New Britain herald., 1930-11-13
N0TRE DAME HAS
 BACK UNDER COVER
Report States That Fifth Horse
 man Is Better Than Others

| fifth horseman who isn't riding this year. Report has it that he is d bet ter back than any now carrying the ball for the Irish.
 The report may be merely hear say, but 1t points to a condition eX- isting in many universities which the Carnegie foundation investiga- tors seem to have overlooked n their famous bulletin No. 23. One of the chief difficulties con- fronting a football coach in his ef- forts to perpetuate the success of his teams-aside from certain aca- demlc prejudices against proselyting and subsidizing-is the three year 1 rule. The letter of this rule is ob- served strictly in practically every 1 Important university and college Ii 1 the country. The spirit Of the rule 1 cess Of having certain students who are good football players remain an extra year in school.
 The practice seems 10 be so gen. eral, particularly in the west, south and southwest, that exposure of its workings may bring forth from football followers little more than a mild What Of it?'
 Most universities and colleges are forbidden 10 play freshmen on var sity teams, and the rule in question i limits student to three years Of varsity competition. Lnder the spirit or the rule. q student is available for football during his sophomore, junior and senior years. But many football coaches, blessed with plenty Of goou material, have conceived the idea of keeping certain star players off the field entirely for a season in which they are quite eligible. enthusiastically and otherwise. The boy stays in school an extra year and completes his three years of varsity football.
 Some far western universities, for example, have teams composed Of such "eXtra' players, who are per- mitted to play two games a year against junior colleges and normal schools which do not count as var sity competition and entitle the play CTS 10 spend an extra year at school and q subsequent srason or 1.-two on the varsity eleven.
 In the case Of alphabetically in eligible players who normally would spend an extra year at their studies | in order 10 obtain 3 sheepskln there may be no quarrel with this praC- tice. But when il is q pigskin rather than sheepskln winch is upper most in the boys mind, and when he is kept five years in a school from which he normally would graduate in four, that is something else again.
 The charge that knute -tockna l has one of his best backs und r cover while the present Uell-nigh irresistible combination carries on |qulte unfoundcd and certainly is un- substantiatod But there are numer- ous other instances in the south and west Of such storing up Of football material against 2 rainy season. rather like spreading the jam thin fly to cover the most bread-and il is apparent that the college careers Of many youngsters are being ar ranged according 10 their availabil- fly as varsity football material rather than by any desire 70 give them the customary four year duc2tion to prepare them for life.
 Take a case in point Everyone $ familiar with q certain chagrin ex- ! pressed in South Bend over the fact that Joe Savoldi, the best Irish full back vas unwittingly permitted to play a couple Of minutes in the Georgia Tech game in 1928 This means that Savoldi, having played last season and this, cannot play next year, they say regretfully in south Bend Why should he? r h. has bcon eligible m each or the past two seaaons and the present he presumably has been up in his studies and is ready to graduate next June The inference is that h9 would stick around South Bend for another years education f he were available for football,
 The practice of spreading out q { schools football material 10 cover more than three years is not pre- ralent in the cast nor in the Pa i cifc northwest. Dcarth of material is probably the answer. since the business is so generally condoned. Tn these parts. they use student ss soon as he becomes q sophomore,
 because they need him.
 There is little opportunity 10 sus- gest a certain elasticity in his cur
 riculum which will make him avail able for football in some future sea -son when he may be Of more use
 to the coach,