Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-03-31
O2T0zZ1ZA "a. ~
COLLEGE GAMES GROW BIGGER
Wisconsin Institutes q New System
Of Athletic Training. s
EACH MAN CHOOSES HIS SPORT
Present Order of Things IL the Most
Important that Has Happened In
a Generation In the Way
of sports.
EACH MAN CHOOSES HIS SPORT

| NEW YORK. March 30.-one fact In
connection with athletics In the colleges
which has been forcing itself forward for
the last half dozen years or more and
which was brought out strongly at the
meeting OF the National Collegiate Ath-
letic association is that sports and
athletic contests Of an intercollegiate
nature are becoming Of increasing i'm
portance from day to day. although there
Is not now and hardly will be any
tendency for them to overshadow the
intercollegiate contests with their picked
teams and keen rivalry. But from the
point OF view OF those who have the ply
steal welfare OF the college student at
heart the new order Of things Is the
most important that has happened in a
generation.
This new plan Of giving athletic exercise
TO the youth OF the colleges, although ex.
istlng and flourishing In a more or less
unorganized state In nearly every college
In the land. Is shown to its best advan-
tage In the new system OF athletic train
ing that has been instituted at the Uni
yerslty OF Wisconsin by DIR. George w.
Ehler. who has been physical director
since pr. C. p. Hutchlns resigned 10 take
up a similar position at Indiana uni
versity.
Dir, Ehler began his task by abolishing
practically entirely the old program OF
compulsory gymnastlc and eRllsthenlc
classes and substituting training in the
branch Of sport which the student
thought he was best adapted to follow.
For the first part Of the college year
the freshman class is compelled to take
its regular exercise outdoors. and DR..
Ehler ruled that every first year man
had TO play foot ball without the tackling
feature. This continues until December /.
and then the students take TO the gymnas-
ium. where instead OF being put through
the several gymnastic exercises they are
permitted to select one of any number
OF sports such as rowing. track athletics.
basket ball, swimming, fencing. boxing.
wrestling and elementary foot ball, 10
which they will devote their attention
until springs In the sophomore year prac-
tically the same program Is followed out.
As result Of this new process OF max
ing the students take so many hours of
regular athletic exercise each week. DIR.
Ehler has built up such a desire for
in a short time there will not be the
facilities TO accommodate those who
want to go in for the various sports.
Camp Randall, the new athletic field.
Is already well filled with base ball dla-
monds and foot ball gridirons. but the
number of strictly intercollegiate teams
that desire to make use of the ground
is increasing at such a rapid pace that
there will hardly be room for them all
II 1t continues. DR.. Ehler distinctly en-
courages the formation OF intercollegiate
teams In all branches Of sport and hid
efforts are not going unrewarded. With
such an enormous number Of men com
peting II is small wonder that there is
never a dearth OF candidates for any one
branch of sport and that the Wisconsin
teams are better than they have ever
been in the past. taken one and all.
But II Is not only at Wisconsin that |
the value Of intercollegiate sports have |
b0Nh AtNs6h1tus ~
institution are there the facilities for |
them as have been made possible By |
Or. Ehler. At Princeton there has been |
for the last few years a general develop /
ment in the intramural idea and now
there are all-PrincetOn competitions in /
basket ball. base ball, bowling. SWIM
ming. lawn tennis and relay racing open
to all students who have not the ability /
10 make the first or second varsity Il
teams. The general athletic facilities
we're badly oyertaxed at Princeton last
year, but that has been remedied now
and this season there will be little fear
Of crowding. Harvard has taken kindly
% the new. idea Of athletics and so have
practically all the colleges that support
intercollegiate teams. The
extract from the annual report
II President Jacob Gould Schurman OF
Cornell is an appreciation Of the new or
Ter OF things:
''Side by side with the successes in inter
athletics there Is developing at
,orneII university a system Of home
which Is peculiarly gratifying to
hose who recognize the necessity of
ports and games for young men. but who
Ook with some apprehension on the ex-
Continued on Second PageJ J.