The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1924-02-13

lege builds a milliOn-dOllar stadium.
This rifles the graduate body of Salt
water College, its bitter rival. Salt
water College has never been Outdone
in anything by Freshwater, has it?
No, and it will not be Outdone now.
SO dear old Saltwater College gath
ers funds from indignant graduates
and builds a stadium costing a mil
lion and One-half dollars. This very
thing has happened in every part of
the country and is continuing.
When these costly sports theaters
are completed a way must be found
to get part of the vast expenditure.
The return must come at the gates.
To pay for these colossal temples OF
sport they must be filled by a paying
audience, not once but several times,
each season, and losing teams do not
fill vast amphitheaters. 1t takes win
ming teams to pack in the crowds so
winning teams must be secured. And,
with competition as keen as it is,
means must be found to secure a win
ner. 1t takes material and to secure
the desired material often takes a
great deal more than the educational
advantages offered by the college.
Yes, more often than not. 1t fire.
quently takes $4,000 more.
What a Stadium Reilly Means
Only recently a publisher in the
East was visited by the athletic di-
!, rector of his alma mater. The edi-
ter attend a college in a remote part
t of the east. The college has never
had an enrolment of more than 1,50C
and, situated away from the center'
= of population as it is, it has managed
. to get along with stands seating 5000
= at it's football games. incidentally
e the stands were never filled excep
on homecoming day.
The athletic director came quick,
to the point:
"Ie want you to subscribe to
stadi-~ Tor tie college. We hav
u plans or = stadium seating 5000
o person.. i VII be a beautiful struC
o ture, ole Of which every son of tn
d old school may feel we'll proud. A
the other boys are subscribing HAND
l. somely and l know we can expect
lie liberal donation from you"
To what the publisher replied:
10 q am against your stadium idea.
IS don't like it. In the first place yC
lg do not need a stadium. l know VIII;
e, you are going to tell me; that S
IS and-so and so-and-so have stadium
ed and that we have to lift u heads
ur high as they lift theirs and that it
n. for the honor and glory Of the o
m school and all that campus rah stu1
to But l am trying to look beyond all t
ry cheering of the moment; | am tryil
to see what you are not seeing. l a
ny looking ahead to what will come aft
all the stadium. You are going to bu-
err it on the money of the graduates a
lie; after it is finished the graduates "
OIL want to see a winning team. Y
won't have it. You feel you've
to make good. You do. You ma
good by going out and hiring be
:, that can play football.
"YOu are going to tell me that
l. old school has never done anythi
IS like that and won't. But that con
before. 1 am talking about w
n comes after. Can you explain to
how you are going to get wori
athletes to attend your college? w
is there for them. In all frankn
let us admit among ourselves that
least eighteen or twenty colleges
fer just as good educational facilit
They do. Why should not that
attend one of the others? They n
advantages that we lack. They
at least most of them, located n
big cities where the boy a go
4. off days and enjoy himself. Boys
to do that regardless Of the antips
- you and the faculty may have TOYS