Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-20
FEW new TUTORS
FOR DIXIE SQUADS
G. u, Auburn and Possibly
Sewanee to Change-PIan
Post-Season Tilt.
BY HI. C. BYRD.

~ gridiron coaching systems
v in Southern colleges and
universities are to take
place this year. With two or three
exceptions, every foot ball squad1
when it goes on the field next
September will do so under dlrec-
ton of the same men who han
died the reins in 1929. About
the only exceptions to this are
GEORGETOWN, Alabama, Polytech-
mic Institute and possibly Sc
vance.
Alabama Poly better known in the
far South as Auburn, switched horseS
right in midstream last Fall, changing
coaches when the season still had three
or four weeks to go. 1t was ratner
coincidence that Sewanee did about the
same thing, DR.. Bennett, athletic d.
rector, taking charge about two weeks
before the final game. Georgetown
was compelled to make change be-
cause Lou Little resigned to accept the
lob as head coach at Columbia.
Georgetown, of course. has Tom Mills.
who comes from Notre Dame, where he
has been handling the freshman squad
and doing most of the scouting. Many
who know Mills intimately do not hest
tate to state unreservedly that he will
make a good man for the local uni
versity and turn out winning foot ball
teams, which seems to be what most
universities want. Mills also Is conf
dent that he can do good job while
here, and he plans to get started with
foot ball soon after February l.
Auburn for some time has had rough
going with its foot ball. for one reason
or another For II years Mike Dona-
hoe kept the. Plainsmen among the
leaders in the South, but during the
last couple of years or so that he was
at Auburn did not do so well. Then
Donahoc left, but Auburn, since his
leaving. instead of doing better, has
not done as well.
Until last Fall Mike Bennett was
head foot ball coach as well as ath-
letic director at Sewanee. He gave up
coaching, but was compelled to go back
to it two weeks before the season ended.
It has not yet been made known wheth-
er Bennett will coach the eleven next
Fall. Sewanee could not do any better
than have him take up the task again,
as without any doubt he is one of the
best men in the country.
1t seems that those schools in the
South that have developed efficient sys-
TENS and kept them are the ones that
stand in the forefront of gridiron &C
Invites. Down in the far South VAN
derbilt. Georgia Tech and Alabama
have generally been leading the pro-
cession. and each has a man at the
helm who has been in charge for many
years. Alexandria at Georgia Tech,
McGugin at Vanderbilt and Wade at
Alabama have almost become part of
their institutions and are about as near
fixtures as men can be in such jobs.
Tt probably is not a coincidence,
either, that Collins, down at North
Carolina, after two years of mediocre
records and one year of fair attain
ment. seems to have put North Carolina
in q fair way Of being one of the hard
nuts OF the South to crack With the
possible exception Of Tennessee, North
Carolina probably had the best eleven
in the South.
mediocre coach, given time to work
out plans for building up an organiza-
ton, will do far better than even a
brilliant coach who does not get that
opportunity. And it seems that most in
situations are beginning to take that
view OF 1t. At least there are not SO
many changes, and a coach consequent
~ has better chance of holding his
job. which leaves one to draw only one
conclusion.
A movement is on foot in the Far
South to stage an annual pcst-season
loot ball game that will feature an
orange blossom festival, much along the
same lines as the game at Pasadena
features the Tournament of Roses. It
Is understood that the idea originated
at the University of Florida. It was
brought up at the conference meeting
TINS year, but the plan had not ma
tured enough to warrant favorable ac-
ton, apparently. However, if Florida
pushes the proposition it probably will
put 1t across. Such a wind-up for foot
ball In the South would work out sue
cessfully.
Jimmie Driver, athletic director at
University of Virginia and chairman of
the boxing committee of the Southern
Conference. expects the annual boxing
tournament at Charlottesville, to be
held under the auspices of the Univer-
sity of Virginia, to be the best since the
tournament was begun. Driver is au-
thority for the statement that he finds
more interest than usual and that the
tournament not only will have more en-
trants, but entrants of higher caliber
Incidentally, 1t might be mentioned that
boxing is one of the big Winter sports
at Virginia, and that exceptional
crowds attend the matches.
University Of Oregon gets a good
coach in Spears and the University of
Minnesota loses one. Spears has done a
good job wherever he has been, and
probably with the fine material said to
be at Oregon will spring some surprises
in Pacific Coast foot ball next season.
At Dartmouth, where he played Spears
also coached successfully. Then at
West Virginia University he had some
exceptional teams. and since he has
been at Minnesota has had a strong
eleven every year. Spears is a high-typ
fellow. has good personality and is
the kind of chap who will make the
best of what he has no matter where he
works.