The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-02-15
BINGHAM ASKS
 DISCARD|NG OF
 FOOTBALL PLAN
Suggests Earlier Practice Date Than Big Three"
 Agreement of Sept. IS
By FRANK MURPHY

United Press Stan Correspondent)
 Cambridge, Mass, Feb. iB.--(UP) Harvard, which sheived it's grad- uate football policy in favor of "big name" coaching . year ago, was urged officially today to pull up on even terms with most of It's major rivals by scuttling the old "Big Three" rule forbidding practice be- fore Sept. lS.
 Director of Athletics William J. (Bill) Bingham in his annual report to President James Bryant Conant asked in effect that Head Coach Richard c. (Dick) Harlow be per- mitted to give his players four full weeks of conditioning before tack ling an eight-gaine schedule which, next fall, calls for successive games with amherst, Brown, Army. Dart mouth, Princeton, Virginia, Navy and Yale.
 The recommendation comes after Q t036 season in which the Crimson failed to win . single major game, losing to Dartmouth, Holy Cross, Army, Princeton and Yale.
 Bingham again stressed the de- cline in football receipts, now down to the 1920 figure. Neverthelegs. he said, the sports budget for the past year was balanced and the Harvard Corporation has approved establish ment of the endowment fund which is calculated eventually to wipe out the vicious connection" between gridiron revenues and sports expen- ditures. The report did not reveal net football receipts for 1895 but in iO34 they aggregated e202.000, . drop of GO per cent from the 1929 peak figure of S700000.
 Bingham said frankly that 1t was virtually necessary" to break away from the "curtailed practice" rule agreed to by the presidents of Har- yard, Yale, and Princeton in their "3ig Three" pact Of 1922. If Har- vard's gridsters were to compete on equal footing with Dartmouth, West Point, Brown, Holy Cross and other teams that begin training earlier.
 "For years our medical depart ment has recommended earlier practice for the football squad" said Bingham, land naturally the upper most thought in the doctors mind has been his belief that the boys themselves would be lest apt to be injured if they had longer pre- liininary practice.
 "After most earnest consideration recommend that we limit tho foot ball season to not more than eight games; and that tho entire time de- voted to football in the fall, irclud- Ing medical examinations, issuing football equipment practicing and playing games shall not exceed eleven weeks. On this basis prac- tice this fall would have begun on September Q. This proposed change would enable us to have four full weeks of preparation before the opening game, and is in line with the Big Ten and with all except two colleges we meet in competi- tion."
 Admitting the failure of that part of the Big Three" agreement re- stricting the length of the practice season, Bingham said:
 "since 1923 football practice un. der this agreement has been pro- hibited before Hcpt.s 18th. This specific date was selected because ct that time the Western Confer ence. The Big Ten, had adopted q similar rule. It was the hope of the presidents that other colleges would follow the example of The Big Ten. Harvard. Yale and Princeton. Unfortunately this has not been the case, and even The Big Ten have moved ahead their football starting date to Sept. 10th"
 The Harvard athletic director prefaced his recommendation re- garding practice sessions with word of praise for Coach Harlow, the former Colgate. Penn State and Western Maryland coach who suc- ceeded Eddie Casey year ago.
 Harvard graduates need not Do anxious that any of our traditions or our athletic ideals will be sacri- ficed with Q non-greduate coach." said Bingham. Practically all of the other sports on our program are coached by Graduates from other colleges. These coaches CO., operate to foster high grade of .a.ka Al A Al A..