New Britain herald., 1924-02-14
ATHLETICS NOT OF PARAMOUNT VALUE
Yale President Thinks Sports { May Be OVerrated

New Haven, Feb. l4.-That the Spirit which sees in victory in par
 ticular sport the main or the sole hcriterion of the success Of an insti- Button would. if generally entertained, a,ndermine the entire moral of it's swork, is the belief of President James Rowland Angel of Yale university.
 a "Fortunately it is represented in
 only 9 small circle, although a circle
 somewhat vociferous and one ire
 uuently exaggerated in the newspaper
 press.'' President Angll says in his re-
 cent report. The great mass of alumni and students cherish an entire 'ly sane and balanced view of the position which athletic victories should enjoy in our academic life.
 "A fair share of victories is indis-
 pensable 10 the maintenance of mor- ale in team competitions: but the moment interest in clean and honest
 sport gives way to a mere insistence upon victory. the finest thing in our intercollegiate sport program is pois- toned al its roots. Exactly those qual- jtics which competitive sport is best sitted to develop are choked and de
 stroycd when sole stress is placed upon victory at whatever cost We may well be grateful that the men in charge of the training of our teams reflect in their ideals and methods q line conception Of amateur sport and it's place in college life.
 2 Although the number is undoubt-
 edly rapidly decreasing. there are still persons who arc apt 10 feel that the institution is on the decline if it's
 football team fails to win all its con Tests. and particularly if it fails to ponquer it's chief traditional rivals: and this despite the fact that a per iod of most significant growth in one of our oldest rivals coincides closely with a period Of almost uninterrupt- fed football defeats by Yale, and that Sale has enjoyed an unprecedented growth in a period when football vic ! tories have been less frequent.
 The extraordinary increase in the ] demand for tickets for our more inn 1 portant football games, the impossi- l bility Of caring for these needs. even with the huge resources Of the Yale l Bowl, inevitably lead on to some auos- l ton regarding the part which these i contests have come to play in our ! academic life.
 Every university within reach Of | large population conducts through l the autumn months what is practical 1 b great program Of public enter l tainment, for which relatively high ! prices of admission are charged and . from which accruos tremendous in- some for the purpose of the sport and Tor the promotion of the general ath- ietic program. That the ouso with which this money Is gained tends to stimnlata expenditure in the conduct sf our collegiate athletics upon a plane wholly disproportionate to the manner in which the remaining work of the institution is conducted can hardly be questioned,
 { "Thc inevitable distraction from college work which the excitement Of these weekend occasions accompanied as they often are by social entertain- ing on large scale, has to be reck- oned with. IL is to be hoped that tho good which flows from it all is more than offset for any evils dependent upon it; but the situation, as such. is one which no thuughtful observer Of American education can view without some n1isgiyings: and we must be pre- pared to deal with it in a vigorous manner, if it apcpars that the pri- | mary business Of tho university is really being substantially interfered 1 with"