The Washington herald., 1922-02-01
HOT CONTROVERSY
RACES ON FUTURE
OF AMATEUR SPORT
Suspension of Western
Football Stars Starts
General Probe.


| CHICAGO. Jan. 81. The hottest
controversy on the future Of ANA
teur athletics, and particularly col
lege football. in a decade. is rag
ing in Western universities.
Starting with the suspension OF
seventeen star football men of the
University of Illinois and Notro
rame University for participating
in a semi-professional game. it. has
| sTread to investigation OF condi-
tons in many other schools.
The athletes themselves offer this
proposition In their own defense:
Is 1t worse for an athlete to work
his way through college by profess
sIonal athletics tnan it is for others
to wash dishes. tend furnaces, clerk
and play for dances? Why are we
the goats?
College authorities reply that this
condition is unft rtunate but neces-
sary: that college sports are the
only simon pure amateur contestz
left. Commercialism, they say. mas
hurt baseball, crippled racing. box
ing, wrestling and other sports.
At the same time uni rersity au-
thorities throughout the country are
preparing for enlargement of foot
ball activities. Great stadiums arc
being built at dozen big univer-
sites, some of them, as in the case
of the University OF Wisconsin, from
the earnings. of the football team
itself
Box Once Receipts Big.
The box ONCE receipts of college
/ football teams last season exceeded
all previous records by hundreds OF
thousands of dollars. Never wa.
the game so popular. The gate al
the California a-Washington and JEFF
| ferson game at Pasadena was more
than 100000. Gates of sl00.o0J
were common.
! So while coaches and university
presidents are throwing up their
hands ir horror at the scandal a,
Illinois and Notre Dame, the firing
OF Coach Lone Star" Dietz at Pur.
due. and the inroads Of profes.
sionalism. they are having a little
trouble in answering the charges
Of the involved boys. some OF whom
the universities in the first plact
because Of their athletic ability.
George Huff. athletic director oi
! Illinois, declared that while he de.
plorcd professionalism among col.
leEe athletes, he knew that the
rule forbidding professional base.
ball playing in the summer time
was being broken by scores OF col.
lege men.
System Recognized.
All OF the coaches admit the sys.
tenn whereby promising higf
school or prep athlete is corralled
by alumni or frsternities and sent
to college with the understandings
that he will be given a job tina,
will keep him in school This sys.
tenn is accepted as legitimate wher
done by alumni. But Dietz, tn.
Purdue coach, was charged with
carelessly taking this job on hi.
own shoulders and his resignation
was asked.
There is a persistent report here
that the athletes of the big ter
universities intend to form a stu.
dents athletic protective associa
ton to force ruling to allow ath-
letes to earn money by their PROV
ess off the campus. II is reported
that il the movement is formal,
launched, the athletes will threaten
10 expose alleged methods Of OBJ.
tanning star performers used by
various colleges unless their plan.
are approved
CHAMPAIGN, ILL.,. Jan. 81. - The
eligibility committee Of the Univer-
sity of Illinois unanimously ruled
Tuesday to suspend the nine mem
bers of the football team who par
tiCipated in the Carlinville-Taylor.
Vile game from all further athletic
activities in the university.
The committee is composed Of
Prof. G. A. Goodenough, 1llinoi.
representative on the Big Ter
Board, and Profs. II. J. Barton, w
s. Bailey and D. II. Carnahan.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. Jan. 3I.-Don.
aid White and Donald Miller. tive
star members of the Purdue Uni
versity basketball team. were re,
ported under investigation for hav.
ing played the game professionally
at Huntingdon. Ind Universit,
authorities did not comment on the
report
Park Bowlers Win.