The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
PROPOSED DIXIE CONFERENCE MAY
 BECOME 4 REALITY
South's Biggest Colleges to Have Meet In Atlanta on
 February. 25-26
Fly CAREY J. WILLIAMS

Athens, Ga, February 7.-(Special.) When the representatives from the va rious colleges in the south gather in Atlanta February 25-2s to form a southern athletic conference, there will be three main topics that will come under their consideration. They are: l. To prevent first-year men from participating in athletics.
 2 To prevNlt men from migrating from one college to another.
 g. To prevent professionalism of all kinds.
 The purpose of this conference is to put athletics on a higher basis and these three important principles will be given the attention of the gathered clansmen. This conference will be pat termed after the western conference, which Is rgarded as one of the strong est in the entire country. It is expect ed that committee will be appointed in the near future to draw up the by laws that the members will adhere to-.
 SANFORD IS CHAIRMAN
 pr. s. V. Sanford, faculty athletic di- rector at the University of Georgia, was chosen chairman of the new conference and he is now preparing a programme for the meeting to be held in Atlanta that will be completed within the next week.
 The germ of the new southern con- ference was born at the recent s. I. A. A. meeting in Gainesville, Fla, when the larger colleges and institutions of Dixie disagreed on several issues, i'm portant among them being the one-year rule. The one-year rule was voted down by the smaller institutions of the S l. A. A., giving as their reason that It would be disastrous to the colleges with a small student body, as they are dependent on freshmen and first-ycar men in their athletic activities.
 BIG COLLEGES MAY ENTER
 The large colleges of the south are fostering the plan and birth of the new conference, and it is expected that the membership of this new organiza- ton will total IA or more of the leading institutions, prominent among these be- ing Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Au- burn and Georgia Tech. At the Gaines vile meeting there were 14 colleges who promised to present the plans of the new conference to their respective institutions, and if they saw fit they would become members.
 Of course, with the formation of the new conference it will mean a heavy blow to the S. l. A. A. that might result in its death. There are about 26 schools that have memberships in this associa- tion, and at least half of them will en- ter the new organization. Though the University of Virginia is not a mem ber, the athletic authorities at this place intend to join the ranks of the new southern conference.
 If the conference is formed it will not mean that it's members will not play ship in the s. I. A. A. It is supposed that games will be played with these schools as in the past
 The new conference will increase the 'souths prestige in athletics. especially in the north and east It will put Dixie upon the same plane occupied by them.
 ONE-YEAR RULE
 The one-year rule will prohibit the playing of freshmen and first year men. It will compel an athlete to re- main in college one year before he will be eligible for any athletic team. By this time he will become familiar with college life and the activities connect ed with 1t and at the same time his studies will not be- neglected. Practi- ca1ly all of the colleges will have fresh men teams which will be coached by experts in order to give the candidates a good examination before being placed on the varsity squad. All of the large eastern and northern teams have the one-year rule, and when it is adopted in the south the intersectional football games will become common thing. Virginia has been prohibiting freshmen from playing on her teams for many years.
 The migrating of men from one coll lege to another has been practiced more or less in the south than any other sec- ton of the country. In several in- stances after an athlete has gained considerable publicity as a player the larger colleges have attracted him to their institution. It is expected that the new conference will draw rigid lines on this especial rule that will prevent them going from college to college.
 ANTI-PROFESSIONALISM Though there has been very little or no professionalism in the ranks of southern athletics, the representatives intend to draw up iron-clad rules that will prohibit the slightest bit of pro- fessionalism. Appreciating the old maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth pound of cure" they intend to act accordingly.
 The forming of the southern con ference will be a pure and better tonic for Dixie athletics. It will mean that the south has stepped into her place in the front ranks-thc place that she has always deserved It will mean more