutting out the
freshmen would take away Just one-fourtt
of these teams. and as a result they woulc
be at an unfair advantage when com
| peting against a larger institution, where
material is plentiful and the best OF facili
ties are provided for training
: Having a central board in charge Of ath
letics at Columbia is just beginning 70 q
through the experimental stage, but from
the results obtained thus far it is probabl,
tre best influence that has ever made itsel
known for sports on Morningside Heights
In shaping an athletic policy the director
of the general association have deter
mined that only the teams that are real
~ worth their salt will De permitted Il
survive As a result there has been re
nascence in some branches Of sport. TIT
others that are incapable Of that are bein;
Topped off thus allowing the association Z
provide more abundantly for those tha
: keep on. The first varsity sport 70 fn
itself. dropped by the vsyside is lacrosse
which was abolished by the association las
week Previous 70 that the freshman hocke
team was disbanded, and last spring. befor
II was determined TO see IL the selectio
Of a competent man 10 handle the 'varsit
hockey team would produce better result
than Columbia had been having on the tc'
the directors had begun action looking
the abolition Of hockey altogether.
Lacrosse never has been a sport for IN
many on Norningside Heights and despit
the fact that the varsity teams won the In
tercoIlegiate championship once and wer
in a tie for II twice, the number Of candi
dates that turned out was by no mean
enough 10 Justify its retention. That pre-
vious teams won and were successful wa
largely due 10 the fact that they manage
tn enroll several natural players, an
these having left college or been graduateC
leaves the remaining players leaderless an
unCrganlzed.
II any Of the remaining teams begin
!. fall Off a. badly as lacross the director
aver that they will be dropped just
quickly. It is not their plan 70 vast
money on a lot Of inferior teams when
may be spent 70 much better advantage o
some Of the others which produce bette
results The plan has the Endorsement Z
the univrslty authorities. Already ther
las been a general uplifting among III
J teams that are left and record breakin
squads have been out for the swimming
water polo. wrestling, gymnastic and hocke
teams. which heretofore have attracte
ONLY handful Of enthusiasts.
! Rowing has not come In for very muc
criticism this year on the score of lack 9
! numbers. but II there are no more men OF
for sprirR practice than there were In IN
fau II would not be at all surprising If De
termined steps were taken either 10 g'
the necessary number of men for the boat
o~ greatly curtau rowing ss sport.
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