The Washington herald., 1916-12-20
NORTHWESTERN PEEVED
At The CONFERENCE
Big Four of Section Refuses to Recog-
nize Ability of Players of
Smaller Colleges.
BY JACK VEIOCE.


New York Dec. 10. - Coach Fred
.Lurphy. of the Northwestern football
team. is somewhat peeved. In fact, ne
is so displeased with the apportionment
Of football dates offered him by Big
Nine teams for the 1917 season that he
is angling for games with some OF the
Eastern schools and hopes to round out
a good schedule for the Purple aggreSa-
lion in this way.
The fact that Chicago, Minnesota
Illinois and Wisconsin. the big quar-
tet of the Western Conference, schedule
each other every year, takes something
lava from the smaller schools of the
Big Nine i'm the way Of attractions. Iowa,
! Indiana. Ohio State, Purdue and North
western have been considered the weaker
sisters of the conference for a number
lOf years This year it was different in
the cases of Northwestern and Ohio State.
for the Purple team was a contender. un
to the very end of the Big Nine schedule
and Ohio State turned the tables by
winning a championship.
In the way of scheduling teams which
will prove the biggest drawing cards
the teams mentioned above as the big
four can scarcely be blamed for ar
ranging games among themselves from
year tc year. principally because they
have been the biggest toads in the con-
ference puddle for some moons. and
games between any two Of the four have
generally drawn great crowds.
The system followed by these schools
is not unlike that which has been in
vogue in the East for good many
years. Yale. Harvard and Princeton
with pennsylvania figuring as a fourth
major Lacquer at various times, have
scheduled each other from year to year
and the long standing rivalry between
these teams. coupled with the fact that
they are the biggest schools in the
East. has been the guiding influence
But the smaller schools are comins
into their own. and we believe that
the time will arrive when the so-calIed
major leaguers OF football will find the
eleYenS of smaller schools capable OF
drawing as well a some of their ancient
rivals, providing the games are played
an the home grounds OF the elevens
representing the larger schools.
Take Browns crack eleven of 1916 as
an example. Brown proved a great draw
ing card al Cambridge. and. with the
new style of football paving the way
for the winners among smaller institu.
tions, the years that are to come will
see teams such as Brown. Colgate, Pitts
burgh and Syracuse capable Of claiming
a place in the front rank as attrac-
tiOns
suppose the closing game of the West
ern conference season this year had
been between Ohio State and Chicago
and the game could have been played
In the Windy City. 1t is a cinch that
the Buckeye team would have proven lust
as good an attraction as Illinois or Min
nesota in the years when these teams
were fighting for the championship.
game that would have been the
last word In Western football this year
would have been a contest between Min
nesOta and Ohio State But the sched-
uie makers could not be expected to
see so far ahead.
For this reason it seems only faIr
that as long as the Western confer
ence Is going to continue as foot
ball circuit. the four teams represent
ing the larger schools should include
the five smaller schools in their sched-
ules, dividing up the games so that
PFery school would he fairly satisfied
The practice of playing small schools
from outside of the conference in the
early days of the season robs some of
the teams of, conference dates to which
they are entitled.
Inter-sectional football has not grown
popular enough to be a satisfactory bust
ness proposition as yet. Inter-sectionaI
football is really in its infancy and tho
football public of the East and West
while it may enjoy seeing teams ot
the opposite sections do battle. viii al
ways lean toward the time hOnored strug-
giles between teams that have been rivals
for years.